HomeMy WebLinkAboutPreparing for What's Next`I hope that you will leave here today inspired not only'
to live a successful life but a significant life.'
GOV. RICK PERRY
Preparing for what's next
Perry addresses A&M graduates
with humor, message for future
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~ ~; ,~ ~3 By JOSH BAUGH achievers who finished a
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~'~~°,R` ;, ~ j:: ~ Eagle Staff Writer semester early," he said. "If
~ ' :.. „, Y ~ not, hey, at least you made it.
` ~~ ~~' Gov. Rick Perry on Satur- "The fact of the matter is,
day told graduating Texas whether you were here for
A&M University students 3 1/2 years or, in some of
that more important than Your cases, 7 1/2 years, that
their diplomas is what they diploma reads the same. Just
go on to do with their lives. make sure it's signed."
But his speech to hundreds Perry, who was an Aggie
~ of ~ggies at-Reed Arena was yell leader his final two years
as much a series of jokes as it of college, said he remem-
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was a message to students
bered the day he graduated
"
M ~~~~ ~ embarking on a new jour- in 1972
just like it was yes-
"
ney. The Republican incum- terday." He almost didn't
bent, who is up for re-elec- graduate, he said. It wasn't
tion in 2006, steered clear of because of an inability to
Eagle photos/Faun zoener any political talk. meet the 2.0 grade-point aver-
Rick Perry (above), a Texas A&M University alum, "Being that this is a age requirement, which
the "Gig 'em" sign to graduates during his speech at December graduation sere- Perry said he surpassed by a
Arena. Mohit Nilekani (below), graduating with a mony, I've come to the con- "couple tenths of a point,"
er of Business Administration degree, looks for elusion that I must be in the
Is and family in the audience. presence of a bunch of over- See PERRY, Page A13
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unpaid parking tickets.
Perry told the Aggies that
graduation day is a bittersweet
time because it marks a start-
ing point for a new chapter in
their lives. Most of them won't
take any more exams or be
forced to share a room with
someone whose idea of clean
laundry is turning his T-shirt
inside out, he said.
"But there is the down
side," he said. "You will prob-
ably not be in a town that has
the Dixie Chicken. And not
everyone outside of Aggieland
will say `howdy' to you when
you meet."
Perry, the only Aggie to.
serve as Texas governor, said
he understood the anxiety
many of the graduates were
feeling.
"Just as you procrastinated
before each test, some of you
haven't gotten around to get-
ting ajob yet," he said. "And,
quite frankly, your mama and
daddy aren't happy with you.
They didn't spend a small for-
tune so this degree could collect
unemployment checks. When
you #"mally get around to inter-
viewing, you better be on your
best behavior and be careful to
avoid the pitfalls of overconfi-
dence."
But after a quick bit about
Superman at an interview,
Perry's speech took a more
serious turn.
Perry, whose political career
began when he was elected in
1985 to the Texas House of Rep-
resenkatives, explained the
power of the A&M senior ring,
a symbol of the Aggie family.
"The Aggie network is such
that you can walk through a
door wearing this ring and
attract faith of a complete
stranger because either they
wear that same ring as you, or
they have complete trust in the
quality of the graduates our
university sends forth into the
world," he said. "People know
what Aggies are about, that we
value honesty and loyalty, that
we give a day's work for a day's
pay, and that in the world that
teaches us to look out for No. 1,
Aggies look out for others
first."
He told the students while
their diplomas are important,
"a life of meaning and purpose
isn't guaranteed by a piece of
paper."
"It is not even guaranteed if
you meet society's definition of
success - the salary, nice
home, fancy car, fat bank
accounts," he said. "I hope that
you will leave here today
inspired not only to live a suc-
cessful life but a significant
life."
to the young men in this audi-
ence, Iwant to emphasize that
in order to have a real relation-
ship, you have to spend time
working on it," Perry said.
"Don't be fooled by that old
quantity versus quality debate.
You can't have quality unless
f you have quantity. Investing in
lives of people should not be
something that we make time
for. It should be one that causes
us to wake in the morning."
Perry, governor since 2000,
said the graduates will face
times when they must decide
between -making -their own
lives better or helping someone
else.
"Put that other person first.
If you do, something amazing
happens," he said. "Those
things that trouble you - a
deadline at the office, the color
of a new couch, missing the
first quarter of the football
game -none of it seems so
important anymore. Plus,
that's why God invented TiVo."
He asked the graduates to ~ Josh Baugh's a-mail add
pause. and consider themselves josh.baugh~theeagle.com.
on their deathbed. When life is
over, he said, people don't sur-
round themselves with the
objects they've accumulated
over a lifetime, but with the
people they love.
"What we want around us is
people -people we love, people
we have relationships with,"
he said. "In the end, the only
thing that matters is relation-
ships. If you want to build a
legacy, let the foundation be
love and let the purpose be
building strong relationships."
And he warned that those
relationships must be nurtured
with time and care.
"To all of you, and especially