I would like to echo the sentiments of my fellow senior, George Farish, and commend President Bacow for naming Pam and Pierre Omidyar commencement speakers for my upcoming graduation.
It's tough for me to imagine what May 19 is going to feel like, as a senior, about to head into the wilderness of filing my own taxes, 60-hour work weeks, power suits, and power lunches. In other words, graduation will be my formal entrance in to the world of adults, and initiation into total independence. I can predict a range of emotions, from nostalgia of leaving the friends, and fear for what the future may or may not hold for me. Who knows what I'll be doing at the time of my five-year reunion, or whether I will live up to the opportunities that my Tufts education has afforded me?
I can't imagine more appropriate speakers for this type of occasion than two former jumbos, Pierre and Pam Omidyar. They have walked the same hallways, had many of the same professors, and sat in the same commencement seats as I will sit, during the course of their Tufts education. Pierre and Pam Omidyar have taken their Tufts degrees, put them to work, and represented Tufts well. They are two jumbos that will understand the intense range of emotions and thoughts that will echoing through my head. Am I ready for this? Can I make it?
I'm sure that Pierre and Pam Omidyar had the same doubts during their graduation, and they made it. Perhaps Pierre's crowning achievement is the creation of eBay, an online auction site that has revolutionized the Internet. Mr. Omidyar has taken an original, entrepreneurial idea, implemented it in the market, and profited handsomely. Pam and Pierre Omidyar have not been the only ones to profit; they have made the commitment of donating all but one percent of their fortune to programs benefiting community development.
The Omidyar foundation is a revolutionary way of exploiting the efficiencies of a capitalist system to benefit the greater good. The foundation uses the venture capital market to provide organization with base capital for community organizations, such as Global Education Partnership, and Social Ecology Incorporated. These firms share the Omidyar's mission statement of "helping all of us rediscover the importance and benefits of community in our lives." The development of the UCCPS program at Tufts is only one example of the Omidyars' work to promote active citizenship.
I'm proud to share the same degree with the Omidyars. They embody important ideals to Tufts students like me, working hard to realize their dreams, and sharing profits with those who haven't been afforded the same opportunities.
I am a student at Tufts, and I am proud of my education, not just the institution that my degree comes from. If I had wanted to go to a big name school, I could have chosen University of Michigan or UC Berkeley. However, I chose Tufts because my individuality is important to me. I have an identity, I'm not just a number to my professors, and I'm glad that the graduation speakers embody these ideals.
The Omidyars do not speak at several graduations every year, as do many other big-name speakers, and I'm confident that their speech will be original, heartfelt, and relate to the senior class in a genuine manner.
If I were looking for a generic speech from someone who had spent one day on campus, I might look to Bill Cosby or Bono. They would probably be entertaining, but what could they tell me that would be any different from what they would say at any other college graduation?
I have seen many big-name speakers at Tufts, and I have found their speeches to be generic. Namely, I, along with many other students, was disappointed with Colin Powell's speech last year. While his life experiences were interesting, the speech was the same motivational advice that would have given any other school. He did not take the time to discuss issues that were important to Tufts students interested in Middle Eastern affairs, and instead spouted the same self-glorifying lines he would have told a group of senior citizens, or middle school students.
Tufts students are unique, and I'm confident that the Omidyars will be able to relate to the student body better than Bono. I would rather tell my kids that a pioneer in the Internet that has harnessed his entrepreneurial ambition for the good of society spoke at my graduation than a rock star from a band whose music will probably be played on Adult Contemporary radio stations.
If the Omidyars are a Big Mac; and Bill Cosby, Al Gore, and Bill Clinton are "escargot, shrimp cocktail, and Caesar salad," I'll have fries with that.
