Hello everyone, and thank you for that introduction. I'm glad to be with all of you, including my parents and friends, my fellow classmates, my professors, the university administrators, as well as the friends and families of all the graduates here today. We're glad you all could make it to share today with us, because this is a milestone in anyone's life.

Mark Twain has been quoted as saying - and I paraphrase - that he didn't let his schooling interfere with his education. That might seem like a nonsensical statement at first, as if he's saying that schooling isn't equivalent to an education. But over the years - and especially as we've gone through college - that statement seems to make more and more sense. Education is a "big" word. It isn't at odds with school. School is just one of the pieces of your education. An education isn't only about the classes you've attended and the grades you've had - it's the experience you had along the way that helped to shape your character, your attitude, and your goals.

And in this respect, an education never really ends simply because we receive a diploma today. Many of us seniors know just how our college experience has gradually gotten closer and closer to the real world. Student teachers, for example, have exited the classroom - only to enter new classrooms where they take on a role of student teacher.

But what does this sentiment tell us about today? I believe it teaches us two things. First, we have to be ready to acknowledge that while the diplomas we receive today are an important milestone in our lives and an achievement that will stick with us wherever we go, it's also important to remember that the diploma is a large piece of a greater puzzle. We can't let our education stop just because our schooling has come to a close.

Second, we can't discount our accomplishments today. There are many people in the world today who receive schooling but fall just short of that education - who never valued their education enough to recognize the advantages that come with a college degree. This diploma also represents our commitment to that education, a certificate of achievement that reveals that our character is strong enough to see our commitments through to the end.

So where do we go from here? In an ideal world, we would all have a clear vision and a predetermined career path. But in reality, we have to acknowledge that life will throw us a few curveballs, and we'll have to be flexible enough to learn from our mistakes and our failures. Our education should never stop even though our formal schooling has. Our successes and our failures will be our teaches and professors now - and if we can make it through Professor William's Chemistry class, then we know we're ready for anything.

So congratulations to all of my fellow graduates and to all of their friends and families for helping encourage and support not just a college schooling - but a college education. Thank you.