Humankind is an enduring agent of change. Most times than not, we opt for positive change – change that makes the world a better place for all humanity; change that actualizes the universal values of freedom, liberty, justice, equality; change that ensures the unity and progress of the human family.

For positive change to make a difference in the lives of greater humanity, people must be inspired to challenge, reform or transform existing conditions of life, especially where our most cherished universal values are trampled upon by those whose goal often is to circumvent the path of peace and human upliftment, or to wrest the good things of life for themselves at the disadvantage of a weaker humanity.

In human experience, to make a difference in one’s life is to succeed; and success requires a continuing struggle to overcome adversity as a basis for our preparation to serve humankind."

"The Fierce Lover of you is present when you broach a new idea in your workplace, when you embark on a new creative path that hasn’t been tried. She’s in you the way you respond to your friends, the way you resolve arguments with those you love, the way you treat airline personnel when the plane is delayed and you have an important meeting to get to. In small ways and large, in wonderful, celebratory times, and in times when you feel like your whole world is ending, the Fierce Lover is your ally, your inspiration, your courage."

"As former President and CEO of the United Way of America and Director of the Peace Corps, I’ve traveled throughout the world. And everywhere I went, even to the most remote reaches of the world, people knew about America. And they knew about the charitable spirit of giving and they knew about the American spirit of volunteerism.

Many of you have overcome great adversity to reach this place: poverty, discrimination, sexism and prejudice. For some, competing priorities monopolized your time, like raising a family and going to work. For others, you struggled to assert your independence, embracing your adulthood for the first time. Each of you sacrificed in your own way, took your own unique path, and yet you’ve all arrived at the same destination: graduation day, at Trinity.

… I want to leave you with one last piece of advice that I’ve benefited from my whole life: Give back! You are all tremendously gifted and talented. And those talents can go a long way towards helping those in need in our community. I’m sure you’re all aware of the challenges facing our kids in public schools—the same schools that many of you attended. I encourage you all to use your skills and expertise to help our youth, to provide mentoring and tutoring to those who need it most. …

Live your lives with integrity, discipline and an open heart. Remember the lessons you’ve learned—from your parents, your teachers, your role-models and your friends—and venture out into the world, armed with the knowledge that you CAN succeed."

We celebrate the achievements of Mahatma Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks and Nelson Mandela because they believed deeply but also because they embraced broadly - the triumph they sought was a victory not of some but of all.

This is the kind of leadership we yearn for today. Think how refreshing it would be if all the people in the Middle East and Iraq committed themselves to a victory of all. And how much better the world would be if we each truly followed the teaching that is central to every system of ethics I know, and that is to help those less fortunate than ourselves.

It is not my intention this morning to place the weight of the world on your shoulders - for that will always be the job of your parents. But I do hope that when you accept your diplomas, you will be so determined to live life boldly, with largeness of spirit and generosity of heart.

I hope you will use the knowledge gained here at this magnificent college to be more than a consumer of liberty, but also a defender and an enricher of it; that you will be doers not drifters; and that by your actions, you will each add luster to Wellesley's name and to your own.

It is said that all work that is worth doing is done in faith. This morning, I hope you will each embrace the faith that every challenge surmounted by your energy; every problem solved by your wisdom; every soul awakened by your passion; and every barrier to justice brought down by your determination will ennoble your own lives, inspire others, and explode outward the boundaries of what is achievable on this earth."

"With your liberal arts education in hand you are the people that your new village ... the global village so desperately needs. In this global village you enter a marketplace full of professions and communities that present complex issues and challenges, as well as opportunities. This global village needs you: the critical thinkers, the problem solvers, the communicators; you who are adaptable and flexible; you who are open to ideas, causes, and relationships that will demand your gifts, talents and passion.

"If someone like me, a child at risk with limited means, could come to a place like Wesleyan College and be treated like everyone else, and be given the privilege of a stellar liberal arts education, and have the audacity to think I could go on and become a minister and live a life I never could have dreamed possible, if this miracle could happen to me, it can happen to anybody. I hope and pray that each of you will follow your passion, no matter how impossible it may seem…dare something new and untried. And remember – we’re all expecting great things from you!"

"I ask that you be doers, not drifters. You have been given gifts. Do something with them. Don’t accept the status quo. Question it. Don’t doubt your ability to make a difference. Don’t be complacent. You are all far too smart and energetic to do that."

Recalling her coming of age as the only girl in a privileged, tradition-bound family in Virginia horse country, Drew Gilpin Faust, 59, has often spoken of her “continued confrontations” with her mother “about the requirements of what she usually called femininity.”