Good morning。 It is a great honor to return to IIT and celebrate together。 I would like tothank President Anderson for his kind invitation and all of you for your warm welcome。 I wouldalso like to thank all faculty members who have done so much to bring us here today。
Let me start with a full disclosure of my highly personal interest in today’s ceremony。
I am the proud mother of one of the 2，591 graduates whose accomplishments are beingrecognized today。 As an immensely proud mom， I would like to extend a special welcome to allfamilies and friends who are joining this wonderful commencement exercise。 This is a joyousmoment for all of us。
Today the center of our universe is right here in Chicago， on the Ed Glancy Field。 Today you –the graduates of this great university – have the right to feel like the new masters of theacademic universe。
Hard work， boundless energy， relentless curiosity， and incredible talent： these are some ofthe qualities that helped you achieve success in the classroom。 These are the qualities that youcan now bring to bear on some of the world’s most exciting challenges。 The world is not short ofthat！
In other words， after writing the prologue， you are now ready to draft your own 21st—centurylegacies in engineering， architecture， business， design， law， and science and technology。 Whatan incredible privilege， what a great responsibility！
Of course， many of you already know that the line from college to career is unlikely to beperfectly straight。 There will almost certainly be plenty of twists and turns， ups and downs andbumps along your way。
But many of you will also realize that your starting point could hardly be better。 And this is whywe are here today – to celebrate the beginning of your journey， the starting point of a newadventure。 It is a day of hope。 It is a day of promise。 It is a day of joy – for all of us。
With this in mind， I would like to talk about three things that could help along the journey：
First， reinventing yourself and welcoming change and risks。
Second， standing up for your values and ideas。
Third， encouraging transformational change in others。
If you will indulge me， I would like to introduce these points by briefly recounting personalexperiences that have shaped my life。 Of course， my experiences may not be the ultimatenuggets of wisdom。 But as Mark Twain once said： “It is better to have old second—handdiamonds than none at all。”
1。 Reinventing yourself and taking “smart risks”
So here is my first story – about risk and reinvention。 Let me be clear， I am certainly not a riskjunkie。 I do not jump out of airplanes; I do not hang out in casinos; I do not even drinkalcohol。 So far， so boring。 But there is a pattern in my personal journey that I woulddescribe as going from “cozy” to “crazy”。 As in： “Why would you give up your cozy life？ Are youcrazy？”