Document Type
Presentation
Publication Date
8-2013
Abstract
“We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to your classmates who served our country - 8 of you have been in the military - 4 were Marines, 3 Navy and 1 Army. One of you attended both West Point and graduated from the Naval Academy. Two of you were intelligence officers and served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Another served 28 months in combat and yet another was a nuclear submarine officer who said he “thrived on the challenge of driving a billion dollar warship.” One said, in his application, "I saw how the guarantee of equal protection under the law, regardless of one's faith, ethnicity or orientation, is a remarkable but not a universal principle. I also learned that the rule of law is fragile and can be ruined through intimidation, violence, fear and indifference. I came to understand that preserving these ideals requires the active participation of an educated citizenry, and I want to serve the law and protect these American ideals." One of you recently received the Bronze Star for leadership and "loyalty to his men and his duty" and one of you was deployed to a combat zone chasing pirates around the Horn of Africa. Our Bronze Star recipient wrote, "Fear of failure, particularly when the lives of others hang in the balance is as terrifying as any physical threat."”