Commencement Reflections

How a group of newly commissioned Army officers reenergized me about the future of America.

If you spend enough time reading the news these days, it’s easy to conclude that America is coming apart.

Trust in government is near historic lows and trust in the media isn’t much better. Religious participation has declined, and Americans feel increasingly disconnected from their communities.

But a few weeks ago, standing on stage at Florida Atlantic University (FAU), I found a reason to feel hopeful about the future.

I was there to deliver the keynote address to the 19 Army ROTC cadets earning the rank of second lieutenant. The average GPA of this cohort was 3.56.

The ceremony itself was historic for FAU as it was the first commissioning class for the newly established Talon Battalion, led by Lieutenant Colonel Keith Weaver, a combat veteran and fellow 82nd Airborne paratrooper who has helped build one of the fastest growing ROTC programs.

Watching them take their sacred oath to support and defend the Constitution, I was reminded that for all the reasons people have lost faith in America, there are still young men and women willing to commit themselves to something bigger than themselves.

Roughly 5,000 young men and women have earned their commissions as Army officers every year through ROTC programs across the country. They are the ones who wake up at 5:30 am to do physical training (PT), take leadership classes, spend two weekends at field training exercises each semester, conduct summer training in the scorching heat, and manage a full load of classes in order to compete and earn their second lieutenant rank.

One of these new FAU lieutenants was Paul McCullough IV. His father and I were cadets together at Kings College in Wilkes-Barre thirty years ago. I looked at this kid taking the same oath his father took, and I had to remind myself to keep it together since I’ve known him since he was a toddler.

When I joined the ROTC program in 1993, there were only three cadets. By the time we graduated, there were 30. Leadership has a way of multiplying itself (thanks to the mentorship of two U.S. Army Armor Captains Bob Thomas and Joe O’Donnell leading from the front). In May 1996, four of us were commissioned as second lieutenants.

The commencement speaker that day at King’s College was Republican Governor Tom Ridge.

Ridge was a decorated Vietnam combat veteran, Harvard grad, and former U.S. Congressman from Erie, Pennsylvania who would later become the nation’s first Secretary of Homeland Security after the attacks of 9/11. But on that afternoon, he wasn’t a national figure to me. He was simply there to help commission and congratulate a handful of young Army officers.

I’ll always remember how he stood up when our names were called to shake each of our hands, looking us in the eyes and saying "Congratulations Lieutenant, make us proud” when he just as easily could’ve stayed seated.

I made sure to follow in his footsteps and shake the hand of every single one of those 19 graduates at FAU. It was a hopefully moment that felt like passing the torch to the next generation.

Lessons from Commencements

One of the greatest honors of my career has been delivering commencement addresses. Whether at the University of Pennsylvania Fels School, my alma maters of King’s College and Widener University, I always leave inspired and learn something from the graduating class.

Country star Eric Church gave the commencement address at UNC this year, using his guitar and his “six strings of life” as a metaphor for success.

I also learned from Roger Federer, who spoke at Dartmouth in 2024 about mental toughness and shared a surprising stat: he won nearly 80 percent of his matches across his career, but only 54 percent of the points he played. That's a useful reminder for anyone beginning a new chapter in life. You will make mistakes. You will have setbacks. Some opportunities won't work out. Some plans will fail.

The goal isn’t to avoid failure. The goal is to learn from it, reset, and keep moving forward.

Don’t let one bad point convince you you’ve lost the match. Get up, dust yourself off, and keep getting after it.

As Americans, especially as we approach our 250th birthday, we can learn a lot from this young generation. Don’t let those who discount or disparage young people shape your perspective. Instead of dictating to the next generation, empower them by investing your time and wisdom so they can flourish and lead.

You might be surprised by what you find if you’re willing to look a little harder. They are light years away from my generation when it comes to digital fluency, social justice, adaptability and their entrepreneurial spirit. We just need to give them a chance, like Tom Ridge said to us thirty years ago, “Congratulations, now go make us proud!”