Brian O总裁. Hemphill, Ph.D.在美国，周六祝贺一位毕业生. 图Chuck Thomas/ODU
Lt. Gen. Donna W. 1988年，美国第67届监察长马丁.S. 陆军，9点讲话.m. ceremony for the 达顿教育学院 and Professional Studies, 巴顿工程技术学院, 科学学院和网络安全学院. 图Chuck Thomas/ODU
斯科特·库克，93年, '96, group vice president and chief financial officer for Toyota Financial Services, 下午两点说的.m. 艺术与文学学院的典礼, 斯特罗姆商学院和健康科学学院. 图Chuck Thomas/ODU
By Joe Garvey
Nearly 2,000年学士, master's and doctoral students received degrees in two ceremonies Saturday at Chartway Arena in the Ted Constant Convocation Center during 最靠谱的网赌软件's 135th Commencement Exercises.
Two ODU alumni delivered remarks at the first graduation ceremonies at Chartway Arena in two years due to the pandemic.
At the 9 a.m. ceremony, Lt. Gen. Donna W. 1988年，美国第67届监察长马丁.S. Army, spoke to graduates of the 达顿教育学院 and Professional Studies, 巴顿工程技术学院, 科学学院和网络安全学院.
At the 2 p.m. ceremony, 斯科特·库克，93年, '96, group vice president and chief financial officer for Toyota Financial Services, 对艺术与文学学院的毕业生进行了演讲, 斯特罗姆商学院和健康科学学院.
Brian O. Hemphill, Ph.D.他作为ODU校长主持了他的第一次毕业典礼.
在你的个人生活和职业生涯中, you will have an opportunity to meet a diverse cross section of humanity,他对毕业生们说. "I am confident the world will find in you what they find in so many Monarchs: a dedication to lifelong learning, a champion of social justice and a passion for making a lasting impact and a positive difference in the lives of others.
"Your time at ODU developed your ability to listen with a critical ear and think with an open mind. 这个机构为你的服务生涯做好了准备, 不仅仅是对自己和家人, 而是对那些需要帮助的人.
"I am confident you will take your Monarch values with you on the journey ahead."
Austin Agho, 教务长兼学术事务副校长, recognized the 535 distance learning students who earned degrees Saturday - 357 undergraduates, 硕士生161人，博士生17人.D.s.
Martin, who earned a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice from ODU, reflected on her graduation.
"It is such an honor for me to return to the place that was instrumental to my becoming," she said. “1988年似乎是很久以前的事了. And, yet, when I look into the eyes of the class, I still see myself."
But she told the graduates that "my generation was not facing any of the challenges you will face when you step off this campus and begin to become."
她恳求毕业生们成为变革的推动者.
"No generation has been better positioned to be great warriors for justice and change," she said. "I've seen firsthand the power of a movement led by and for the next generation. 拿着火炬，留下你的印记. 把你的赌注放在土地上，建立一个未来 you 想要的和你能相信的."
她以陆军一等中士阿尔文·卡什为例, Army Sergeant First Class Christopher Celiz and Army Master Sergeant Earl D. Plumlee, who were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor last week by President Joe Biden.
"No one ever expects to become a Medal of Honor recipient," she said. "But each of you, in or out of uniform, may be called upon to make a difference. And if this world is going to get better, it's going to be up to you."
She also urged them to embrace rejection, saying, "It doesn't define who you are. It will be your perseverance and your tenacity that people will always remember."
她提醒毕业生:“这不是关于你自己."
“我知道你会是最幸福的, 这只是我个人的拙见, 当你练习无私的简单行为时," she said. “为自己的成就感到自豪, in as much as they are the reasons you can take a look around and say that you left things a little better than you found them."
Cooke, who earned his Bachelor of Science degree in finance and an MBA from ODU, recalled his graduation 25 years ago at Foreman Field - and the irony of his role in Saturday's ceremonies.
“那天外面很热，我满脑子想的都是, 'Gosh I wish that old dude on the stage would hurry up and finish talking,'" he said. "'So that I can get my diploma, get the heck out of here and go celebrate.'
"So now I find myself in the precarious position of being that old dude on the stage."
Cooke, a Newport News native who graduated from the former Ferguson High School, 来到俄勒冈州立大学，梦想着为帝王队打棒球. 但他的希望因手臂受伤而破灭, "I figured out I should find the inside of a classroom a little more often."
As the graduates prepare to move on to the next phase of their lives, 他敦促他们成为独立的思考者.
做一个倾听的人，一个团结的人," he said, alluding to the negative effect technology and social media can have. 不要被房间里最大声的声音所左右, 而是通过最理性和最富有同情心的想法."
He also encouraged them to not be afraid to take chances in pursuing their dreams.
温斯顿·丘吉尔曾经说过, 'Never give up on something that you can't go a day without thinking about,’”库克说. “找到你最热衷的事情. That one thing that you can't go a single day without thinking about. And when you do find it, be willing to take risks to make it happen."
但最重要的是, 库克说:“我们的目标是过上成功的生活, 不成功的事业."
给库克和他的妻子, an oncologist, that means making family (they have two sons) their primary focus despite their demanding jobs.
“记住，你的事业只是你生活的一部分，”他说. "Make sure that you're very intentional with your time and that you spend it with purpose on the things that you love most in this world."
