Student Commencement Speech
I have been selected to give the student address for the 2005 College of Natural Sciences graduation at UT-Austin. Wow. I get five minutes to say whatever I want to the entire college. Now I just have to figure out what that is. Suggestions are welcome.
- General platitudes about what an exciting time we live in and how we’re the future of America, etc.
- Doom and gloom about the direction of America. The coming theocracy, why it’s bad, etc.
- Anti-consumerism, Adbusters, Slow, Voluntary Simplicity, etc. Make Sunshine proud.
- On Greatness. Draw from Richard Hamming’s talk. Encourage graduates to be great rather than just good. Warn them about the perils of getting stuck in a job they hate. (drains your energy; makes you not want to work on anything you love; makes you an American.) I may be able to combine this and the previous one…
Wow congratulations!
If you need Info on your 3rd point …. i could write you a book
*hugs*
Comment by Linz — 5/6/2005 @ 11:50 am UTC
Yeah, wow.
Paul Graham’s writing is usually inspiring, but most of it is on hacking, writing and art. “Undergraduaton” and “What You’ll Wish You’d Known” are motivating but targeted at students. I think “make your day job your day job” is lacking…
Hamming’s talk has a lot of good stuff. You seem to be drawing useful things from it.
Good luck. If you want, I can read over stuff once you put some ideas and words together.
Comment by danb — 5/6/2005 @ 12:49 pm UTC
Congratulations!
I vote doom and gloom.
Comment by xtina — 5/6/2005 @ 9:52 pm UTC
Would you please post this speech online somewhere? It was apparently fantastic, and the UTACM would love to read it.
Comment by Will Warner — 5/22/2005 @ 12:40 am UTC