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Nigel Griffiths's Commencement Speech 2009
Commencement Speech by Nigel Griffiths MP
To the Graduates of the University of Northern Virginia
Saturday 27 June 2009 - at 1pm for 3pm
Oaktown High School, 2900 Sutton Road, Vienna, Virginia 22181
Grand Marshall Noor, Ladies and Gentlemen, distinguished guests and students.
It is a great pleasure and an honour to join you today at this graduation ceremony of our ground-breaking university in the great state of Virginia.
For it is to this State that leaders and ordinary people - and the leaders of tomorrow come from all over the world to arrive at Dullas international airport and fan out across America, and like them, and one day soon, you will fan out across the globe to make your mark on this exciting world.
And with the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency located in this state, you are at the nerve centre of 21st century America.
And with Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington, the first President of the United States, located here in Virginia, we are steeped in history.
And with Arlington national cemetery, where rests the body of John F Kennedy and so many courageous Americans, we all acknowledge the debt owed to great Americans past and present.
In the year 1609, the very first European settlers had been here in Virginia planting crops for two seasons, and today in 2009 we are seeing the fruits of your labours - and your intellect, flourishing in this great university.
You have come here from over 30 countries, spanning the continents.
When I was an honours undergraduate at Edinburgh University, I shared a flat for two years with a PhD student called Gordon Brown, who is now the Prime Minister of Great Britain.
And Gordon used to say "Education is a privilege that should be a right, and a first class education is a universal passport."
And, why is it that top students from all over the world - graduates and undergraduates - flock to this university?
It is because this is a global university that provides you with that universal passport - a first class education that allows its alumni to fan out across the globe, meeting the needs of people and employers - it will allow you to take up key positions in finance and management, in government and local government, in education and health, doing positive things in the richest countries and - equally important - in some of the poorest.
That is why so many alumni continue to support this university as I hope you all will - for, as the champions of tomorrow, you must never forget the debt you to your mentors of today.
And what the University of Northern Virginia does best, is nurture your talent and help you on the road to achieving your full potential. I am proud of the key partnership forged between this university and the London International College which I chair.
And you can be proud of your degree from a distinguished institution with a reputation that crosses continents.
At this University, we have partners on campuses in Canada, the Czech Republic, China and Hong Kong, India, London, Dubai, Malaysia, Singapore - your direct link to the key dynamic centres of the modern world.
And we at the London International College in the heart of Oxford Street in London, are proud of the work our two institutions, do together.
Let me acknowledge on your behalf, the debt owed to our dedicated staff here and to your parents and families who have supported you - the people who love you and the people who want to see you soar.
In years to come you will look back on this great day and say: "My university gave me the passport to achievement, and I took that passport and made the most of myself."
So from all of us (up) here to all of you . . . Well done! and congratulations on your magnificent achievement. You will be our ambassadors and we will follow your careers with pride.
For, if I am sure of anything about the future, I am sure of this - for the graduates and post graduates of the University of Northern Virginia, for you, the best is yet to come!
Thank you.
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