Scholars Must Acknowledge Responsibilities, Risley Tells Kansas Graduates
Despite all the changes in the world, one factor remains constant - the necessity
to acknowledge our humanity and our responsibility to each other and the
world, Phi Theta Kappa Executive Director Rod A. Risley told graduates
at Johnson County Community College in Kansas.
Risley spoke
to the Class of 2007 and guests at commencement ceremonies held May 18.
Scholars
who have been given the gift of education also have been given responsibilities,
Risley said - responsibilities to share their knowledge, to live productive
lives and to help others achieve their dreams.
"We must face
the fact that in this great country, we have successfully created a society
of 'haves' and 'have nots' - a society where the 'haves' accumulate more
and more, and the 'have nots' get nothing at all," Risley said. "Never forget
those who 'have not', those who have been robbed of hope and the ability to
dream. You have a responsibility to lift the hearts and minds of those in
despair, so that we all can dream again of a better day, a better life, and
a glorious future."
"Our country - and the world - are swept up
in a sea of change," Risley said.
Graduates will see first a shrinking
planet - a global village - yet a growing world, Risley predicted, pointing
to projected population growth in China, already much larger than the United
States. "The 25 percent of the population of China with the highest IQs totals
more people than the entire population of North America. In other words,
they have more honors kids than we have kids," he said.
Technology
will continue to change the world, he said.
"According to former
U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley, the top 10 jobs that will be in
demand in 2010 did not exist until 2004. We are currently preparing students
for jobs that don't yet exist - they will use technologies that have not yet
been invented in order to solve problems we don't even know are problems
yet."
Technology is not just changing careers, he pointed out,
but also day-to-day lives - text messaging, internet usage and social communities
like MySpace were unheard of just a short time ago, and now the amount of new
technical information is doubling every two years.
"But all
these projections do not speak to the one aspect of life which I feel is most
important - especially for the graduates - what does all this have to do with
knowing how to be human? How will you define your success? Perhaps in the
words of Ralph Waldo Emerson:
"'To know even one life has breathed
easier because you have lived, this is to have succeeded.'"
The
members of the Class of 2007 have changed since their studies at Johnson
County Community College began, Risley said, and graduation is a celebration
of that change
"These graduates have grown. They have grown
intellectually, they have grown in confidence, they have grown through
every experience encountered here. They have new confidence, new hope,
and new dreams. They have a new spirit about them. They are no longer the same.
Parents, spouses, and friends of those graduating tonight - we can no longer
view these students the same; and graduates - you can no longer view yourselves
the same," Risley said.
In his address Risley acknowledged
the leadership of Johnson County Community College Interim President
Dr. Larry Tyree, Phi Theta Kappa chapter advisor and Kansas Regional Coordinator
Ruth Randall, and co-advisors Sally Copeland, Michelle Haverkamp, and
Robert Parker. He also congratulated All-USA First Team member and All-Kansas
Team member ZiChuan Qu, and All-Kansas Team member Stephanie Bell, both
members of the graduating class.
