May 18, 2008

Father Shanley, fellow honorary doctoral degree recipients, Providence College faculty and staff, parents, guests, and most importantly, members of the Class of 2008.

Good morning! My name is Mike Manning.  It is with a great deal of humility that I stand before you today as the commencement speaker for the Class of 2008 and as a recipient of an honorary degree from my alma mater, and yours, Providence College. The magnitude of this honor is not lost on me, and I am quite certain that 40 years from now I will still be endeavoring to live up to what this honor means.

If you will permit me, I would like to formally recognize my wife Meg. Without her in my life, clearly I would not be standing before you today.

When I shared with my family that I had been selected to present the Commencement Address for the PC Class of 2008, my sister, Mary, herself a graduate of Providence College, Class of 2005, replied, and I quote, “Wow! Who would have thought that things had gotten so bad at PC!”  Those same sentiments were shared by my former roommates who are here today from my days as a student at Providence College. Up until a few hours ago, to a man, they were convinced this was just one big mistake.

I was recently asked if I ever thought in my wildest dreams that I would be in a position to receive an honorary degree from my alma mater.  As I formulated my answer, my mind raced back and I recalled, as though it were yesterday, specific memories from my days at PC.  In particular, I can clearly remember spending some quality time with the dean of discipline. We developed a very nice mentor-to-mentee relationship.     

It was precisely during those meetings when I would often think to myself, “Someday, someday soon, you are going to receive an honorary degree from Providence College."

No folks, delivering the Commencement Address to some of America's best and brightest, or receiving any kind of recognition was nowhere on my radar screen.  Needless to say, the man who addresses you today is not the same guy who sat among his classmates 11 years ago to the day.

What I would like to do today is share with you some of the highlights of my formation as a leader and a call to serve which I received as a student at PC.  Service and leadership are two subject areas with which I have become closely acquainted over the course of the last 11 years since graduating from PC. As a soldier serving in the U.S. Army, the concepts and practical application of service and leadership truly embody who we are and what we do every day. 

I had kind of fallen into Providence College; PC wasn’t on my radar due to financial reasons.  However, our paths converged when I was accepted into the school and awarded an ROTC scholarship.  My experiences at PC through my association with ROTC are clearly numbered among the most life altering. 

When I look back at my experience as a cadet at Providence College, I see now very, very clearly what the cadre imparted to me and to us.  I think I learned above all how to take care of people.  I learned through the example of men like Sergeant Major Charlie Ricker and Master Sergeant Woody Daniel that a good leader insulates his or her people from the minutia, from the training and mission detractors, from offenses that can come from above or below. 

In the Army, in addition to the officer corps, we have a robust non-commissioned officer (NCO) corps.  The non-commissioned officers, folks like Charlie Ricker and Woody Daniel, are the glue that holds a unit together. They are the worker bees; they provide the first-line supervision to the soldiers within a unit.  They also keep officers like Mike Manning out of trouble. 

I learned from my NCOs that a good leader eats when his men have eaten . . . a good leader sleeps when his men have slept, never before.  I know that you will find good leaders in all of the different walks of life.  However, the military is my current frame of reference, and based on the fact that in my business we often deal with life and death, I cannot imagine better leaders or a better opportunity to lead than my military experience.  

Good military leaders – leaders who cherish the soldiers they lead – will often be called upon to give an order that will put their people in harms way.  It takes special people who can give such an order. It takes special people who have developed the confidence of those they lead who l, when called upon, respond to such an order.  I believe I learned at Providence College what a good leader looks like and what it would take to become a successful one down the road.

Among the many people who have impacted my life was one of my history professors at PC, Professor Richard Deasy. Professor Deasy passed away earlier this year.  He taught alongside his brother, Robert, for decades.  I had both brothers in class and from my perspective, they were both tough.  Professor Richard Deasy specialized in American History. In particular, his passion was the Civil War.  He loved teaching and instructing on this time period in American History. I would commit to you that the thousands of students who sat in his classes over the years realized that they were in the presence of one of the true masters.  

My fondest memory of Professor Deasy is built around an event which occurred during my senior year.  It was a ritual for the ROTC seniors to conduct a “staff ride” at Gettysburg National Park.   The department typically enlisted the help of a few of the members of the history department to assist with the event. Professor Deasy was a staple of these “staff rides” for years.  I can distinctly remember walking “Pickett’s Charge” with Professor Deasy and one of my classmates, John Fennell.  We were completely attentive as we listened to the master recount what had occurred on the ground at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863. His great love of America and American History was tangible and infectious. From my relationship with Professor Deasy, I carry within me a passion for American History. 

At PC, I also was fortunate to be a member of the Friars Club.  I was accepted into the club my sophomore year.  Being part of this club was a transforming experience.  It gave me the opportunity to meet some tremendous people; most importantly, I met my wife, Meg, a member of the Class of 1998, through the club.  The Friars Club is yet another example of PC placing emphasis on the need to give back. 

The Friars Club is one of the Christian service organizations on campus, as you know.  In addition to giving tours to prospective students, it facilitates community service opportunities for its members.  I can remember being involved in outings to the Ronald McDonald House and the Amos House as a member of the club.  This club, and others like it on campus, were examples of the school engendering in its students the importance of giving back.  Furthermore, the fact that organizations like the Friars Club, the Pastoral Service Organization, Urban Action, and many others exist on campus says quite a bit to me about the caliber of student.  We were encouraged to live our faith, and there is no better place to do that than at this Catholic and Dominican school.    

While a student at PC, I had the great fortune of working as a dishwasher in the Priory.  This was the best on-campus job going. Not only did I get paid to work, but I also got fed prior to the evening meal for the Dominicans.  As you know, college kids are always looking for their next meal, and myself and a couple of my roommates who worked alongside me had to look no farther than the St. Thomas Aquinas Priory when we were hungry. 

But the most important benefit of working in the Priory was the opportunity that I had – like many students before me both inside and outside the classroom, and like yourselves –   to develop a personal relationship with the Dominican Fathers.  These Friars play a vital role in carrying out the mission of PC – the only Dominican-founded college in the United States. Most notably, I developed relationships with Father Driscoll and Father Cassidy. These relationships have transcended time and endure today.  Frankly, I would commit to you that one of the truly special components of a PC education is that students do have outstanding accessibility to their instructors. Because of our size, a student at PC is not just a number. You are a person who people care deeply about . . . the faculty and staff you encounter through the years all want the best for your life.

I graduated from PC on 18 May 1997. I went directly into the Army.  Within a year and half, Meg and I were married, we had a son, and I was stationed thousands of miles away in Germany from those I loved.  I spent three years on active duty. 

In 2000, I separated from the Army as a full-time soldier and went to work as a civilian.  My dad owned, and does to this day, an executive search company, and I came on board working for my father in May of 2000.  The real impetus for getting out of the Army was the fact that I felt at that time that I was not living up to my end of the bargain as a husband and father.  So, I worked in the capacity of a recruiter for about three years. 

All the while, I maintained an affiliation with the Army through the Rhode Island National Guard.  In about 2003, I had an epiphany and I realized that I wasn’t put on this earth to be a salesman. I was called to be a soldier.  So I left the ranks of the civilian world and I went back into the Army again as a full-time soldier. 

I share this part of my life story with you for a couple of reasons:  many of you sitting in the audience already have employment lined up post-graduation.  Some of you have a good idea of what you want to do, while others have no clue.   Life is all about the choices that we make and roads that we travel down – some for long durations and others for a short period of time. It may take you a while to figure out what you want to do with your lives. You may have to embark on a number of different journeys until you find what you are truly called to do.  So, I challenge you:  don’t settle. Have the courage to keep searching for what you are passionate about. Find your vocation. Place yourself firmly in God’s hands, listen to him, and He will show you the way. 

You are going to leave Providence College today, and like the tens of thousands of graduates who have preceded you, you are going to endeavor to succeed in a wide variety of professions.  So now, what is expected of you?  I’m going to tell you. What does PC expect of you, and what should you demand of yourselves?  I would exhort you: Be a leader, no matter what industry, what occupation, what vocation you choose. LEAD.  But what does that mean? 

I think the best way for me to define leadership for you is to share a few vignettes from my own life. While in Iraq, at the beginning of my tour, I had the opportunity to meet and learn from a very wise non-commissioned officer by the name of Command Sergeant Major Rose.  CSM Rose and the executive officer of his unit – this was the outgoing unit – invited all of the leaders of the incoming unit, my unit, to attend a briefing.  The thing I remember most about the whole event was when CSM Rose addressed us and spoke about the need, the obligation, for leaders to do the right thing. 

His unit had suffered multiple casualties during its tour and in his opinion, many of these could have been avoided had the first-line supervisors, the subordinate leaders, chosen correctly.  His challenge, his mandate, was, “Leaders, never choose to violate a known standard.” This is a heady challenge, but I have attempted to apply those words of instruction to my own personal and professional life, and I encourage you to do the same. 

I recall sitting in an antiquated and dilapidated schoolhouse in the town of Moglia, Kosovo, in 1999.  As a 25-year-old 1st Lieutenant, I was the third party in deliberations between the Kosovar Albanian leader and the ethnic Serbian leader in the town.  The two men were discussing the prospects of opening a multi-ethnic school; this school was to be the first of its kind in the American sector of Kosovo.  The hate between these two men was palpable – literally, you could feel it – but both parties were willing to negotiate. They just needed a mediator. 

I can distinctly remember – through the use of my interpreter – instructing these middle-aged men on the virtues of tolerance and acceptance of another’s differences.  Meanwhile, American soldiers outside of the school and throughout this town were providing security for the people that lived there.  Ultimately, the skill and kindness of my soldiers and their actions demonstrated an important standard to the people of this town – regardless of their ethnic makeup – and the people of Mogila were able to identify a common goal and purpose in this school. 

As a platoon leader, I did not receive a mandate from my command to facilitate the opening of a school. When we first arrived in Kosovo, our mission was to repatriate the Kosovar Albanians who had been driven from their homes by the Serbs.  However, our mission soon changed in many ways to one where we were protecting the Serbs from Albanian reprisals.  My soldiers did a remarkable job during our deployment to Kosovo.  We provided stability and security to the people in our area of operations and gave them an opportunity to start a better life. This school was important to the people of this town . . . people we were living among and serving. And, at the end of the day, we took on this task and we made it happen on their behalf. We demonstrated a standard of treating people with respect and we affirmed with them that the most important things in life require resolve and cooperation, and that some things are worth fighting for.

Leaders demonstrate competency in their respective jobs.  Caring about your people is not enough; they need to identify excellence in you.  The people you lead need to know that you have mastered your craft.  This is not going to happen overnight, but this is something that you should indeed strive to achieve.  Remember, as you embark on your careers, listen to your people.  Listen to the folks that have been doing the job.  Learn from them; they will eagerly impart lessons learned to you – but you have to demonstrate that you are willing to listen. 

In February of 2005, I was in Samarra,  Iraq, with my unit, and we were preparing to conduct our first detachment level raid.  We were operating under a time constraint – our intelligence assessment dictated that this was a time-sensitive target that we had to hit immediately.  I remember going through an abbreviated planning sequence with my team leaders and then it was it was time for me to brief the plan for the soldiers in my unit who would be carrying it out. 

I was proud of this plan. I felt that I had listened to my people and that we had accounted for everything.  As I started to brief the plan, my first sergeant was peppering me with some very exacting and deliberate questions.  And as I proceeded with the brief, it became apparent to me, and I think to everyone else in the room, that there were some holes in this plan.  But again, I was proud of this plan and I can remember stiffening my spine and pushing back.  My first sergeant and I excused ourselves from the room and continued to deliberate.  Finally, with love and respect in his voice – but with authority – my first sergeant said, “You know what, sir? It is not good enough. You can do better. Do it again.” 

There are two lessons learned for all of us here.  The first is the fact that, ultimately, I listened to one of my subordinate leaders – a man who had far greater experience than I – and we went back and collectively reworked the plan.  The second, more important, takeaway, is understanding the great moral courage that my first sergeant displayed during this process and throughout the tour and beyond.  He felt, and rightfully so, that the men’s needs were not being met; that before you push a team through the wire everything has to be done to ensure their success.  I, too, felt that way, but at times I needed someone to show me the right answer – even if it was right in front of me.  My first sergeant played that vital role, He never shirked his duties, nor did he ever fail to stand up and sound off when he felt he saw something wrong.  And, that’s leadership, too.

My final comment on leadership is that you should recognize the fact coming in that leaders make mistakes. I’ve made more than you can imagine. You will make mistakes. This is part of the process. What is not acceptable, however, is an integrity violation. Guard against this. Your parents, and more recently, Providence   College, have imparted to you a “moral compass.” Use that compass as you go about your daily lives.

As Providence College graduates, you also are obligated to serve.  And, I use the word “obligated.”  I’m not telling you it’s a nice idea. I am not standing up here advocating service in the Armed Forces or a vocation as a member of the clergy.  Rather, I commit to you that you have all been called to serve in some capacity in whatever role that you ultimately decide to assume in life.  I translate “service” to mean “giving back.”

There are so many different ways to give back.  And I want to talk about ways other than financial giving.  You can give of your time.  You can mentor someone. You can give back to the community through your church. You can coach a soccer team in your community.  You are obligated as PC grads to do something that is going to benefit someone other than yourself.  Each and every one of you is called to give of yourselves. . . to sacrifice in some capacity.  It cannot be all be about you and your needs.  So, each of you is going to have to figure out how to do this for yourself. But, I would tell you that you need to endeavor to make the world a better place, and service is a great place to start.  

In closing, I truly appreciate the opportunity that I was afforded today. When Father Shanley called me initially to ask me to deliver the Commencement Address, he informed me that commencement was the last opportunity that the school had to instruct the graduating class. I hope that today I was able to impart in some capacity a few lessons learned that resonated with you.  During this address, I have attempted to lay out for you some of what I have learned about life since I was sitting where you are today. 

I wish each and every one of you great success as you leave Providence   College. You will be successful. You are Providence College graduates and, by definition, members of an elite organization, and you know that. Don’t ever forget what you learned at PC, and never lose faith in God and in your own abilities. Thank you, good luck, God bless you, and Go Friars!

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