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By Todd Bernstein '75, Abington Friends School 308th Commencement, June 8, 2005
Thank you, Brian Lackman. I'm delighted to be here with you and add my congratulations to the class of 2005. Congratulations also to your proud parents and families.
Being here today brings back so many memories about Abington Friends. Your graduating class is exactly twice the size of mine thirty years ago, a class which included Peter Schorsch, now Clerk of the School Committee, and Bonnie Dawson Schorsch, who are still actively devoted to AFS.
I remember my own commencement as if it were...well, not quite yesterday. I remember the excitement, relief, bucolic surroundings of this grove and the smell of the rhododendrons in bloom. Ironically, the one thing I don't remember at all was my commencement speaker.
You too will always remember this wonderful day, and in all likelihood will also have no recollection of your commencement speaker. What I do hope you always remember and embrace are the Quaker values that were the foundation of your AFS education.
One of those values that I think you've discovered is that community service was an integral part of your AFS experience, that you made a difference, it was empowering, and it can take you to new places.
For me, finding the value of service came as a total surprise. It also started here at AFS, and fast became a passion. In 1972, after Hurricane Agnes brought flooding and destruction to parts of Pennsylvania, someone decided that my 10th grade class would spend a Saturday in Wilkes-Barre helping out in the clean-up efforts.
On a Saturday, when I could have been having fun, I found myself traveling two hours in a cramped school van, going to a place I'd never been, to be with people I'd never met, to do something that seemed more like punishment.
Well, that Saturday proved to be one of the most eye opening days of my life. No one had ever really challenged me to do something meaningful in the community. I vividly remember that hot afternoon, standing knee-deep in mud in a stranger's living room, along side other volunteers from different backgrounds, ages, and places, who were all brought together for a common purpose of serving others.
That blew me away. I realized that day that one person could indeed make a difference and that many people could do even more. And I found that helping someone else actually made me feel good. That one day changed my life. Every day has that opportunity to change your lives. Just when you least expect it, you can be taken by surprise.
Marian Wright Edelman, the President of the Children's Defense Fund, likes to say, "Service is the rent we pay for living." If that is the case, then the class of 2005 is paid in full. You've shown that educational excellence is not simply about academic achievement. It's about learning and doing.
You have gone above and beyond in your volunteer efforts, including:
Improving Philadelphia public schools with the City Year AmeriCorps program
Providing food and support to people living with HIV/AIDS through MANNA
Raising funds for the Race for the Cure, the annual AIDS Walk, and for Tsunami relief
Restoring trails in Fairmount Park with the Friends of the Wissahickon
Continuing a ten year tradition of participating in the Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service-- including being selected this year to represent all Montgomery County schools in a civil rights mural project.
So, while it is common these days to hear commencement speakers challenge graduates to become active citizens and role models, the truth is, you've had a head start on everyone else.
I think your active citizenship and service also shows patriotism. While military service is often spoken of as patriotic, your volunteer service here at home should be applauded for defending our country against enemies like illiteracy, poverty, homelessness, environmental disregard and, especially, apathy.
I want to challenge you to always be active citizens and role models by embracing the ideals and principles of fairness, equality, and social justice. Be idealistic. Stand up for what you believe in. Turn your concerns into action.
Take advantage of the opportunities to go overseas to study, to work, or to serve in the Peace Corps. Explore and look for adventure. Be global citizens so the world can learn more about you as Americans and about our countrys enduring values. You can show the world how much more we all have in common than our differences.
In a post 9/11 world, when America is divided and the world is increasingly divided about us, it is more important than ever that you keep reaching over boarders, crossing boundaries, and breaking down barriers, so that you can learn more about an ever changing world-- a world made smaller every day through technology and globalism, yet more divided than ever.
Never take democracy for granted. Too many Americans do. When more people are inspired to vote for Carrie Underwood or Bo Bice to be the next American Idol than to vote in political elections, something's wrong. Just last month, barely 25% of Pennsylvania's eligible voters turned out for our spring Primary Election.
Some people don't vote because they think it just doesn't matter or they can't make a difference. I think you've already discovered that it does matter. You matter. So always vote.
I've provided each of you with a pocket Constitution, stationary, an envelope and a postage stamp. Please look at the Constitution as a reminder of the principles and ideals on which our country was founded. When there is a public issue that really matters to you, express your view in a letter to your local, state or federal elected official. And you can also do more. I hope that you will always look at civic participation as, not only personally fulfilling, but your lifetime duty as citizens.
Finally, there will be times when life feels like a struggle. There will be times when you fail. But, setbacks can become opportunities for you. So, don't be afraid to fail. We all do. Be willing to take chances and risks. It's the chances we don't take that we tend to regret. Pushing yourself means a risk of failing. But it also means the possibility of discovery. Just do your best. I think you will find that's enough.
Congratulations.
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Also read the Todd Bernstein interview.
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