Commencement marks one of life’s most memorable
milestones. It honors a significant accomplishment and signals the
end of a very special period in your development. It also marks the
beginning of the great future for which you have prepared at
UCLA.
UCLA prepares leaders who will guide our communities, state,
nation and world into the future. We do this by admitting only the
most capable and promising students, offering them an array of
opportunities for intellectual and personal growth, and preparing
them to excel in their chosen fields. Then we take pride in the
many exemplary things they do as UCLA alumni!
To prepare you for the challenges that lie ahead, we have
offered you excellence across many fields of study, both breadth
and depth. We also have incorporated much of the real world into
your education. You have had access to the vast extended classroom
of the Los Angeles region. You have been encouraged to be an
innovator, a problem-solver, an explorer, and a leader and to
engage in extracurricular activities and service to the campus and
community. Most of all, UCLA has taught you how to learn. I
encourage you to make learning a never-ending part of your
life.
Whatever you do next, you can proceed with confidence because
you have proven that there are no limits to what you can imagine
and achieve. You have thrived in a community of scholars, in a
landscape rich in its diversity of people, cultures, perspectives
and ideas.
When faced with a choice among career paths, choose the one for
which you have a passion. Doing what you love will lead to success
and fulfillment because you will do it well and with all your
heart.
We are immensely proud of what you have accomplished here.
Please continue to embrace the spirit of service that is a hallmark
of UCLA and remember to practice generosity toward the Bruins who
follow you, so that they can have the same benefits you have
enjoyed as students.
Nurture the friendships and connections you have made here. Your
UCLA family can be one of the most valuable resources to draw upon
throughout the rest of your life, a source of support and
community. You will always be a treasured member of that family. I
encourage you to stay involved in the life of UCLA.
As you know, this is my last commencement season as chancellor
of UCLA. It has been a pleasure and a privilege for me to serve in
this capacity over the last nine years. I appreciate all the ways
in which you have enriched my UCLA life, and I too look forward to
being part of the Bruin family forever.
Keep challenging yourself and continue pursuing your dreams.
As you begin a new chapter in your life, I wish you the very
best. Remember that you represent the legacy of one of the
world’s greatest universities.
Congratulations, Class of 2006!
Carnesale served as chancellor of UCLA from 1997 to
2006.