Graduation Address

"Address by the Honourable Marilyn Trenholme Counsell Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick, Ceremony A." (28 May 2003). (UA Case 67, Box 3)

I never imagined that one day I would give an Encaenia address at North America’s oldest public university. For this opportunity – and for my honorary degree – I thank you from my heart, Mr. Chancellor, Mr. President. Merci du fond du coeur!

It is humbling to receive this honour side by side with Dr. Natalia Voskresenskayan. From this day, NAtalia, you and I will share a precious bond.

Just as special is the bond with each of you – the graduates.

And I hope this is the proudest day of your life! Soyez fiers!

It is to you that I offer these thoughts.

As Lieutenant Governor, I speak often about reading – the joy, the power and the comfort of books – la joie, la force et le confort des livres.

It takes books to nourish the spirit, the mind and the imagination.

Sheree Fitches words:

"Yesterday I saw the moon
But it wasn’t in the sky
It was in a book
It sounded round
The gold got in my eye,
You, see I learned to read, Miss
Isn’t that so grand?
I never knew it possible
To hold the moon in my hands."

That’s imagination! And that is my theme this afternoon. Albert Einstein said: "To know is nothing at all; to imagine is everything." "Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we know now and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know."

I wonder how many times you have stood on this beautiful campus, looking down at the tranquil scene below – tall trees remain from the forest which sheltered early settlers, and most of all, the majestic Saint John River continues to flow quietly, recalling perhaps the voyages of First Nations people, les Acadiens and Acadiennes, the United Empire Loyalists, Fathers of Confederation and so many more.

Susan Montague, UNB’s Development Officer, wrote: "They came to New Brunswick – with little more than they could carry – to settle what was…a wilderness…within a few months, these ‘loyal Adventurers’ had petitioned the government to provide for the education of their children. So begin, in 1785…the origins of the University of New Brunswick."

Imagine their courage, their conviction, their belief in education! This is your heritage! And encaenia is a festival of the founders. Generation after generation of visionaries have made this University –a university that speaks to the world of the New Brunswick of 2003 – avec fierté, comme la suele province partout au Canada officiellement bilingue.

You are the products of all the vision, all the labour, all the hope invested in you. And today, I ask you to imagine your good fortune.

I awake each new morning, ever more aware of the blessings that are mine, and I thank my parents, my children, my teachers, all who have supported and loved me, and I thank God.

Here at UNB, the imagination with which you were born has been nourished – the neuronal circuits in your brain have been fed with ideas, images and sounds.

Now, you will go in different directions: business, kinesiology, education. In each, you will need imagination to fulfill your destiny.

The great business leaders of this Province – famed for newspapers, forestry products, French fries, sardines, chocolate and so much more – could not have conquered world attention without imagination.

Charles Schwab said: "A man (a woman) to carry on a successful business must have imagination…a dream of the whole thing."

Successful business in this new millennium requires a blending of technology and the proven acumen of the ages, the capacity to change with rapidity and flexibility, and above all, to imagine new products, new markets and new forms of communication. I ask you to champion excellence. Success demands nothing less.

Kinesiology reflects imagination. To understand how the tiniest muscle contracts, relaxes; to grasp the complex neurotransmission system and the molecular chemistry behind the most minute flicker; to let your mind travel from the cerebrum and the cerebellum to the little toe and back takes more than just a good anatomy test. It takes imagination!

You can change people’s health and their lives!

Teachers are the guardians of children’s imagination. It is theirs to keep alive, to cultivate, to allow to blossom. The first nursery rhyme in kindergarten, the first number game, the first science project, the first essay, the first visit to a museum, and so much more, begin the child on a path of livelong learning, aflame with curiosity and imagination.

No one has spoken more eloquently about imagination than Prof. Northrop Frye. His words: "No matter how much experience we may gather in life, we can never…get the dimension of experience that the imagination gives us."

His theme – "The educated imagination!" Graduates, that’s what you take with you as you leave this institution of knowledge, of scientific exploration.

Frye wrote: "…education is something that affects the whole person, not bits and pieces…It doesn’t just train the mind; it’s social and moral development too…the ideal world that our imaginations develop inside us looks like a dream that came out of nowhere…But it isn’t. It’s…the real form of human society hidden behind the one we see…the world revealed to us in the arts and sciences."

I ask you: Does this mean that we must think – must imagine – like children? Perhaps it does! It will take at least a little of the innocence with which we were born to imagine a world where there is lasting peace; where each child goes to bed without hunger, and with the contentment of a story read by someone who loves him/her; where every human being shares the responsibility for the protection of our planet; where each of us treats out neighbour as we would wish to be treated – as an equal – proud of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Each of us will have to take a stand. We will have to act!

I want you to think about people, whose words and actions have changed your life – people for whom you have the greatest respect and gratitude.

Two years ago, I met Jean Vanier, a man whose goodness touches the most vulnerable. He said: "It is in the service of others that we discover our own humanity."

Young people today are learning that volunteering – serving others – opens doors of opportunity.

I ask you to take time to give back to a society that has give you so much.

Dr. Albert Schweitzer said: "I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones among you who will be truly happy are those who have sought and found how to serve."

Pierre Elliott Trudeau, one of the greatest Canadians of the 20th century said: "A country, after all, is not something you build as the pharaohs built the pyramids, and then leave standing there to defy eternity. A country is something that is built every day out of certain basic shared values. And so it is in the hands of every Canadian to determine how well and wisely we shall build the country of the future."

Take these thoughts – incorporate them into all that you have learned and all that you will learn each day of your life. The possibilities that await you are as limitless as your imagination!

Along the way, you will face many challenges. Shun cynicism; it will corrode your spirit.

What will matter will be your willingness to approach each experience – each person - with openness and a positive attitude.

Let me tell you a story. Your President, Dr. John MacLaughlin, spoke recently to 300 highway engineers. They were in a party mood – the noise level in the banquet hall was high. He was warned that in all probability, they would not pay attention. He rose to speak with a smile, a few quiet words and a hush descended on the room. He talked about the place of the university in the lives of citizens, of building together. They left that room changed. Never doubt that you, too, can make a significant difference.

As you walk through these doors today into a beautiful Spring afternoon, remember always your professors and classmates. Come back often. Take with you the comforting traditions of this historic University and the exhilarating empowerment you have acquired from modern thinkers.

I urge you to walk through many open doors in your lifetime. I have done just that! Through doors that I could not have imagined, I have found new ideas, new experiences and new people. But I always remember the old familiar doors of home and of university.

Robert Frost wrote: "The Road Not Taken":

"Two roads diverged in the woods, and I –
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."

As you choose your roads, may you be guided by the love and trust of those near and dear to you, by a sense of justice, by faith, by wisdom, and by your imagination.

I believe that you will make the world a better place, and that you will always stand up for democracy and for the dignity of the individual.

Take time to create your own life – one with purpose, with friendship, with art and with music. Strive to be happy! (Desiderata) Only you can make that happen! And as an old family doctor, I know that laughter IS great medicine!

Que Dieu Vous Bénisse! God Bless!