Go Big Grad | Deb Fischer

Huskervision Author

12/19/2022 Added

13 Plays

Description

United States Senator Deb Fischer delivers remarks at the December 17, 2022 University of Nebraska-Lincoln undergraduate commencement.

Searchable Transcript

Search:

[00:00:02.909]Good morning, President Carter, Chancellor Green, University regents,
[00:00:09.942]distinguished faculty, family and friends. And most importantly, good morning
[00:00:17.780]graduates. Thank you so much for the invitation to participate. In today's
[00:00:25.316]ceremony. It truly is an honor to be here. The actor and comedian George Burns
[00:00:33.254]once said, The secret to a good sermon is to have a good beginning, a good
[00:00:40.790]ending, and to have the two as close together as possible. So while the United
[00:00:48.728]States Senate, and the members of that body are not known for their brevity, I
[00:00:56.666]think it's a good philosophy to have and especially today. First and foremost,
[00:01:04.604]congratulations, you did it. Today is a special day for each of you. The
[00:01:11.939]culmination of years of hard work, your diligence and your commitment to this
[00:01:19.777]excellence over so many years, it was no easy feat. For the rest of your life,
[00:01:27.715]you can be proud of what you've accomplished. In addition to celebrating what
[00:01:35.552]you've earned, I believe that today is also an important moment, to pause and to
[00:01:43.691]reflect, to reflect on the sacrifices others made to help to get you to where
[00:01:51.529]you are today. On the love and support of your family, your friends, and your
[00:01:59.366]communities, and what they have provided you I'm sure that each of you can think
[00:02:07.505]of a time when you had a tough exam, when you had a bad day. Heck, when you had
[00:02:15.544]a bad semester, maybe even a bad year. And somebody was there to offer you
[00:02:23.080]encouragement to keep at it, to pick you up to inspire you to keep going.
[00:02:30.516]Whoever it was, I am sure that their tireless support was essential to helping
[00:02:38.454]you get to where you are today. It's important to note, however, that today's
[00:02:46.291]ceremony isn't just about the past, it is a commencement. after all. It's about
[00:02:54.330]the future, and the exciting opportunities that lie before you. I'm sure for
[00:03:02.067]many of you those two words, the future might feel a little intimidating. In a
[00:03:10.005]world where we see social media, promoting perfection. You know, the perfect
[00:03:17.742]job, the perfect life, the perfect routine. Uncertainty can be very unnerving.
[00:03:25.680]Like staring out on a dark road and figuring out what's ahead of you. I want you
[00:03:33.819]to know that that sense of trepidation. It's okay. It means that you appreciate
[00:03:41.858]that this next chapter in your life can offer you the big opportunities that are
[00:03:49.997]ahead for you. And that regard, I do have a few pieces of advice for you today.
[00:03:58.035]First, embrace your ambitions. Now that doesn't give you license and it's not an
[00:04:06.174]excuse to get out there and be reckless, or be selfish, or to be greedy. Rather,
[00:04:14.313]I'm suggesting that you should always consider what motivates you. What are your
[00:04:22.452]dreams? What are your passions? And then you need to chart a course so that you
[00:04:30.491]can pursue those. Rest assured that there's no perfect answer. And those
[00:04:37.826]passions may change over time. But what matters is that you never stop
[00:04:44.960]challenging yourself to find purpose and to find fulfillment in life. Steve Jobs
[00:04:53.099]said it best when he said Your time is limited. So don't waste it living someone
[00:05:01.238]else's life. Each of us has a calling. And sitting here today you may not know
[00:05:09.176]what your calling is right now. But I promise you If you have the courage to
[00:05:16.913]listen, one day, you will hear it. And you will feel it in your core. This
[00:05:24.449]brings me to my second point. Don't be afraid of failure. life's gonna throw a
[00:05:32.387]lot of stuff at you, you're gonna have a lot of obstacles in your way. And I'm
[00:05:40.325]sure many of you have already experienced a lot of those. But as one of my
[00:05:47.861]favorite sayings goes, life's tough get helmet. No one is saying it's easy. But
[00:05:55.900]your capacity to weather those storms, and bounce back. That's critical. Because
[00:06:04.039]if you let fear of failure guide you it'll weigh you down. And you will not be
[00:06:11.977]able to fly. Too often, it can be easy to stumble in routines, familiar
[00:06:19.211]routines, because they are familiar. They are comfortable. Because they are
[00:06:26.848]easy. But they avoid all the possibility of failure. That makes them easy.
[00:06:34.384]resist that temptation. And finally, and whatever you choose to do, or wherever
[00:06:42.423]life takes you be humble. Everyone has something to offer, something that they
[00:06:50.361]can bring to the table. And no matter where you are in life, treat everyone,
[00:06:58.098]everyone with dignity and respect. We never know where someone is in their
[00:07:05.634]life's journey, or what they may be facing that day. Over the years, I meet with
[00:07:13.773]a lot of students. And students always ask me what advice I have for him. And my
[00:07:21.912]response is this. If you work hard, if you do what you love, opportunities will
[00:07:29.950]present themselves. You will be happy and you will be successful. So say yes. To
[00:07:38.089]those opportunities. This has been true in my own life. I grew up in Lincoln. I
[00:07:46.128]graduated from this great university. I am a wife, a mother, a grandmother. I'm
[00:07:54.166]a daughter, a sister, and a friend. I'm a rancher. I served as a school board
[00:08:02.004]member. I had the honor to represent the largest district in the state of
[00:08:09.440]Nebraska, the 43rd district, which was the size of New Jersey, in the Nebraska
[00:08:17.378]Legislature. And now because I said Yes, I am a United States Senator. You all
[00:08:25.316]represent the next generation of leaders and this country desperately needs you.
[00:08:33.455]There is great pride in that knowledge. And I hope that it will propel you to
[00:08:41.292]the successes that you deserve. So I will leave you today with these guideposts
[00:08:49.331]as you press forward into the unknown. Be ambitious. Don't fear failure. Be
[00:08:56.967]humble. And say yes. Good luck. God bless you.

The screen size you are trying to search captions on is too small!

You can always jump over to MediaHub and check it out there.

Comments

0 Comments

Go Big Grad | Deb Fischer

Description

Searchable Transcript

Comments icon comment

Related Channels

Comments