BOONE—An environmentalist, a computing infrastructure engineer and a politician offered words of advice May 5 and 6 to almost 1,400 spring graduates at Appalachian State University.

Each of the university’s colleges and schools holds an individual ceremony.

Steve Johnson, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, told graduates of the College of Arts and Sciences to achieve their future.

Oh Happy Day
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Who wouldn’t be all smiles as they prepare to graduate from college? There were thousands of smiling faces during graduation ceremonies May 5 and 6 at Appalachian State University. Sometimes, it was hard to tell who had the biggest grin – the graduates, or their parents for whom four years of college bill paying has ended. (Appalachian photo by University Photographer Mike Rominger)

“The future is not a gift, it is an achievement,” Johnson said. “Members of your generation have an opportunity to build a healthier, safer, freer future for people all over the globe. Where the downtrodden are in need, where life-saving discoveries are waiting to be uncovered, or where people yearn for liberty – the Class of 2007 can and should be there.”

Johnson said that Appalachian had given graduates the tools that they need to drive the nation’s future. “Wherever you end up, the world will challenge you to serve and make a difference,” he said. “By serving causes larger than yourself, you will not only enrich your life, you will help create a more hopeful future for us all.”

N.C. Rep. Cullie Tarleton urged graduates of the College of Fine and Applied Arts to use their education to enrich the places where they work and live, and make service to others a priority.“Follow your dreams, but on the way, remember those who for whatever reason need a hand,” he said. “There are thousands in this country and millions in the world. Don’t forget your responsibility to them.”

Public service, Tarleton said, should be a part of each graduate’s life plan. “Use your new education to make good things happen,” he said. “You will be called upon in part because the people around you recognize and value the education you have received. It has prepared you to realize the importance of strong neighborhoods and communities and the value of a warm heart and a helping hand. Giving of yourself not only improves the places where you live and work, but it also enriches your own lives.”

Lloyd Taylor, director of global operations for Google, used an analogy to tell Walker College of Business graduates that the key to success is knowing yourself, knowing others and knowing the company you work for.

“You can’t be effective in a company or a relationship until you know at least the outlines of the stories of the people who make up that company as well as the story of the company itself,” Taylor said. “If you want to be successful in a company, learn its story.”

He said Google choose to locate in Caldwell County because the leaders there were willing to work with the company to write a new chapter in its story.

“There are hundreds of places around the world that have the necessary power, land and infrastructure,” he said. “Most other places we have worked with wanted us to write the story ourselves. They threw all kinds of roadblocks in the way. But the folks in Lenoir and Caldwell County understood that the best way to succeed is to write the story together.”

Robert Moody, music director of the Winston-Salem Symphony, spoke to graduates of the Mariam Cannon Hayes School of Music. A media presentation highlighting student accomplishments was shown during ceremonies for the Reich College of Education and the Cratis D. Williams Graduate School.

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