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First lady urges seniors to consider life of service

A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose At Vanderbilt University, first lady Laura Bush applauds the senior class.

“You won’t waste your talents and education if you use them in service to others,” she said.

Service to others is especially important for this class because “more than any other generation, yours is tasked with resolving challenges that lie far beyond your doorstep,” Bush said.

Referring to the tsunami in Southeast Asia, genocide in Darfur, HIV/AIDS in Africa and cities in the United States lying in ruin after hurricanes, she said, “You understand the great questions of our time.”

Bush was the keynote speaker at Vanderbilt University’s Senior Class Day on May 11. The students graduated May 12.

An active United Methodist, Bush has been involved in issues of national and global concern with a particular emphasis on education, health care and human rights. She is honorary ambassador for the Decade of Literacy of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Culture Organization, serving as an international spokesperson for efforts to educate people — especially women and girls — throughout the world. She graduated from Southern Methodist University in 1968.

Bush reminded the students that graduation represented a time of liberty and adventure, and she challenged them to travel to the Gulf Coast and help with reconstruction before starting a new job or graduate school. She also encouraged them in their post-Vanderbilt life to dedicate a vacation to recovery.

“Even before Katrina, many residents of Mississippi and Louisiana were denied the promise of America,” she said. “Now the Gulf Coast has a chance for a fresh start, which will be brighter if young and enthusiastic Americans establish their careers, their families and their lives there.”

A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose Speaking to 2,500 Vanderbilt University seniors, first lady Laura Bush urges them to use their talents and education in service to others.

Bush made several references to Vanderbilt students who are finding ways to serve.

Erik Sallee, a member of the Class of 2004, was deployed to Iraq and was recently injured when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. “Erik says his service is worthwhile, especially when he sees Iraqi children smiling and happy that they’re free to play on the streets playing soccer and going to school,” Bush said.

In the Class of 2006, 31 students are adding commissions in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines to their degrees.

Another student she spoke about was Meredith Bates who spent her junior year teaching primary school in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. “She recalls that every single Saturday, everyone in the townships went to funerals. It was the Saturday activity.”

Inspired by her service, Bates is going to Uganda to be the site coordinator for Vanderbilt’s Kampala Project. The project will bring 20 Vanderbilt students to Uganda to work to keep African schoolchildren free from HIV and help them find a healthy future.

Bush commended seniors for all the humanitarian work they had already done in the Gulf Coast and other parts of the world. “Keep this dedication to others once you graduate because there’s so many people who need your help.”

In addition to speaking to the senior class, Bush accepted the first Nichols-Chancellor’s Medal on behalf of humanitarian aid workers around the world. A $100,000 award that accompanies the medal will be donated to Vanderbilt to create the Nichols Humanitarian Fund, which will provide travel and living expenses for students and faculty who volunteer for disaster relief around the world.

The medal and award were created and endowed by Vanderbilt Law School graduate Ed Nichols and his, wife Janice, and will “recognize those persons who define the 21st century and exemplify the best qualities of the human spirit,” according to the university.

Bush concluded her speech by telling the students to remember the insight of one of their classmates who said, “I thought Vanderbilt would give me a road map to life. I didn’t get the road map, but I got a compass.”

The first lady added, “If your compass remains fixed on a commitment to others, you’ll chart your way to happiness.”

*Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.

News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.