CNN international correspondent Christiane Amanpour urged Harvard\u2019s graduating class to take a year before plunging into the job market and head overseas to work on the myriad problems facing the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope you will take this moment to think about traveling,\u201d Amanpour said. \u201cThere is so much opportunity out in the developing part of the world \u2026 where I have been for the past 27-odd years. People are waiting for you. They\u2019re waiting for an army of energetic idealists like you to help build small businesses, to run schools, to teach class \u2026 It will change your lives, and it will set you on the road to your future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amanpour, who has been a fixture on the front lines of conflicts and disasters overseas, was the main speaker for this year\u2019s Class Day ceremonies, traditionally organized by the seniors and held the day before Commencement. In her 25-minute speech Wednesday (May 26), Amanpour hearkened back to the Marshall Plan, the massive European aid effort unveiled at Harvard\u2019s 1947 Commencement by Secretary of State George Marshall. Just two years after the end of World War II, he outlined the assistance that was pivotal in helping Europe to rebuild from its rubble. Today, Amanpour said, America\u2019s challenge is similar, involving stabilizing Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, and Haiti, all important to America\u2019s peace and security.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeyond the armies and treasure of the United States deployed to these places, they need armies of people like you who are graduating today, civilians wielding \u2026 high ideals, smart ideas, smartly deployed to really make development work,\u201d Amanpour said.<\/p>\n
Amanpour delivered her address in Harvard Yard\u2019s Tercentenary Theatre. Amanpour said she too was graduating, after a fashion, moving on after 27 years at CNN to host ABC\u2019s Sunday morning \u201cThis Week\u201d program.<\/p>\n
She was one of several speakers to address the seniors during Class Day, which offers a less formal setting than Commencement\u2019s scripted rites and provides a chance for class members and College officials to address those attending.<\/p>\n
Harvard College Dean Evelynn Hammonds briefed the students on what was coming Commencement Day, describing the exercises as \u201cfull of incantation and free of explanation,\u201d and warning the students that the time will likely pass quickly for them, joking that it may seem especially quick since they probably won\u2019t be paying attention.<\/p>\n
Hammonds said the students will be sent into the world to \u201cadvance knowledge, promote understanding, and serve society,\u201d goals she hoped they\u2019d advance. She also added a personal farewell to the students and wished them luck.<\/p>\n
The ceremonies also featured two Harvard orations, delivered by MacKenzie Sigalos and Benjamin Schwartz, the humorous Ivy orations, delivered by James Wilsterman and Alexandra Petri, and remarks by class officers and the president-elect of the Harvard Alumni Association, Robert Bowie.<\/p>\n
Bowie said that though departing Harvard will be tinged with sadness for the students, they are embarking on an exciting journey. Although the closeness of House life will be gone, the students will become part of an alumni network that spans the world and can prove helpful virtually anywhere.<\/p>\n
The Ames Awards, given annually to the man and woman who have dedicated themselves to service, this year went to Talya Havice, who took a leave from Harvard in 2001 to join the Marine Corps and who was commissioned a second lieutenant earlier in the afternoon, and Adam Travis, who worked tirelessly for the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter.<\/p>\n
Amanpour, who got her start at then-fledgling CNN in 1983 after graduating from the University of Rhode Island, urged students to take risks and work in some field that they\u2019re passionate about, that will spur them to work hard, and increase their chances of becoming successful.<\/p>\n
\u201cMastery, mission, purpose: Those \u2026 were my greatest motivators,\u201d Amanpour said. \u201cRight now, I passionately wish for all of you to find something that sets you on fire, that fills you with joy, and love, and commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the economic difficulties now facing journalism, Amanpour said, there is still as large a need for quality, professional journalism as ever. Amanpour called journalism \u201ca public trust\u201d and a critical element of democracy.<\/p>\n
Other prominent speakers who have headlined Class Day include NBC\u2019s \u201cToday\u201d show anchor Matt Lauer last year, Federal Reserve Board chairman Ben Bernanke in 2008, and former President Bill Clinton in 2007. Earlier speakers have ranged from the serious (humanitarian Mother Teresa) to the silly (comedian Sacha Baron Cohen).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CNN international correspondent Christiane Amanpour urged Harvard\u2019s graduating class to take a year before plunging into the job market and head overseas to work on the myriad problems facing the world. \u201cI hope you will take this moment to think about traveling,\u201d Amanpour said. \u201cThere is so much opportunity out in the developing part of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4175,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-579871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579871","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4175"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=579871"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579871\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=579871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=579871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=579871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}