May 15, 2004

Purdue President Martin C. Jischke made these comments Saturday (May 15) during commencement ceremonies on the West Lafayette campus.

Dream the impossible dream, then make it come true

Four years ago, many of you first arrived on campus as freshmen, ready for one of the most exciting experiences of your lives and not sure what to expect.

You were not the only ones new to Purdue in August of 2000. And you were not the only ones who were excited, fearful and maybe a little bewildered. There was a new president in town as well.

I arrived here, like you, filled with hopes and dreams and some uncertainty about what the future would hold. As things turned out, this university was exactly the right place for all of us.

I am a very proud member of the Purdue Class of 2004! We started together four years ago on a journey that would ultimately be filled with triumphs and struggles, laughter and late-night study – strong coffee and cold pizza.

It has all paid off. You have succeeded, and now you are preparing to move on to the next exciting phase of your lives.

I, on the other hand, will be staying back. I will be spending a little more time on campus. I'm not ready to graduate yet, but I'll keep studying.

Congratulations to all of you on the completion of your various degrees.

I know there have been times when you have believed in your heart that the ultimate goal of this faculty was to work you to exhaustion before you could ever reach this ceremony. But in truth, your success is our greatest joy.

Those of us who work in higher education take enormous pleasure in commencements and joining you in this celebration. Your Purdue education has intentionally been made very challenging. You should be proud of your accomplishments as we mark this milestone in your lives.

We are also coming up to a literary milestone next year.

The world has already begun to celebrate the anniversary of the 1605 publication of "Don Quixote," which is often called the first true novel. The author, Miguel Cervantes, had an impact on literature that is comparable to William Shakespeare's. The two men were contemporaries who never met and died on the same date, April 23, 1616.

All of our graduates here today know that they have earned their degrees by the "sweat of their brow," sometimes without "a wink of sleep," perhaps at times feeling as though they were being "led on a wild goose chase." What you might not know is that all of these familiar quotations – and many more – are from the great novel "Don Quixote."

Some of the other famous English translations that emerged from this work 400 years ago include: "forewarned is forearmed," "turn over a new leaf," "tomorrow will be a new day," "the pot calls the kettle black," "an honest man's word is as good as his bond" and "think before you speak."

What this basically means is that a lot of the advice you've heard from parents and teachers your entire life has come from one book about a man and his quest for the impossible dream.

"Don Quixote" is the tale of a knight whose quest to do right sends him on idealistic journeys. His mind is blinded by dreams.

He is unable to visualize the realities that others cannot see beyond. He attacks windmills and believes a flock of sheep is an army. Where others see a dirty roadside inn, Don Quixote sees a castle. In his optimism, he sees possibilities in all the impossibilities that surround him.

Is he mad? Is he naïve? Or is he a man filled with hopes and dreams, who, in his own words, chooses to see the world not as it is, but as it should be.

In the mid-1960s, a musical play emerged based on the story of "Don Quixote." The play is "Man of La Mancha," and its most famous song is among the most soul-stirring ever written:

"To dream the impossible dream,

"To fight the unbeatable foe,

"To bear with unbearable sorrow,

"To run where the brave dare not go ..."

Even with the inspiring song, Don Quixote was not successful in his quest to conquer evil and end injustice. But, Cervantes says, in defeat Don Quixote succeeded in getting the best out of himself, which, in the end, is the greatest victory any of us can hope to achieve.

Where would our world be without people whose impossible dreams coax the best not only from themselves, but from the rest of us as well?

In 1895, Lord Kelvin William Thomson, a British mathematician, physicist and president of the British Royal Society, said: "Radio has no future. Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible. X-rays will prove to be a hoax. (And) there is nothing new to be discovered in physics."

We are thankful the impossible dreamers of his time didn't believe him. The great technological progress of the 20th century was built on impossible dreams.

Rocket pioneer Robert Goddard was experimenting with his science as early as 1907, just four years after the Wright brothers' first flight at Kitty Hawk.

Goddard said: "It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dreams of yesterday are the hopes of today, and the realities of tomorrow."

You are the ones who will carry the seemingly impossible dreams of today into the realities of tomorrow. Your dreams will power this exciting 21st century.

President Woodrow Wilson was among the great leaders who believed in pursuing dreams. Wilson did not live to realize his own impossible dream of American leadership in a league of nations. But eventually the United Nations was born from his vision.

President Wilson said: "All great people are dreamers. They see things in the soft haze of a spring day or in the red fire of a long winter's evening. Some of us let these dreams die. But others nourish and protect them, nurse them through the bad days until they bring them to the sunshine and light that comes always to those who sincerely hope that their dreams will come true."

Our dreams alone, of course, are not enough. We need to grab hold of our ideas and work hard on them if they are to come true.

More often than not in life the height of our success is determined by the depth of our commitment.

Brooks Atkinson was an American drama critic who said: "Our nation was built ... by pioneers who were not afraid of failure, scientists who were not afraid of the truth, thinkers who were not afraid of progress and dreamers who were not afraid of action."

I hope that your dreams include service to other people. In addition to teaching you to make a successful living, at Purdue we have strived to teach you how to make a successful life. These lessons are as old as time.

If you want to be successful in life, help someone else to reach success. If you want to be happy, help someone else find happiness. If you want to fulfill your dreams, help someone else to realize that their dreams are not impossible.

Eleanor Roosevelt did a great deal to help people. She was not naturally inclined to leadership, but she pursued her dreams for a better nation and world.

She said: "You must do the things you think you cannot do ... The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."

I believe as the years pass, you will find your impossible dreams are not so impossible after all.

I believe your Purdue education has given you the tools to make your impossible dreams come true. I believe in the promise of tomorrow because I believe in the beauty of your dreams.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, the administration and our faculty, congratulations to the Class of 2004!

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