University of Maine Commencement Address
Ms. Karen Gordon Mills

Thank you, President Kennedy, and thank you all for this great honor.  

It is a privilege to be speaking at an institution which has given rise to Olympians, Nobel Prize winners, masters of the written word, and highly-respected officials such as our own Governor John Baldacci and U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe.

To you, the graduating class, I offer my heartfelt congratulations. 

Here you sit with the last papers written, the last exams under your belt, the graduation parties now fond memories.  You are ready to look ahead – to move forward – to grab hold of what the future may have in store.

Some of you may be wondering how it came to be that you arrived at this day – only to find an economy in distress… and future job prospects not what you expected. 

You might be thinking that you got a bad deal, that this bad economy will prevent you from getting on a good track in life.

But today, my message to you is this – this economy will not define you.  You, the members of this great class from this great university from this great state of Maine will define your own success… and your success will define the future of America. 

(America’s spirit of entrepreneurship)

As you may have heard, I recently started a new position working for President Obama.  My job is to lead the Small Business Administration.  The SBA’s goal is to make sure that we meet the needs of millions of small businesses across the country – while helping talented entrepreneurs who want to start their own.

A few months ago, the President gave a speech on small business. He described how small businesses are often born in family meetings around kitchen tables.  And he described small businesses as being “the heart of the American economy…” and part of the path to the American Dream.

I completely agree.  In fact, small businesses created roughly 70 percent of all new jobs in the past decade. They’re responsible for half of all private sector jobs, and in a place like Maine – that number is even higher.

• Many of you here today might already be working at a small business…

• Others of you might be thinking about starting a small business of your own…

• And a few of you may have already tested your wings by starting one while in college. 

As you have heard, I have worked with a number of small businesses over the years.  In my experience, I have found a common theme that distinguishes a good business owner from a great business owner… and a good company from a great company.

It’s not a shiny new business plan.  It’s not a cutting-edge marketing strategy.  And it’s not necessarily how much money you have to invest.

It’s much more simple than that.  It’s passion.

I am sure that many people have told you to “follow your passion” over the course of your education.  Some of you might still be wondering, “How do I know what I am passionate about?”

Here’s my advice: Think about what you choose to do when you have a spare minute.  Do you work with the elderly? Do you read books on the Civil War? Do you climb Mount Katadin?  Often, that is where you can find the first hints of what you are truly passionate about.

Recently, I spoke with one of the graduates today who started off as a writer and became a philosophy major.  But guess what he is doing this summer? He’s starting a personal training business on the side.  I think he’ll be successful, because he has a true passion for it.

Passion is the driver of America’s successful small businesses.  It is the basis for our country’s entrepreneurial spirit.  And I strongly believe that this class has both an opportunity – and a responsibility – to discover and pursue your passion. 

• Are you passionate about the environment?
  • We need you to build the companies that harness our nation's national resources and create renewable energy.
• Are you passionate about advancing human health?
  • We need you to build the companies that harness our nation’s natural resources and create renewable energy.
• Are you passionate about public service and guiding our prosperity as a state and as a nation? 
  • We need you to bring your ideas to Augusta.  We need you to bring your voice to Washington.

This is the great moment of challenge for our country… but it is also a great moment of opportunity for each of you.

If you each pursue your passions, find your own spirit of entrepreneurship, you will live a richer, fuller life… and, just as importantly, America’s future will be stronger.

(Maine’s track record of leading the way)

My second message to you is that – regardless of where you are from – you will always have a home and a family here in Maine.

Maine truly is a special place.  It is a place of great beauty and strong values.  It is a place where community matters. And more and more – even in this difficult economy – Maine is a place to find a job and plan a future. 

Maine thrives because of the innovative and talented people in our cities, our towns and our universities – including this one. And Maine needs you here to pursue some of the great opportunities the state has for economic growth and innovation.

I want to give two quick examples of how Maine is finding this more promising future.

Several years ago, the Naval Air Station in Brunswick – where I live – went on the Base Closure list and we knew we would need something to replace the jobs that would be lost.

A number of us started working together.  And we asked a critical question:  What do people do here in Maine that is unique in the world? 

The answer was right here on this Orono campus.

You may have heard of the Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center.  Some of you have probably seen it… or taken a tour… or maybe even worked or studied in the laboratories.  The center is the hub for advanced research for many industries, including boat building. 

We have been building boats in Maine for more than 400 years.  We used to make boats only out of wood, but now we use composites.  At the Center, researchers are working with boat builders to make boat hulls that are the lightest and fastest in the world. 

We thought, “This should be one of Maine’s premier growth industries.  Maine people should have jobs making composite boats long into the future.”

So, we brought everyone together – from the builders, to the researchers, to business and education experts – and we formed an alliance. 

As a result, Maine’s boat building industry is positioned to compete across the globe, selling boats in places as far away as Shanghai… and the new research in composites is allowing us to look at even more industries such as bridge-building and wind blades.  

Another story…

Last year, a pulp processing mill here in Old Town closed up and laid off workers, repeating a scenario that had happened just two years before. 

But this year, the mill reopened with the name Old Town Fuel and Fiber.  While making traditional pulp is part of their business strategy… their goal is to make bio-products and bio-fuels. They’ll do this as part of a long-term partnership with researchers here at the University.

The boat builders’ alliance and the biofuels partnership are just two examples of what is happening here in Maine – and they have one important thing in common: We’re finding new ways to innovate, new ways to grow, and new ways to create jobs.

And we know that much of the talent and new ideas are born right here among the faculty and students at the University of Maine.

I have shared a couple of success stories that have already been written.  Now, it’s time for you to build on Maine’s track record of success… by picking up the pen and starting to write your own.

(Your proven ability to reach your goals)

We have talked about how your passion and your spirit of entrepreneurship will help move our country forward…  and we’ve talked about the opportunities that Maine will continue to offer you throughout your life…

My last point today is a simple piece of advice:  Set personal goals for yourself.  Make them tough.  But also make them achievable.

The good news is – by sitting there today with your cap and gown, you have already proven that you can do just that.

This is a tough time in America’s economy, but I know that each of you has what it takes to succeed.

You will succeed even if you do not know today exactly what you want to do in the future.

When I graduated from college, I would have never thought that I would be walking into the doors of the West Wing to discuss national policies that will serve and protect America’s small businesses.

But I am getting the chance to pursue my passion and serve my country at the same time.  For that I am immensely grateful. 

Keep an eye out for similar opportunities in your career, because I know that great opportunities always present themselves to University of Maine graduates – especially to this talented Class of 2009.

I will close with a quote.

As you might know, Thomas Jefferson played a key role in creating a model to establish public universities around the country.  He was one of our country’s first great leaders in higher education.

He once wrote, “If the condition of man is to be progressively ameliorated, as we fondly hope and believe, education is to be the chief instrument in effecting it.”

Students, you will soon hold in your hands a very powerful instrument, a degree from the University of Maine. 

With that instrument, I know you can improve the condition of your fellow man if you embrace America’s spirit of entrepreneurship… if you build on Maine’s tradition of leading the way… and if you set tough goals and continue to reach them, as you have done today.

If you do each of those things, your individual success… and our Nation’s success… will not only be possible – it will be inevitable.   Thank you.

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