Wellesley College

www.wellesley.edu
Wellesley, MA
June 1, 2007		 Madeleine Albright '59, Former U.S. Secretary of State:


"None of us have full title to the truth. Wisdom comes from the ability to believe in ideas while maintaining respect for the rights and beliefs of others. As critics point out, this quality can sometimes lead to intellectual mush. At its best, however, it can generate triumphs that encompass both mind and spirit.

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."