Coleman, who earned a doctorate from UMass, and David Gergen, a former White House senior aide, spoke to about 4,300 who received undergraduate degrees. Watch video
AMHERST – The 4,300 University of Massachusetts students who graduated Friday evening at the 141st Commencement got words of wisdom from outer space and on the ground, words of both inspiration and of concern but also of faith that this generation will be the new leaders to help save the world.
With her hair flying in zero gravity, NASA astronaut Catherine “Cady” Coleman spoke via videotape from the International Space Station that is orbiting the earth.
Coleman, who lives in Shelburne Falls when on Earth, told the graduates that when she sees the planet, “I see a beautiful place,” and said “our world is a fragile place.” She challenged graduates to be part of the solution to save it. She said “no single one of you can solve large problems by yourself.”
“Be part of a team that you build,” she said. And she urged graduates to see if “you can try to be open-minded, let people surprise you.” She also told graduates to follow “whatever is your passion.”
Coleman, who earned her doctorate in polymer science and engineering from UMass-Amherst, also displayed her UMass spirit and said she brought a piece of it with her – a Sam the Minuteman mascot bobblehead – who was there flying weightless with her.
David Gergen, a former White House senior aide to presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton, received an honorary doctorate at the ceremony. He said that 50 years ago, President John F. Kennedy promised that the United States would be the first to reach the moon by the end of the decade.
He said it was only fitting “that the commencement speaker is speaking to us from space. Best of all this astronaut is a woman.”
He said that some people worry about the American dream and the U.S.' ability to be in the forefront as the country faces mounting debt and the emergence of China.
“I have some doubts (about) the capacity of my generation," Gergen said. "We are not leaving this country the way we should be leaving it.” But he said the graduates and their generation offer hope. He talked about the Navy SEALs who killed Osama bin Laden on May 1 who are part of that young generation.
He praised the 2,000 students who gathered to celebrate the announcement of bin Laden’s death. “I thank you for standing up for the country.” That drew applause and cheers from graduates and chants of “USA!” In that demonstration “we see the spirit of this country,” Gergen said.
“My generation needs to clean up what we started” to prepare the country for the younger generation to be “new leaders of America.”
Graduating senior Alan Taylor Ulichney, of Stow, a dual major in journalism and economics, spoke, and 11 graduates were honored as 21st Century Leaders, including Sophie Kolchin-Miller, of Amherst, an anthropology major; Saranthip Rattanaserikiat, of Northampton, a civil and environmental engineering major; and Teresa Skelly, of Springfield, a sport management major.
Earlier Friday, more than 1,200 graduate students received their masters, doctorates and certificates of advanced studies at the Graduate Commencement ceremonies at the Mullins Center.