Commencement 2012

Bill Schmidt, a friend whom I've known for a decade, did more for us today than visit Coker College.  He smiled and taught and warmly encouraged us to thoughtfully persist.  And, I am thoroughly grateful.

That he is a ranking editor at the world's finest newspaper backed his encouragment with a personal confidence that pursuing excellence is not only good and possible, it matters.  A couple of excerpts from his remarks that I hope to hold dearly for a long, long time are these: 

"The old rules that framed our expectations have been shaken, forcing a re-evaluation of our place and relevance... 

"So it is in times like these that you need people -- serious institutions, real journalists -- who can bear witness and add context and differentiate what is real from what is not, and -- importantly -- to tell our stories -- and the stories of others -- with real understanding and empathy. ..."