Graduation Address

"Remarks by Allison McCain, Ceremony C." (17 May 2007). (UA Case 67, Box 3)

Your Honor, Chancellor, Mr. President, Distinguished Guests and, especially, Graduates, it is with a great deal of gratitude and pride that I accept this Honorary Degree from UNB today.

Today is a good news day for just about everyone in attendance – either because they are receiving a degree, know someone who is receiving a degree or perhaps there are a few who are just relieved to have confirmation they did get that final credit.

It has been difficult to decide what to say on this occasion and even more difficult to feel qualified to do so. It was suggested to me that it would be best if my remarks were thoughtful, relevant but brief. I can only promise the latter.

My remarks today will be based on my personal feelings and experience but will also, no doubt, contain a little borrowed from others. So here are some thoughts on UNB, New Brunswick and, most importantly, you the class of 2007.

Graduates, you have good reason to be justifiably proud of the degree you are receiving today from the University of New Brunswick.

UNB is often referred to as a good Maritime university but that, unfortunately, does not do it justice. UNB is a national institution – a national university located in the Maritimes. Indeed students and faculty from around the world are making their mark right here.

Since its inception in 1785, UNB has a long list of accomplishments with many graduates who subsequently became great leaders in Canada and around the world. I have no doubt that history will show that the class of ’07 contributed its fair share of achievements.

If you need further confirmation of how UNB is viewed, I suggest you look at the recent Forging Our Futures Campaign which has raised well over $100M – a clear indication of the high regard donors across Canada and beyond have for UNB and its reputation. They wanted to back a winner!

While the influence of UNB reaches around the world, I want to make a pitch for New Brunswick today.

I often hear people referring to New Brunswick as a great place to be from but the reality is it is a great place to be.

People use terms or phrases like globalization, the world is shrinking, the world is flat – all of which are true. Events are now communicated in real time and everything is much more transparent. No longer do we have a comfortable, somewhat isolated community in which we can quietly live and work.

We are exposed to the world which creates both competition and opportunities. We have to adapt and we have to do it quickly.

This call for change is being led, in part, by people such as UNB’s President John McLaughlin and David Ganong. Fortunately, there appears to be a recognition of the need for change across the province.

New Brunswick may lack scale but we do not lack talent. Too often, however, that talent has been utilized in other parts of the country as people felt that is where the opportunities lay.

There are some terrific examples of people, companies or institutions that have been able to succeed from a New Brunswick base. Let me give you a few:

I am fortunate to be associated with a company that started in Florenceville, population 750, but is today the world leader in potato processing. The Atlantic Cancer Institute is not a large research facility but its researchers have made some wonderful discoveries form their labs in Moncton. And Fredericton has sizeable engineering consulting firms selling their skills around the world. These are just a few of the "gems" to be found here in New Brunswick. There are others.

It is time for New Brunswick to step onto the world stage. To do so, we need young, bright, enthusiastic people to lead the renaissance of our province – just the sort I see in this auditorium today. The world is truly an amazing place and you should be part of that global community but I also would suggest you can do that by seeking your fame and fortune from right here in New Brunswick. "Start small but think big."

Finally, I want to leave you with three pieces of advice which may be of some help or perhaps just confirm what you already know. Ultimately, it will be your own intelligence and your own experience that will shape your success.

First, find something you can be passionate about.
Life is too short and work too long if it is "just a job." Youth brings with it enthusiasm and optimism – do not lose those by allowing yourself to be trapped in something for which you have no passion. It is bad for you personally. It is also bad for those you work alongside who do have a passion which you do not share.

Secondly, do something with the intention of making a difference.
It is not enough to just be well educated – it is the application of that knowledge that will change the world. It was Edmund Burke who said "It is necessary only for good men to do nothing for evil to triumph."

Today’s world has enormous challenges – poverty, war, climate change – but you have the capacity to fix those problems. Your enthusiasm, your optimism and your altruism can make a real difference.

Finally, I want to repeat a graduation speech Winston Churchill gave in 1965, shortly before he died.
Apparently, he was so ill he had to be helped to the podium and there was some question as to whether he could give the address. He paused, then said

"Never, never give up. Never give up."

Congratulations class of ’07. Everyone here is so proud of you. Savor the moment.