Learn English Tim Cook This is how you get everything to fall into place with BIG subtitles
hello bluedevils it is great to be back
at dude and it’s an honor to stand
before you both as your commencement
speaker and a graduate iearned my degree
from the Fuqua School in 1988 in
preparing for this speech I reached out
to one of my favorite professors from
back then
Bob Ryan himer taught this great course
in management communications
which included sharpening your public
speaking skills we hadn’t spoken for
decades so I was thrilled when he told
me he remembered a particularly gifted
public speaker who took his class in the
1980s with a bright mind and a charming
personality he said he knew way back
then this person was destined for
greatness you could imagine how this
made me feel professor Ryan hi
had an eye for talent and if I do say so
myself
I think his instincts were right Melinda
Gates has really made her mark in the
world
[Applause]
I’m grateful to Bob and Dean bolding and
all of my professors their teachings
have stayed with me throughout my career
I want to thank President price and the
Duke faculty and my fellow members of
the Board of Trustees for the honor of
speaking with you today and I’d also
like to add my congratulations to this
year’s honorary degree recipients but
most of all congratulations to the class
of 2018
you know no graduate gets to this moment
alone I want to acknowledge your parents
and grandparents and friends that are
here cheering you on just as they have
every step of the way let’s give them
our thanks today especially I remember
my mother who watched me graduate from
Duke I wouldn’t have been there that day
or made it here today without her
support let’s give our special things to
all of the mothers here today on
Mother’s Day
[Applause]
I have wonderful memories here studying
and not studying with people I still
count as friends to this day cheering at
Cameron for every victory cheering even
louder when that victories over Carolina
look back over your shoulder fondly and
say goodbye to act one of your life and
then quickly look forward Act two begins
today it’s your turn to reach out and
take the baton you enter the world at a
time of great challenge our country is
deeply divided and too many Americans
refuse to hear any opinion that differs
from their own our planet is warming
with devastating consequences and
there’s some that even deny its even
happening our schools and communities
suffer from deep inequality we fail to
guarantee every student the right to a
good education and yet we are not
powerless in the face of these problems
you are not powerless to fix them no
generation has ever had more power than
yours and no generation has a chance to
change things faster than yours can the
pace at which progress is possible has
accelerated dramatically aided by
technology every individual has the
tools potential and reach to build a
better world that makes this the best
time in history to be alive whatever you
choose to do with your life wherever
your passion takes you I urge you to
take the power you have been given and
use it for good aspire to leave this
world better than you found it
I didn’t always see life as clearly as I
do today but I’ve learned the greatest
challenge of life
is knowing when to break with
conventional wisdom don’t just accept
the world you inherit today don’t just
accept the status quo Noda challenge has
ever been solved and no lasting
improvement has ever been achieved
unless people dares to try something
different
dare to think different I was lucky to
learn from someone who believed this
deeply someone who knew that changing
the world starts with following a vision
not a path he was my friend and mentor
Steve Jobs
Steve’s vision was the great ideas comes
from a restless refusal to accept things
as they are and those principles still
guide us at Apple today we reject the
notion that global warming is inevitable
that’s why we run Apple on a hundred
percent renewable energy we thank you we
reject the excuse that getting the most
out of technology means trading away
your right to privacy so we choose a
different path collecting as little of
your data as possible being thoughtful
and respectful when it’s in our care
because we know it belongs to you in
every way at every turn the question we
ask ourselves is not what can we do but
what should we do because Steve taught
us that’s how change happens and from
him I learned to never be content with
the way that things are I believe this
mindset comes naturally to young people
and you should never let go of this
restlessness so today’s ceremony isn’t
just about presenting you with a degree
it’s about presenting you with a
question how will you challenge the
status quo
how will you push the world forward 50
years ago today May 13th 1968 Robert
Kennedy was campaigning in Nebraska and
spoke to a group of students who were
wrestling with that same question
those were troubled times too the u.s.
was at war in Vietnam there was violent
unrest in America’s cities and the
country was still reeling from the
assassination of dr. Martin Luther King
a month earlier Kennedy gave the
students a call to action when you look
this country and when you see people’s
lives held back by discrimination and
poverty when you see injustice in
inequality he said you should be the
last people to accept things as they are
let Kennedy’s words echo here today you
should be the last people to accept it
whatever path you’ve chosen be it
medicine or business engineering of the
humanities whatever drives your passion
be the last to accept the notion that
the world you inherent cannot be
improved be the last to accept the
excuse that says that’s just how things
are done here
Duke graduates you should be the last
people to accept it and you should be
the first to change it
the world-class education you’ve
received that you worked so hard for
gives you opportunities that few people
have you are uniquely qualified and
therefore uniquely responsible to build
a better way forward that won’t be easy
it will require great courage but that
courage will not only help you live your
life to the fullest it will empower you
to transform the lives of others last
month I was in Birmingham to mark the
50th anniversary of dr. King’s
assassination and I had the incredible
privilege of spending time with women
and men who marched and worked alongside
him many of them were younger at the
time than you are now they told me when
they defied their parents and joined the
sit-ins and the boycotts when they face
the police dogs and the fire hoses they
were risking everything they had
becoming foot soldiers for justice
without a second thought because they
knew that change had to come because
they believed so deeply in the cause of
justice because they knew even all the
adversity that they had faced they had
the chance to build something better for
the next generation we can all learn
from their example if you hope to change
the world you must find your
fearlessness now if you’re anything like
I was on graduation day maybe you’re not
feeling so fearless maybe you’re
thinking about the job you hoped you had
or wondering where you’re going to live
or how to repay that student loan these
I know are real concerns I had them too
but don’t let those worries stop you
from making a difference fearlessness
means taking the first step even if you
don’t know
where it will take you it means being
driven by a higher purpose rather than
by applause it means knowing that you
reveal your character when you stand
apart more than when you stand with the
crowd
if you step up without fear of failure
if you talk and listen to each other
without fear of rejection if you act
with decency and kindness even when no
one is looking even if it seems small or
inconsequential trust me
the rest will fall into place more
importantly you’ll be able to tackle the
big things when they come your way it’s
in those truly trying moments that the
fearless inspire us fearless like the
students of parkland Florida who refused
to be silent about the epidemic of gun
violence and have rallied millions to
their cause
[Applause]
fearless like the women who say me too
and times up women who cast light into
dark places and move us to a more just
and equal future fearless like those who
fight for the rights of immigrants who
understand that our only hopeful future
is one that embraces all who want to
contribute Duke graduates be fearless be
the last people to accept things as they
are and the first people to stand up and
change them for the better in 1964
Martin Luther King jr. gave a speech at
Paige auditorium to an overflow crowd
students who couldn’t get a seat
listened from outside on the lawn dr.
King warned them that someday we would
all have to atone not only for the words
and actions of the bad people but for
the appalling silence and indifference
of the good people who sit around and
say wait on time
Martin Luther King stood right here at
Duke and said the time is always right
to do right for you graduates that time
is now it will always be now it’s time
to add your brick to the path of
progress it’s time for all of us to move
forward and it’s time for you to lead
the way thank you and congratulations
class of 2018
[Applause]