Purdue News
Purdue News
"Many of the people in high government positions here and abroad have been educated in schools of engineering - and I know that some of today's graduates from various parts of the world will return to their native lands destined someday to assume national policy-making roles," Beering said. "And indeed many of our engineering graduates are among the leaders of this nation's most distinguished corporations.
"It is indeed a noble calling to be an engineer and a challenging one at that," Beering said. "However, you will also encounter opportunities and challenges that cannot be foreseen today, and you are prepared to grow, to look to new horizons, and like our honorary degree recipients today, make contributions in many fields. Because of the kind of experience you have had here, you will be ready."
Beering addressed the new graduates from the Schools of Engineering during the first of four ceremonies this weekend in the Elliott Hall of Music, marking the 171st commencement at Purdue. About 4,900 students on the West Lafayette campus were eligible to graduate.
Beering referred to three individuals who received honorary engineering degrees at today's ceremony, outlining several attributes they share that helped them succeed.
"They began as excellent engineers, but because the need and the opportunity was before them, and because they were prepared, they excelled in business and industry, in the military, and in academia," Beering said. "What are the secrets of their success?
"First, they developed their communications skills. Good communication means recognizing and respecting the abilities of the people around you and learning to utilize those abilities to complement your own. If you can do that well enough, you will earn the right to be called a leader.
"Second, they have always looked for more work to do. Successful people in addition learn to work smart. You look for better ways to do things. You continue to combine skill with common sense and imagination to eliminate redundancies and find new possibilities.
"Third, our honorees are decisive - or maybe a better word in today's world is courageous. It is one thing to analyze the situation and to develop a strategy. It is quite another to take action and to make your ideas come alive, taking full responsibility for what you have done.
"Fourth, they have the ability or the will to see beyond the immediate task at hand to larger realities. Each of our three honorees is a great success in a professional sense, but they are here today because they have looked beyond their own achievements and committed themselves to building a better future for mankind.
"Fifth, they know themselves well. They recognize their own strengths and weaknesses, and they are afraid of neither. They have learned to maximize the one and compensate for the other.
"The last one I will mention is a shared desire for knowledge, not only in their careers, but in their lives. A mind that keeps learning will never grow stale. "Each of the attributes I have mentioned would apply equally well for a physician, a teacher, a biologist, a cab driver and many other professions. They are, after all, the qualities that lead not just to a successful career, but to a fulfilled life.
"Engineers can build bridges and factories, computers and refineries, space ships and industrial systems, but the most important thing that you will build is the future. That is your challenge."
Writer: Amanda Siegfried, (765) 494-4709; e-mail, amanda_siegfried@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu
