I am honored to be with you tonight, to share, with your friends and families, this important time in your life. The Class of 2011, the Class of the Arab Spring.

I have been thinking about your class. So talented! So smart (when you study!). Handsome young men, beautiful young women. You represent 20 different nationalities; you are multi lingual and multi cultural.

What a contribution you can make to this new world that came into focus as we all watched the amazing events in Tunisia and Egypt, as we saw disciplined civic action accomplished through social media instead of the call of one charismatic leader. This is a moment in human events that will go down in history.

When I met with a number of you last month for lunch‚ I began to recall my own senior year at a school somewhat like this. I went to a public high school in California, but it had a very diverse student body. I had classmates who were Japanese American, Mexican American. And me, a Norwegian American.

I graduated about 50 years ago‚ 50 years! And if you look forward 50 years from now, if you come back to speak at graduation--it will be 2061! Goodness.

My high school graduation does not seem that long ago. Our lives do go by quickly, and of course some things never change‚ the stars of rock when I was young--Mick Jaeger and the Rolling Stones--are still playing concerts today!

As you graduate tonight, you are in the springtime of your lives.

It is the time to focus on your dreams, to decide how you are going to make a difference in this world.

This is a time to express love and gratitude to your family, teachers and friends for all they have done to bring you to this point!

Tonight I will tell you two quick stories from my life and offer some advice for college. So‚ two stories.

The first is about dreams. A dream which brought me here tonight. As some of you know, when I was in the 5th grade, I read a book called the Ugly American. It was about Asia and I was captivated. I wanted to travel and see the world. But at that time, in late 1950's America-- there was no way a woman could do that, no job was open for a women in the global arena.

The only way I could imagine to attain this dream was to marry an ambassador! But I knew ambassadors were old men! So what to do!? I put that thought in the back of my head. But I did not forget my dream and I got prepared! I majored in international relations, and got my PhD.

Life had twists and turns I could not have imaged. I had a wonderful career in the United States Senate and then as a professor at our national defense university. Later in my life, I met a fascinating air force pilot and married him. Three years ago, we volunteered to help Barack Obama win the Presidency. And then one day, out of the blue, the President called and said he was naming my husband to be Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. I was astonished! But everything I did in my life, led to this. So find your dream, let it guide your choices; you never know when it may come true.

The second story is about courage. When I was young, just out of college, I worked on Capitol Hill; I was in the fast lane. Everything was going my way. Much like you‚ I was confident of my abilities, optimistic, having fun. I was featured in national media. My life seemed to be an effortless trip to success.

Then, without warning, it all fell apart. I had to put my career on hold, take care of others. Sad to say, I had to deal with deceit and deception. On the verge of despair, I realized that this was the time in my life to find courage.

Courage.

We never think of courage when times were easy. But Life has ups and downs. Courage pulls you through.

Courage is about your PROFESSIONAL as well as your PERSONAL life.

Courage is when it is hard to stand up, to speak out, and to stop injustice.

It takes courage to resist temptation, to turn down the offer you know is wrong. All of you have been raised to know right from wrong, but you need to remember those lessons in life. I found that challenges to our ethical standards usually start very small-- what difference will it make if I get help on an exam, ignore a law, cut corners?

Courage is the choice you make‚ to stand alone for what is right, what is just, what is compassionate.

I remember thinking about courage last year in this very ceremony when the speaker, Dr. Fawziah, told her own story. Think about courage NOW, so you can find your own way to be brave.

Finally, I want you to remember and thank everyone who helped you get to the launch point for the rest of your life.

Your parents have given you a great gift‚ you attended a very special school, met incredible friends from around the world. You are a group that is comfortable in Riyadh or Rio, Dammam or Damascus, Abha or Beijing. Your friends and family have supported you along the way. Thank them tonight.

And as one of your cheerleaders, I have one piece of advice to you for college. If you major in the humanities or social sciences, take a class in engineering or chemistry, learn to respect the discipline of mind that the hard sciences requires.

And if you decide to major in medicine, engineering, math, the hard sciences, take a philosophy course, art, sociology, music, the liberal arts, the humanities. This will help you appreciate the other half of knowledge, the topics that help put life into perspective.

This class, YOUR CLASS, has the very real challenge to make a difference, to prepare to lead as the Arab Spring develops into summer.

This challenge will bring you together, in the age of facebook and twitter, to think creatively about governance. The young people who came to Tahrir Square said they were there for dignity, to fight corruption, to express the need for jobs, to assert their pride in their country and their culture.

How they work their way through these issues-- how YOU work your way through these issues-- will go down in history.

You have been given great gifts; use the years ahead to do your best. Get all you can from your college experience. And as you prepare yourself, as you begin to make a difference‚ in the lives of your family, in your profession, in whatever country you call home. You will find at a certain point that making a difference and giving back are one in the same. I wish you all the best, class of 2011-- and I expect to follow you on twitter and facebook in the years ahead!

Dr. Breslin Smith