Thank you very much, Father Shanley. I will heed your advice and not take the time to list all of the other dignitaries here. But to all of the graduates and to the honorable recipients today, my warmest and heartiest congratulations. 

Forty-five years ago, I arrived at Providence College as an assistant basketball coach. The salary was $4,500. You weren't paid, nor did you have to work in the summer. Oh, by the way, they said, “You're going to be the tennis coach as well.” Never having played tennis, that was a revelation to me. 

Somewhere along the line, the Reverend Cornelius Foster, who was the chairman of the Department of History – noticing that I had majored in history at college – (not knowing that I barely made it out of college), decided that I would be a good person to step in as a special instructor in history because they had an overcrowding in one of the early European history courses. He also thought that this was a good way to supplement my income, which I thought was pretty good, too. The problem was not the first day that I went to class – an average size class – but the second day that I went to class. The word had gone out, and there, seated in front of me, was the entire men's ice hockey team. I had a feeling that this might not be a career that I was going to be in for a long time. 

I did not realize 45 years ago when I first came to Providence College that this College and this order of priests, the Dominican Order, 800 years old, would become such an integral part of the life of my wife, myself, and my family.  It has been a love affair for all of us for a long time. And whatever contributions I have made to Providence College, I can assure you that the contributions that Providence College and the Dominican Order have made to our family far outweigh anything that we could have done. Once again today, you honor me, and I'm greatly, greatly indebted. 

A couple of housekeeping items, if you will allow me, first of all. I heard coming in today, two different conversations among members of the Class of 2007 that just happened within my earshot. One attractive young woman turned to another attractive young woman, and said, “Oh, God, I hope this speaker doesn't drone on and on today.” Another guy who looked like he might have been enjoying adult beverages last night turned to one of his friends and said, “This guy better not go too long or I am not going to make it.”

I want to assure the Class of 2007 that you've been good doobies today and I will be brief.  There is an old saying that says, “Blessed are the brief, for they shall be invited back.”  And I like coming to PC commencements, and I am reminded of a story I heard a priest tell from the pulpit when Julie and I were traveling a couple of years ago. He walked out, and he could sense that the congregation was a little antsy, so he said, “Relax, I'm not going to be too long today.”  

He said, “A friend of mine who tends to be a little bit long in his homilies said he had an interesting thing happen to him last week.  He said he was going on and on and he went too long, and he said, all of a sudden, a guy right in the middle of a sentence in his homily, a guy in the second row got up and started walking out.” And my priest friend said, “Hey, where are you going?” And the guy said, “I'm going to get a haircut.” And so the priest said, “Well, why didn't you get one before you came?” And the guy said, “I didn't need one then.”

The second little bit of housekeeping. I heard at least five or six different times on the way into the arena today, different members of the class and some family members expounding that this class – the Class of 2007 at Providence College – was the best class in the history of the College. And they were convinced of that. Now, rather than let that be an idle rumor, I'd like to actually take a vote on that. With class members only voting, if you think the Class of 2007 is the best class in Providence College history, please stand now and just remain standing for a second.          

Looks to me like it's unanimous. Don't sit down yet. While you're standing, I've got one more housekeeping  item. Father Shanley stole a little bit of my thunder earlier when he asked you, and rightfully so, to give a standing ovation to your family and your friends who are here today. We all know how much they've been in your corner, how supportive they've been, and if you're going to be the best class – which we now deemed you are – in the history of Providence College, then why not be the first class to give them two standing ovations, if you will.                          

And before I let you sit down, because there is another old saying, “The mind will absorb what the seat will endure,” I want you also to give a standing ovation to a group of men and women who have been there for you these past four years in so many ways that you couldn't even begin to appreciate. I’m talking about the staff and the faculty at Providence College – many of whom I'm privileged to know, all of whom I'm privileged to witness their work. They are dedicated, they are adept at what they do, and they are there for you, always looking, always willing to pay that little extra price. They're giving you real wings today, a real education, and I'd like you to honor them with a standing ovation now.                                    

I am reminded on this day as you go forth having completed your education at Providence College – one of the greatest schools in the country – that you are looking at so many different roads, such a different world, so many different paths that my generation, your parents' generation, and those to follow could only imagine. Words like cyberspace, we never knew existed. There will be other words, 20 years from now when you're living in all 50 states in this country and God knows how many foreign countries as well, that you don't know exist today. 

We know that here, in the City of Providence, that over a hundred languages or dialects are spoken in our students' homes. We know that every year, in China, 10 million new people are born into our world. When you think that there are only 300 million people here in the United States, it tells you that this global economy that you are entering is going to be really something, and armed with the education that you've been given, you're going to be great. You're going to be so successful. You're going to make a difference because you've got the stuff now. You've got the roots, and you've got the education to get it done. 

But along the way I want you to think about three things. One of our great alumni is a fellow named Dr. Edward Iannuccilli.  He was the leading gastroenterologist in the State of Rhode Island for many years. He is a poster child, if you will, for what a Providence College alumnus really should be, one who gave to medicine, one who gave back to the community. When he retired from practice, he became chairman of the board of Rhode Island Hospital , and along with our trustee, Dr. Joseph Amaral, turned that hospital around to be one of the major players in our medical care system.

I remember talking to him, and he said to me, “Dave, in all the years that I've practiced medicine I've taken care of a lot of very sick people, very ill people at the end of their lives.” He said, “There were two things that not one of them ever said to me.” And I said, “Really? That's an interesting way to put it. What were they?”  He said, “Not one of them ever said to me they wished they had more money, and not one of them ever said to me they wish they had spent more time at the office.”

Well, left unstated was what they did say to him, and what they did say to him was that their lives were all about friendship, family, and their faith. And it's those three things that I want to leave you with as my message today. Let me start with friendship. When you reflect back on the last four years, you will look upon them as four of the very best years of your life.  You have made incredible friends and shared incredible experiences, and your relationship with friends that are here with you today and the friends who are part of this great Class of 2007 need to remain front and center in what's important for you going forward.  There is another old saying, “Go often to see an old friend, lest the weeds choke the path.” With today's modern technology and our ability to communicate, there is no way for weeds to choke your path. Stay in touch, and I would like to offer you a deal today that will make it easy for you to stay in touch. I promise you that no one at Providence College put me up to this.

I think one of the best ways for you to stay in  touch with each other and to stay in touch with  Providence College – now that we've determined  that you are the best class – is to set the highest standard, and so I want you to make a deal with me that in your first year out of school that every single one of you will make a  donation to the Providence College Alumni Fund, even if it's only a dollar.  The amount is not important to me, and I'm not soliciting funds on behalf of the College. What is important to me is participation and what is important to me is this will serve as a reminder to you of your great friendships you have going forward. So if you'll make that deal with me, just turn to the person next to you and give him or her a little fist five. Can you do that?  I want to know you're with me on this, and next year when the classes come in back of you, they will have such a standard to shoot for that they won't believe it.

Secondly, I want to speak briefly about family. You know and can appreciate the importance of your family today. You will be as important for your family going forward as well – whatever shape and form that takes as you go forth from this day. I think the one thing that is really significant for you to keep in mind, well, two things, actually. One is how important education has been to your family … How proud they are of you on this day, how many sacrifices they have had to make for you to get to this day. Make sure that you value your education in the same way as they have for you. 

And secondly, and this was so impressive earlier in the raising of your hands, but you have already established – and Providence College is so very proud of it – a great commitment to be involved in your community, and you need to continue that going forward. You need to understand that in addition to your immediate blood family, that as a member of the community, that community becomes your family as well.

And lastly, I want to speak to you about faith. I know that there are many, many faiths represented in this room today – Catholics and Protestants and Jews and Muslims and Buddhists and Hindu and so many others that I wouldn't be able to mention here. There is one thing, however, despite what the different faiths are, that they all have in common. At some point in their teachings they talk about taking care of, respecting, and loving our fellow man. And that, I would tell you, is a way for you to live your faith, whatever it might be. And you will be very surprised if you set a goal, as Dan your president talked about earlier. If you set a goal every day of doing one little thing to make someone else's life better on that day, then that will be a good day for our country, a good day for you, and a good day for the person whose life you enriched.  It can be as simple as a smile. It can be in so many different forms. You will live your faith in a very real way, and when you hit some of those little bumps in the road, some of those little potholes on the way, your faith will be there to help get you through it. 

Well, it seems to me we're coming up on the bewitching hour. I promised to be brief, and as I promised not to hold you, I'm reminded of one more story in closing – the story about poor old Eddie. Eddie, it seems, was the guy that everyone in town knew. Now Eddie was a self-proclaimed atheist, and he would tell anyone who would listen to him of his atheism and how this was it and there was no life hereafter. Then, as luck would have it, Eddie passed away, and they had Eddie laid out in an open coffin at his wake. Eddie looked pretty good as they would say at the time. He had his new suit on. He had a nice boutonniere. Patty and Mike, a few of his buddies came by, and they were looking in, paying their respects. Patty turned to Mike and said, “Poor old Eddie.” And Mike said, “What do you mean?”  He said, “Look at him – all dressed up and no place to go.”

Well, you're all dressed up and you've got lots of places to go, so I don't want to be the one to hold you back. I just want to tell you, remember our deal. 

Thank very much for sharing this special day with me. May God bless you, and may God keep you. Class of 2007, go for it!