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Commencement Address
Excerpts
Adam Obley ‘95 is the first
alumnus to serve on the Board of Trustees. He also served on the
Head of School Search Committee last summer and fall.
After graduating with honors from Topeka High and the University of
Kansas, Adam worked as an advisor to Governor Sebelius and recently
finished his first year of medical school at KU.
My goal this morning (is) to share with you a few thoughts on what
it means to have a Topeka Collegiate education, and, if you will
permit me, to make a humble suggestion about what you might do with
that education.
10. In an era of cell phones, IPods, high-speed internet and
satellite news, take time to cultivate the attention span you’ve
developed here at TCS.
9. You’ve learned the English language... Mostly what I hope you’ve
learned is that words matter. With our language we can cooperate,
persuade, cajole, inspire, insult, uplift, oppress, liberate,
dispute, debate, and agree. Words have power and I believe that your
education here has helped you learn how to wield that power
intelligently and responsibly.
8. As you move forward in your educational career, my advice is that
you take the time to get to know your teachers and to find a few to
make your mentors.
7. I urge you to support and be involved in the arts—whether it’s
community theatre or the London Symphony, take the time to make the
arts part of your life.
6. Topeka Collegiate has given you the confidence to follow your
ideas and your dreams wherever they may lead. The rest is up to you.
5. The real advantage of learning a foreign language is that it
helps you place yourself in a global context. In the chaos and
comforts of modern life in America, it is easy to lose sight of the
fact that we are each but a tiny part of a species with 6.5 billion
members and growing.
4. Get involved in your community through participation in
organizations and sports clubs. Read the newspaper. Volunteer. Vote
- or better yet, run for office. Work always to make your community,
however you define it, a better place.
3. There is an element of truth in every cliché, and when adults
tell you that these are the best times of your life, I think they
remember fondly a time when every day included the company of good
friends. Don’t take this for granted.
2. Intelligent people can and will disagree about the meaning or
validity of certain parts of our scientific understanding, but
whatever you believe, I hope you will defend science as a process
and never lose your own curiosity.
1. These are not mere words—service, responsibility, humanitarian
ideals—instead, they describe a vision of the men and women we hope
you are becoming.
To read the
full version of Adam Obley's speech
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