Student Address--Commencement 2009
by Zach Aman

Friends and colleagues, it is both an honor and a privilege to join you in this venerated tradition of commencement. We stand today in the courtyard of a university noted for its ingenuity, in a state noted for its character, in a country noted for its spirit. And we stand today in celebration of all three virtues, and for the sacrifices that have allowed us to pursue them – sacrifices by our parents, our professors and university staff and, of course, ourselves.

In this highly technological world, where iPhones, netbooks and CSM Webmail reign supreme, it is a rare occasion when we take the time to reflect upon the paths we have traveled, and to consider the choices we have yet to make; it’s a shame that we don’t have Course Evaluation Forms for our lives.

But it is astounding that, just 3 years, 8 months and 15 days ago, most of us walked in the gates of this world-class university for the first time, unaware of the vast expanse of humankind’s knowledge. In choosing to attend this institution, we selected an arduous course, and are today the better for it.

We stand together not as classmates, but as colleagues of a prestigious calling. We are those celebrated and rare individuals who are able to pursue knowledge and innovation as though they were staples of our existence. We are satisfied not by minimalism and mediocrity, but by the marvel and majesty of human creativity. We are the folks who built the Prius … God help us.

But we no longer have endless homework assignments … with incorrect book solutions, or ten-page exams … the day after Spring Break. We are herewith liberated from such tasks, but we also know we are only beginning on this occasion, aptly called Commencement.

So, where do we go from here? When stumbling across a fork in the road, my first inclination is to pick it up and grab a spot of lunch … but I always ask myself this following question first:

When this path finally comes to a close, what will be the evidence of your travels? What impact will you have had on the world around you? Will your name pass by the countenance of history without recognition? Or will your contributions be forever noted as those that have guided humanity to the summit of achievement and prosperity?

Our time at this institution has certainly left us with conviction, determination and a belief in ourselves. We have worked for days on end without sleep, pulled EPICS teammates through the mud, and taken parental oversight of our friends’ Clickers, when they decide to skip Physics 2.

But in all seriousness, I’ve always been aided with the question of “what next?” by the words of transcendentalist philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, who once wrote, “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

It is this distinction that I wish to draw, for as citizens of a global community, we will forever be faced with pressures that demand conformity and indifference.

I pose the question – what difference will your path make – because we have been given a tremendous gift … haven’t we. As intellectuals, we have the ability to truly comprehend the complexity of the world around us and, as Mines engineers, we have the potential to change it. Unlike the complex, second-order, partial-differential equations we have all come to know and love, there remains only one variable in this equation: choice.

And while our competence – as engineers, as applied scientists, and as citizens – continues to grow, the list of obstacles facing our world is immense and, likewise, is ever expanding – food scarcity, environmental degradation, conflict, and many others that span both the technological and socio-cultural sides of the human house.

But I pose this question to this audience, sitting in this courtyard, today, because collectively, we are one of the only groups with the passion, the knowledge and the freedom to provide solutions for the future. We walk a privileged path, and that privilege brings with it tremendous responsibility.

Now I realize that seldom does one individual carry a global impact – hey, we can’t all be the next Bill Nye, who is incidentally a mechanical engineer. Apparently, dear professors, too much calculus can cause brain damage.

But as students of a global calling, we are able to be more than the sum of our parts. Perhaps some of us will elect to diversify in our careers, carrying the much-needed pragmatism of the engineering worldview into politics, policy, law or medicine, though I don’t if I want my surgeon making an “order of magnitude” approximation.

Perhaps others of us will choose to join humanitarian organizations, carrying our engineering skill sets across the oceans. Google, in its infinite wisdom, shows 23.8 million hits for the phrase “volunteer opportunities” – we are not now, and shall never be, forced into isolation. And, with the skills we have worked so hard to acquire, we can now – together – be the next giant upon whose shoulders a future inquisitive student will stand.

And so, as we exit through the gates of this university, I ask all of us to take that first step down our own paths, to put into action the knowledge and confidence that we have gained while here, and to always remember the strengths of ingenuity, character and spirit that will bind us eternally, as Orediggers.

Thank you.