our 2018 Commencement speaker

>> Hello, Blue Devils.

It is great to be back at Duke.

It is an honor to stand before

you as your commencement speaker

and a graduate.

I earned by agree from the Fuqua

School in 1988.

In preparing for this speech

I reached out to one of my

favorite professors from back then.

Bob Reinheimer taught this great course in

management communications, which including

shaprening your public speaking skills.

We hadn't spoke for decades.

I was thrilled when he told me

he remembered a particularly

gifted public speaker who took

his class in the 1980's.

With a bright mind and a

charming personality.

He said he knew we back then

this person would December

destined for greatness.

You can imagine how this made me feel.

He had an eye for talent.

If I do say so myself, I think

his instincts were right.

Melinda Gates has really made her

mark in the world!

I'm grateful to Bob and Dean and

all of my Duke professors.

Their teachings have stayed with

me throughout my career.

I want to thank President Price

and the Duke faculty,

and the Board of Trustees for

the honor of speaking with you

today.

I would like to add my

congratulations to the honorary

degree recipients.

Most of us, congratulations to

the Class of 2018!

(applause).

Mr. Cook: Now no graduate gets

to this moment alone.

I want to acknowledge your

parents and grandparents and

friends that are here cheering

you on, just as they have every

step of the way.

Let's give them our thanks.

Today especially I remember my

mother.

Who watched me graduate from

Duke, I wouldn't have been there

that day or made it here today

without her support.

Let's give our special thanks to

all of the mother's here today

on Mother's Day.

(applause).

Mr. Cook: I have wonderful

memories here.

Cheering for the victory,

cheering even louder when the

victory is over Carolina.

Look back over your shoulder

fondly and say good-bye to Act I

of your life.

Then quickly look forward.

Act II begins today.

It is your turn to reach out and

take the baton.

You entered the world at a time

of great challenge.

Our country is deeply divided,

and that many Americans refuse

to hear any opinion that differs

from their own.

Our planet is warming with

devastating consequences.

And there's some that even deny

it is happening.

Our schools and communities

suffer from deep inequality.

We fail to guarantee every

student the right to a good

education.

And yet we are not powerless in

the face of these problems.

You are not powerless to fix

them.

No generation has ever had more

power than yours.

And no generation has a chance

to change things faster than

yours can.

The pace at which progress is

possible has accelerated

dramatically.

Aided by technology, every

individual has the tools,

potential, and reach to build a

better world.

That makes this the best time in

history to be alive.

Whatever you choose to do with

your life, wherever your passion

takes you, I urge you to take

the power you have been given

and use it for good.

Aspire to leave this world

better than you found it.

I didn't always see life as

clearly as I do today.

But I've learned the greatest

challenge of life can knowing

when to break with conventional

wisdom.

Don't just except the world you

inherit today.

Don't just accept the status

quo.

Know the challenge has ever been

solved and no lasting

improvement has ever been

achieved unless people dare to

try something different.

Dare to think different.

I was lucky to learn from

someone who believed this

deeply.

Someone who knew that changing

the world starts with following

a vision.

Not a path.

He was my friend and mentor,

Steve Jobs.

(applause).

Mr. Cook: Steve's vision was

that great ideas comes from a

restless refusal to accept

things as they are.

Those principles still guide us

at Apple today.

We reject the notion that global

warming is inevitable.

That's why we run Apple on 100%

renewable energy.

(applause).

Mr. Cook: Thank you.

We reject the excuse that

getting the most out of

technology means trading away

your right to privacy.

So we choose a different path.

Collecting as little of your

data as poll, being thoughtful

and respectful when it is in our

care.

Because we know it belongs to

you.

In every way at every turn, the

question we ask ourselves is not

what can we do, but what should

we do?

Because Steve taught us that's

how change happens.

And from him, I learned to never

be content with the way that

things are.

I believe in mindset comes

naturally to young people.

And you should never let go of

this restlessness.

So today's ceremony isn't just

about presenting you with a

degree.

It is about presenting you with

a question.

How will you challenge the

status quo?

How will you push the world

forward?

50 years ago today, May 13th,

1968, Robert Kennedy was

campaigning in Nebraska and

spoke to a group of students who

were wrestling with the same

question.

Those were troubled times too.

The U.S. was at war in Vietnam.

There was violent unrest in

America's cities.

And the country was still

reeling from the assassination

of Dr. Martin Luther King a

month earlier.

Kennedy gave the students a call

to action.

When you look across this

country and when you see

people's lives held back by

discrimination and poverty, when

you see injustice and

inequality, he said you should

be the last people to accept

things as they are.

Let Kennedy's words echo here

today.

You should be the last people to

accept it.

Whatever path you've chosen, be

it medicine or business,

engineering or the humanities,

whatever drives your passion, be

the last to accept the notion

that the world you inherit

cannot be improved.

Be the last to accept the excuse

that says that's just how things

are done here.

Duke graduates, you should be

the last people to accept it.

And you should be the first to

change it.

(applause).

Mr. Cook: The education you

perceive gives you few

opportunities that you have.

You are uniquely qualified and

therefore uniquely responsible

to build a better way forward.

That won't be easy.

It will require great courage.

But that courage will not only

help you live your life to the

fullest, it will empower you to

transform the lives of others.

Last month I was in Birmingham

to mark the 50th anniversary of

Dr. King's assassination.

I had the incredible privilege

with spending time with women

and men who marched and worked

alongside him.

Many of them are younger at the

time than you are now.

They told me when they defied

their parents and joined the

sit-ins and the boycotts, when

they faced the police dogs and

the fire hoses, they were

risking everything they had

becoming foot soldiers for

justice without a second

thought.

Because they knew that change

had to come.

They believe so deeply in the

cause of justice, because they

knew even all of the adversity

they had faced, they had the

chance to build something better

for the next generation.

We can all learn from your

example.

If you hope to change the world,

you must find your

fearlessness.

Now if you are anything like I

was on graduation day, maybe you

are not feeling so fearless.

Maybe you are thinking about the

job that you hope to get.

Or wondering where you are going

to live or how to repay that

student loan.

These I know are real concerns.

I had that too.

Don't let the worries stop you

from making a difference.

Fearlessness means taking the

first step, even if you don't

know where it will take you.

It means being driven by a

higher purpose rather than by

applause.

It means knowing that you reveal

your character when you stand

apart more than when you stand

with the crowd.

If you step up without fear of

failure, if you talk and listen

to each other without fear of

rejection, if you act with

decency and kindness even when

no one is looking, even if it