应届毕业典礼五分钟励志英语演讲稿范文（精选27篇）
I was convinced that the only thing I wanted to do, ever, was to write novels. However, my parents, both of whom came from impoverished backgrounds and neither of whom had been to college, took the view that my overactive imagination was an amusing personal quirk that would never pay a mortgage, or secure a pension. I know that the irony strikes with the force of a cartoon anvil, now.
So they hoped that I would take a vocational degree; I wanted to study English Literature. A compromise was reached that in retrospect satisfied nobody, and I went up to study Modern Languages. Hardly had my parents’ car rounded the corner at the end of the road than I ditched German and scuttled off down the Classics corridor.
I cannot remember telling my parents that I was studying Classics; they might well have found out for the first time on graduation day. Of all the subjects on this planet, I think they would have been hard put to name one less useful than Greek mythology when it came to securing the keys to an executive bathroom.
I would like to make it clear, in parenthesis, that I do not blame my parents for their point of view. There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you. What is more, I cannot criticise my parents for hoping that I would never experience poverty. They had been poor themselves, and I have since been poor, and I quite agree with them that it is not an ennobling experience. Poverty entails fear, and stress, and sometimes depression; it means a thousand petty humiliations and hardships. Climbing out of poverty by your own efforts, that is indeed something on which to pride yourself, but poverty itself is romanticised only by fools.
Make no mistake: There are plenty of reasons to be outraged. My generation, your generation – we face not only grave moral challenges but existential threats: rising ocean levels globally and rising inequality in America; violence around the world and in our own backyards; the fraying of the social fabric. “The falcon cannot hear the falconer,” and we wonder if the center can hold.
I understand the impulse toward negativity. Like many of you, I sometimes feel overwhelmed by the challenges we face, by the injustices that call out for our condemnation. Yet it is precisely because our challenges are so great that outrage is not enough. Pointing out what is wrong is merely the beginning, not the end, of our work.
The Czech author Ivan Klima wrote, “To destroy is easier than to create, and that is why so many people are ready to demonstrate against what they reject. But what would they say if one asked them what they wanted instead?”
What would you say? What would I say? What are you for?
Klima’s life story is one of both criticism and creation. Born in Prague in 1931, he was sent to a Nazi concentration camp as a child. He survived and became an outspoken voice for democracy in Czechoslovakia.
Here’s what I mean:
Reggie Jackson struck out twenty-six-hundred times in his career—the most in the history of baseball.
But you don’t hear about the strikeouts. People remember the home runs.
Fall forward.
Thomas Edison conducted 1,000 failed experiments. Did you know that?
I didn’t either—because1,001was the light bulb.
Fall forward.
Every failed experiment is one step closer to success.
You’ve got to take risks. And I’m sure you’ve probably heard that before.
But I want to talk about why it’s so important.
I’ve got three reasons—and then you can pick up your iPhones.
First… you will fail at some point in your life. Accept it. You will lose. You will embarrass yourself. You will suck at something. There is no doubt about it.
That’s probably not a traditional message for a graduation ceremony. But, hey, I’m telling you—embrace it.
Because it’s inevitable.
I should know: In the acting business, you fail all the time.
Early in my career, I auditioned for a part in a Broadway musical. A perfect role for me, I thought—except for the fact that I can’t sing.
So I’m in the wings, about to go on stage but the guy in front of me is singing like Pavarotti and I am just shrinking getting smaller and smaller...
So I come out with my little sheet music and it was “Just My Imagination” by the Temptations, that’s what I came up with.
So I hand it to the accompanist, and she looks at it and looks at me and looks at the director, so I start to sing and they’re not saying anything. I think I must be getting better, so I start getting into it.
But after the first verse, the director cuts me off: “Thank you. Thank you very much, you’ll be hearing from me.”
The next part of the audition is the acting part. I figure, I can’t sing, but I know I can act.
But the guy I was paired with to do the scene couldn’t be more overdramatic and over-the top.
Suffice to say, I didn’t get the part.
But here’s the thing: I didn’t quit. I didn’t fall back.
I walked out of there to prepare for the next audition, and the next audition, and the next one. I prayed and I prayed, but I continued to fail, and I failed, and I failed.
But it didn’t matter. Because you know what? You hang around a barbershop long enough—sooner or later you will get a haircut.
You will catch a break.
Last year I did a play called Fences on Broadway and I won a Tony Award. And I didn’t have to sing for it, by the way.
And here’s the kicker—it was at the Court Theater, the same theater where I failed that first audition 30 years prior.
The point is, every graduate here today has the training and the talent to succeed.
But do you have guts to fail?
Here’s my second point about failure:
If you don’t fail… you’re not even trying.
My wife told me this expression: “To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.”
Les Brown, a motivational speaker, made an analogy about this.
Imagine you’re on your deathbed—and standing around your bed are the ghosts representing your unfilled potential.
The ghosts of the ideas you never acted on. The ghosts of the talents you didn’t use.
And they’re standing around your bed. Angry. Disappointed. Upset.
“We came to you because you could have brought us to life,” they say. “And now we go to the grave together.”
So I ask you today: How many ghosts are going to be around your bed when your time comes?
You invested a lot in your education. And people invested in you.
And let me tell you, the world needs your talents.
Man, does it ever.
I just got back from four months of filming in South Africa—beautiful country, but there are places with terrible poverty that need help.
And Africa is just the tip of the iceberg.
these good jobs? mrs. mcmahon: you have raised an incredibly great point. an enormous problem. this is something that reallyhas the administration been informed by the private sector. when they tell us one of their single bill gives challenges is the skills gap. they have available jobs they are unable to fill because people don't have adequate training. time and time again we hear this. it is all the more problematic for the smaller employers who don't have the benefits and can't be as competitive, competing for those same jobs that limited people had to fill. we have been in ormislead focused on technical education, skills-based education.the president signed an executive order where he is going todramatically expand apprenticeship in this country. it has beensuccessful around the world. try giving people skills-basededucation, creating industrywide certification and credentialing so people like in the industry like yours can have a recognizedcredential that is portable and they can take with them, that recognizes they are trained in the areas employers need them.one of the things we found that is successful, the teeming ofindustry and the community colleges and technical schools.many employers are working with community colleges, helping them develop curriculums that train their students. they employ them on the other side. that is something that has been workingon the private sector and we are looking to fuel and scale at a national level.
we should learn to stick to our life no matter how difficult the life is and we should learn to love others .it is the flim tellsx me .
it is a story talks about a black girl named precious .precious isx fat and not beautiful. her bad temped mother never workx, always cheated others to relieve her ,and atex while watching tv all day.what is worse ,precious was only 16,but she had pregnant for twice .out of assumption ,her child is her farther
s child .living in this life ,she alawys imagine to avoid facing her life .fortunately,with the help and careneof the teacher and doctor ,her life became not so bad .
precious has a tough life ,and if she gives up her life and does not join the adult education ,she will not meet the teacher and her life may not be
changed .
We also have another problem, which is that women face harder choices between professional success and personal fulfillment. A recent study in the U.S. showed that, of married senior managers, two-thirds of the married men had children and only one-third of the married women had children. A couple of years ago, I was in New York, and I was pitching a deal, and I was in one of those fancy New York private equity offices you can picture. And I'm in the meeting — it's about a three-hour meeting — and two hours in, there needs to be that bio break, and everyone stands up, and the partner running the meeting starts looking really embarrassed. And I realized he doesn't know where the women's room is in his office. So I start looking around for moving boxes, figuring they just moved in, but I don't see any. And so I said, "Did you just move into this office?" And he said, "No, we've been here about a year." And I said, "Are you telling me that I am the only woman to have pitched a deal in this office in a year?" And he looked at me, and he said, "Yeah. Or maybe you're the only one who had to go to the bathroom."So the question is, how are we going to fix this? How do we change these numbers at the top? How do we make this different?
You’re about to hear a fine student response at the end of today’s program. (I know that because I get a sneak peek at those remarks.) But I wish you could also have heard the two talks given at last December’s winter commencements.
Jordan Cebulla told of being a poor student in high school here locally who almost abandoned any idea of higher education. But, told by a family friend that Lafayette is, quote, “a gritty town full of gritty people,” he gave Ivy Tech a try. And four years later, he is a Purdue alum. He told his classmates, “In the end, if we quit on ourselves, everyone else will quit on us, too.”
In his response speech, Seon Shoopman confided that, out of sixteen schools he applied to, Purdue was the only one to admit him, provided he attend our summer boot camp. Three and a half years later, he, too, earned his Purdue degree, with honors, becoming the first in his family to graduate from college. Seon said that, more than any other motive, he wanted to do it for the mother who had pushed him all the way. “When I wanted to quit, she told me not to. When I wanted to leave school, she told me not to. She told me to fight, be strong, and make something of myself.”
Some in today’s world think they have discovered something new in the concept of “grit.” A Harvard Business School article just last fall was titled “Organizational Grit,” and reported that, quote, “High achievers have extraordinary stamina. ... When easier paths beckon, their commitment is steadfast. Grit predicts who will accomplish challenging goals.” So that’s why a Harvard MBA costs 200 grand.
In 20xx — not so long ago — a professor who was then at Columbia University took that case and made it [Howard] Roizen. And he gave the case out, both of them, to two groups of students. He changed exactly one word: "Heidi" to "Howard." But that one word made a really big difference. He then surveyed the students, and the good news was the students, both men and women, thought Heidi and Howard were equally competent, and that's good.The bad news was that everyone liked Howard. He's a great guy. You want to work for him. You want to spend the day fishing with him. But Heidi? Not so sure. She's a little out for herself. She's a little political.You're not sure you'd want to work for her. This is the complication. We have to tell our daughters and our colleagues, we have to tell ourselves to believe we got the A, to reach for the promotion, to sit at the table, and we have to do it in a world where, for them, there are sacrifices they will make for that, even though for their brothers, there are not. The saddest thing about all of this is that it's really hard to remember this. And I'm about to tell a story which is truly embarrassing for me, but I think important.
i think one of the things i have been talking about, the mentorship, we have so many services. there is score, offices manned by retired executives, or executives lending their time to advise on business programs, web design, to kind of walk youthrough how you can expand and scale your business. small business development centers are also available. you can go to any of those district offices, 68 around the country. those areeven more bountiful in the district offices in every state. you cango to and look at the different modules. you can self-study. lots of tools are available.one of the things i got excited about in early discussionswith ms. mcmahon about the capacity of sba, most people think of it along the lines of capital. availability of capital, and how they can support businesses in that regard. these mentorship opportunities are very impactful. as i meet with entrepreneurs,consistently they talk about what is the biggest barriers to scaling a business is lack of mentorship opportunities. that is what made the difference in terms of execution on their ideas.first of all, congratulations on now being a small business owner and job creator. thank you for your service prior to that as a firefighter. my advice to you would be to look at the whole ecosystem as you think about how to start this business for thefirst time . listen to a lot of people, including people who say your ideas are bad. internalize that feedback. ultimately, i think that thinking through and bringing on partners, and people that can complement your skill set and help you to think about theexecution of your business plan is critical as you think aboutscale any meaningful way. in addition to utilizing resources,getting feedback, from people about the idea and the concept, think about how you can supplement your team to complement the skill set that you have.
any other questions? ok.
someone said “we are reading the first verse of the first chapter of a book, whose pages are infinite”. i don?t know who wrote these words, but i?ve always liked them as a reminder that the future can be anything we want it to be. we are all in the position of the farmers. if we plant a good seed ,we reap a good harvest. if we plant nothing at all, we harvest nothing at all.we are young. “how to spend the youth?” it is a meaningfulquestion. to answer it, first i have to ask “what do you understand by the word youth?” youth is not a time of life, it?s a state of mind. it?s not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips or supple knees. it?s the matter of the will. it?s the freshness of the deep spring of life.youth means a temperamental predominance of courage overtimidity of the appetite , for adventure over the love of ease. this often exists in a man of 60 more than a boy of 20 . nobody grows old merely by a number of years . we grow old by deserting our ideals. years wrinkle the skin , but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul . worry , fear , self –distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust .whether 60 of 16 , there is in every human being ?s heart the lure of wonders, the unfailing childlike appetite of what?s next and the joy of the game of living . in the center of your heart and my heart there?s a wireless station : so long as it receives messages of beauty , hope ,cheer, courage and power from men and from the infinite, so long as you are young .
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Eden, I'm 9 years old.Today, I'm going to tell you about my first special memory. It wasunforgettable, because it was my first flying on a plane.
When I got on the huge, white thing with two big ‘fans’, I was so scared. I was thinking what if the big thing couldn’t balance itself? What if in the middle of the trip, the airplane ran out of oil? What if the airplane crashed onto the ground when it landed? I was scared that I would falldown and smash into pieces!
Just then, the plane started to take off, and my ear started tohurt as well.So, I closed my eyes for a long long time. What a surprise! WhenI woke up, I didn't smash into pieces, and neither did I have an ear pain.Then, I looked outside the window. How amazing it was!
The sun was orange, and all the cloud turning into golden color, just like the toasted marshmallows and chicken. I could still rememberthat they looked very tasty and inviting! Furthermore, there were the golden lions,dancing bears, and more, just like the cloud zoo! I couldn’t take my eyes offthose impressive views, but it was time to land.
Never would I forget my first amazing flight, my first specialmemory! From then on, I was not afraid of flight any more, instead, I enjoyedhaving the trip in the sky. Thank you!
Now I know this feels really good to you to be here today and feels even better to me. And let me tell you why. May I tell you why? Because I got the mic. You know I’m going to do it anyway. It’s not only your graduation day, it’s Sunday.
And Sundays have always been special in my family. Sundays are for speaking up – and for bringing people together. My grandfather, the late William Holmes Borders Sr., was the pastor at Wheat Street Baptist Church in Atlanta. Martin Luther King, Jr. attended many of his sermons – the very same sermons I loved as a girl, and the same sermons that encouraged me to be the person that I am today.
And it’s not just any Sunday for me. It’s been forty years since I graduated from Duke. Can you believe – do I look like it’s been 40 years?
So because it’s such a really special day, what I thought I would do is commemorate this day. Will you indulge me with a selfie? Come on now. Will you indulge me? Okay, here we go. You ready? Let me start with section one over here. You ready, section 1? Oh, wait. Okay. Love it! Section 2. Thank you! All right, let me get over here and get section 3. You’re ready? Let’s do this. Let’s do this. And then section 4, last but certainly not least. Perfect. Perfect. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
in a related german study, researchers used fmri imaging to measure brain activity before and after injecting botox to suppress smiling muscles. the finding supported darwins theory by showing that facial feedback modifies the neural processing of emotional content in the brain in a way that helps us feel better when we smile. smiling stimulates our brain reward mechanism in a way that even chocolate -- a well-regarded pleasure inducer -- cannot match.british researchers found that one smile can generate the same level of brain stimulation as up to 2,000 bars of chocolate. (laughter) wait. the same study found that smiling is as stimulating as receiving up to 16,000 pounds sterling in cash. thats like 25 grand a smile. its not bad. and think about it this way: 25,000 times 400 -- quite a few kids out there feel like mark zuckerberg every day.and, unlike lots of chocolate, lots of smiling can actually make you healthier. smiling can help reduce the level of stress-enhancing hormones like cortisol, adrenaline and dopamine, increase the level of mood-enhancing hormones like endorphin and reduce overall blood pressure.
that was pretty powerful. we are in the white house. smallbusiness owners, you heard from a large former business owner and tremendous entrepreneur, and we're sitting withadministrator mcmahon, who has an incredible entrepreneurial history. but it is very powering. really, this administration day in day out is steadfast in its commitment to jobs and job creation.you are feeling that and driving that. we are looking to unleashyou. you can bring your full potential, create more jobs. 60 million jobs in this country are a direct result of small businessentrepreneurs sell it is tremendously impactful on the ecosystem of job creation. we are doing everything we can and look forward to your input on how we can do even more. through comprehensive tax reform to enable you to have more money toreinvest in the growth of your businesses. there are 800 regulations put on the books by the previous administration that really many of which stifle your ability to grow and continue to create and produce. we are committed to addressing thosethings, creating increased access to capital, mentorship, as the fca does through its transformative and innovative programs.access to networks, to markets to trade with across state lines.we are committed to supporting the american worker and the american job creator. we are excited to be here to celebrate anagency doing just that. and in incredible director as shecommences her 65th year of the sba. not quite your 65th. [laughter] i will turn it over now to administrator mcmahon. she will tell us about initiatives and how they can support your businesses. then we will takes and questions from the audience.
we learn that there are no monsters hiding under the bed, and not every earthquake brings buildings down. but maybe its no coincidence that some of our most creative minds fail to leave these kinds of fears behind as adults.the same incredible imaginations that produced the origin of species, jane eyre and the remembrance of things past, also generated intense worries that haunted the adult lives of charles darwin, charlotte brontand marcel proust. so the question is, what can the rest of us learn about fear from visionaries and young children?
i started my journey in california with a uc berkley 30-year
longitudinal study that examined the photos of students in an old yearbook and tried to measure their success and well-being throughout their life. by measuring their student smiles, researchers were able to predict how fulfilling and long-lasting a subjects marriage will be, how well she would score on standardized tests of well-being and how inspiring she would be to others. in another yearbook, i stumbledupon barry obamas picture. when i first saw his picture, i thought that these superpowers came from his super collar. but now i know it was all in his smile. nother aha! moment came from a 20xx wayne state university research project that looked into pre-1950s baseball cards of major league players. the researchers found that the span of a players smile could actually predict the span of his life. players who didnt smile in their pictures lived an average of only years, where players with beaming smiles lived an average of almost 80 years.
On every one of hisprojects, you’ll see him talking to the super, the painter, the engineers, the electricians, he’ll ask them for their feedback, if they think something should be done differently, or could be done better. When Donald Trump is in charge, all that counts is ability, effort and excellence.This has long been the philosophy at the Trump Organization. At my father’s company, there are more female than male executives. Women are paid equally for the work that we do and when a woman becomes a mother, she is supported, not shut out.Women represent 46 percent of the total U.S. labor force, and 40 percent of American households have female primary breadwinners. In 20xx, women made 83 cents for every dollar madeby a man. Single women without children earn 94 cents for each dollar earned by a man, whereas married mothers made only 77 cents. As researchers have noted, gender is no longer the factor creating the greatest wage discrepancy in this country, motherhood is.
Maybe this is all revelatory at Harvard. But in our part of the country, it’s not news. The slogan of the Whiteland (Indiana) High School Class of 1930 was “Grit Wins.” It could be a slogan at Purdue every year. I’m tempted to call Roget’s Thesaurus and let them know the antonym of “snowflake” is “Boilermaker.”
Just as physical strength is built through hard exercise, emotional fortitude is enhanced by adversity and conflict. Every great achievement requires a confrontation with stress, a conquest of fear. Our engineers know, there is no traction without friction. Wilbur Wright, father of the aviation world Purdue now leads, wrote, “No bird soars in a calm.” Your strength of intellect and character will give you opportunities to lead, but it will be your strength of purpose, your resilience, your grit that will enable you to lead successfully, and by your example, to give new heart and strength to those around you.
There’s one sure way to minimize stress and difficulty in life: attempt nothing that’s bold, challenge nothing that’s wrong, risk nothing that’s dangerous. Those endeavors always bring disappointment, frustration, criticism, setbacks. But they also are the source of the achievements that make life fulfilling, and the even greater grit that will get you ready for the next challenge.
From opposite ends of life’s continuum, and I offer you two closing examples of the qualities I hope you have built here at this institution. Both stories involve Purdue students even younger than you are today.
Good morning,ladies and gentlemen,today i am so happy to stand here to give you arather, a real story of mine.
Though with time going by,i can still remember what you once toldshould be a brave ,you looked into myin,year out,nearly most of my memories are fading little byonly this simple sentence remained,without being forgotten in my life.
Again and again,i can not stop myself from thinking aboutordinary,but so impressive,so moving,just like the brightest sunshine,it helps me go through the darkestam such a sensitive girl in yoursaid,my sorroful facial expression made feel so ,there is one thing i never tell you,that is ,i am becoming a big girl gradually with your words andnever tell you about it,for i believe oneday,you can see the great changes of mine foris what i want to do ini know,that will be the best gift for you.
I suddenly think of a song named MY HEART WILL GOis a beautiful sentence going likeare safe in mythan once,i was moved to tears byknow ,i am also safe in yourhave already forgotten when i told you i was going to leave for Australia this summerjust smiled as usual,gentlyyou decide to do,i will be in favor of it,but, just onething,remember,when you fell lonely abroad,do not forget we are here ,praying forare all around you,far across the distance and space betweenclosed my eyes,the flashbackmemories we had together,once we played games on the palyground,we played jokes on each other,you always wrote a lot of sentences on my articles to encouragethe most unforgetable thing,you told me,you believed m i could be a bigor later.
At that specific moment,i suddenly understood the meaning of this sentenceon that day,i smiled as you used to,looking atlast words i said were,keep walking in sunshine.
Yes,keep walking insaid to you ,also toknow i am not alone wiht your company,and we can keep walking in sunshine till the last minute of our days.
I promise,i will be a big girl.
I promise,i will be a brave girl.
I promise,i will keep walking in sunshine.
That is my speech,thank you!
in a recent mimicking study at the university of clermont-ferrand in france, subjects were asked to determine whether a smile was real or fake while holding a pencil in their mouth to repress smiling muscles. without the pencil, subjects were excellent judges, but with the pencil in their mouth, when they could not mimic the smile they saw, their judgment was impaired.in addition to theorizing on evolution in the origin of species, charles darwin also wrote the facial feedback response theory. his theory states that the act of smiling itself actually makes us feel better -- rather than smiling being merely a result of feeling good. in his study, darwin actually cited a french neurologist, guillaume duchenne, who used electric jolts to facial muscles to induce and stimulate smiles. please, dont try this at home.
Integrating and empowering women is not just good corporate policy, it’s good business.
Second, in addition to changing the corporate culture, we must advance public policies that address the composition of our modern workforce.
In the United States, while single women without children make 95 cents for each dollar earned by a man, married mothers earn only 81 cents. Too many women in the United States are forced to leave the workforce following the birth of a child.
We must ensure that federal policies support working mothers and enable them to reach their full potential. This is how we will create an environment where closely bonded families can flourish and our economy can grow at unprecedented levels.
That is why in the United States, we are working to pass sweeping and long over-due tax reform that will afford families much needed relief. We are seeking to simplify the tax code, lower rates, expand the child tax credit, eliminate the marriage penalty, and put more money back in the pockets of hard-working Americans.
Our administration is working to address the high cost of childcare in the United States which currently outstrips housing expenses and state college tuition in much of the Country. It cannot be too expensive for the modern working family to have children.
Throughout my entire life, I have witnessed his empathy and generosity towards others, especially those who are suffering. It is just his way of being in your corner when you’re down. My father not only has the strength and ability necessary to be our next President, but also the kindness and compassion that will enable him to be the leader that this country needs.
I’ve learned a lot about the world from walking construction jobs by his side. When run properly, construction sites are true meritocracies. Competence in the building trades is easy to spot and incompetence is impossible to hide.These sites are also incredible melting pots, gathering people from all walks of life and uniting them to work towards a single mission. There have always been men of all backgrounds and ethnicities on my father’s job sites. And long before it was commonplace, you also saw women.
No, this is Penn. That stuff wouldn’t go over well here. Maybe at Drexel—but not here. I’m in trouble now.
I was back to square one—and feeling the pressure.
So now you’re probably thinking—if it was gonna be this difficult, why’d I even accept today’s invitation in the first place?
Well, you know my son goes here. That’s a good reason. And I always like to check to see how my money’s being spent.
And I’m sure there’s some parents out there who can relate to what I’m talking about!
And there were other good reasons for me to show up.
Sure, I got an Academy Award… but I never had something called “Magic Meatballs” after waiting in line for half an hour at a food truck.
True, I’ve talked face-to-face with President Obama… but I never met a guy named “Kweeder” who sings bad cover songs at Smokes on a Tuesday night.
Yes, I’ve played a detective battling demons… but I’ve never been to a school in my life where the squirrel population has gone bananas, breaking into the dorm rooms and taking over campus. I think I’ve even seen some carrying books on the way to class!
So I had to be here. I had to come… even though I was afraid I might make a fool of myself.
i've had an interesting experience. i'm an entrepreneur, having started my own business, also worked in the context of a family business that was highly entrepreneurial.i've had both, working in a large family business, that grew to be arather large business. i think for me, one of the challenges wasmanaging the competing demands of raising a family and, and running a business, working in a family business. and then politics got layered on top of that. then i got pregnant with my thirdchild in the midst of that. one of the things, there is no right answer. people ask about balance a lot. i don't think you can plan for balance. you can structure your schedule to avoid worktravel, coming home and having an event or you have to be out.you can manage things like that. we are one kid illness away from losing balance. there's no way you can plan for certain things. i have found every time i think a challenge is large and will behard to overcome that has been put in my path, if you grindthrough it, you look back in retrospect and it feels much more manageable than it was in the moment. this perspective, staying in the moment, keeping a laser focus on what your priorities are. i tell people not to architect their life for balance, but aligned with what their priorities are. and fully measure yourself againstpriorities to ensure you are where you needed to be in the long term. give yourself a little slack in the short term. i will say as anadministration, we are focused on thinking about how weempower the american working family and empower people to achieve a balance through policies around making child caremore affordable and accessible, advocating strongly for paid family leave. to support the reality of of the dual income modernworking family. thinking through policies that support the family is informed by what i have seen and what i have witnessed.
Last December, we said goodbye to a great man. A great man, but a typical Boilermaker. In his 94 years, Fred Fehsenfeld built a series of businesses that employed and enriched thousands of people around Indiana and the world. A model for what we now call lifelong learning, he was always on top of the latest technology, always conceiving large new projects and looking far into a future he could not possibly live to see. And modest about his achievements every step of the way.
He almost didn’t get the chance to do any of that. On his 18th birthday, in 1942, he left his freshman dorm room in Cary Hall and enlisted in the Army. He flew 86 missions over Europe with a storied unit in which almost half his fellow pilots were killed in action.
In an oral history of his experiences, Fred told of his first close-air dogfight combat. He was low to the ground, with bullets everywhere, and death perhaps an instant away. The interviewer asked, “What were you thinking at a moment like that?” Fred answered, “I was thinking, I finally got a chance to make some German pay for yanking me out of Purdue University.” He survived the war, came back, still younger than most of you, to finish his M.E. degree and lead a life of epic accomplishment.
My Opinion on Campus Lectures
In recent years, more and more lectures are being given on campus. They are organized either by the departments or by the students unions with an aim to improve the students quality both mentally and academically. These lectures are usually in series and on different topics, such as arts, life, economy, psychology and world issues.
Generally speaking, the advantages of good lectures are various. First they broaden the students knowledge horizon and cultivate interest in different fields. Second, they make the life of the students colorful and enjoyable.
With these merits, lectures are just complementary and subordinate to our school work. If students spend too much time attending lectures, their regular study will be affected and disturbed. So, in my opinion, the students should, on the one hand, do their class work and homework well first, on the other hand, set as more time as possible to attend good lectures which are helpful to our life and study.