JHU Commencement 1996
Remarks by President Daniel Nathans
The Johns Hopkins University
Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony
May 22, 1996


Good afternoon.

To our distinguished guests, to the faculty, to family and friends, and most of all to the members of the Class of 1996, I once again offer my warmest greetings on behalf of the entire Johns Hopkins University.

We are now arrived at the culmination of your undergraduate days, the point at which you prepare to put your experiences and your years on this campus to the test. Some of you will be going out to find jobs and begin careers that will lead you far from home and perhaps beyond what you ever dreamed you d become. Many of you will enjoy a brief respite before entering on further studies in law or the sciences, medicine, engineering, or the humanities. I would guess that a few of you haven t quite figured out exactly what it is you will be doing a year from now.

Whatever your path, your time at Hopkins has prepared you, I trust, to meet the challenges ahead with optimism and a healthy dose of self-reliance. Looking back at your four years here, I m sure all of you will agree that this was not an experience where things were handed to you on a platter. In fact, you may sometimes have felt that just the opposite was true. But I m here to remind you that this is not a bad thing.

You will now be faced with the need to continuously learn and use new concepts, new facts, new skills, and to make decisions that determine your future. This will require initiative and critical thinking -- and taking risks. I hope we have helped prepare you for the challenging and exciting contemporary world we live in, and at the same time given you a thirst for intellectual, esthetic, and spiritual development, so important for a satisfying life.

Members of the Class of 1996, may your dreams be fulfilled. May you find that a little part of the questing spirit of Johns Hopkins accompanies you on your way. I hope that this great institution will always have a place in your heart. Certainly, you will always have a place in ours.


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