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Thank you very much, Ms. Den.
It is now my great pleasure to introduce today's keynote speaker Dr. Leslie Hickle.
The name Leslie Hickel is well known in the biotech industry in California
... Doctor Hickle is vice president for business management for BioAlta
LLC, she is an alumni of UCR and a valued member of the Colleges Board of Advisors.
In 2000, she received the California IPM Innovator of the Year
Award
for creating a legacy IPM program.
Please welcome Leslie Hickle.
Yes, I am standing up.
Thank you, Dean Baldwin,
Chancellor White, faculty, family, friends and graduates.
I am here today to celebrate the fulfillment of one of our dreams -
a college education -
and to relate how it can be the start
of an unimaginable,
unpredictable,
exciting and rewarding career in science -
something I hope that all of you will experience.
The technical excellence and mentoring I received at UCR
led me to a career that ranged from exploring microbial
community diversity,
to working with
teams of scientists
who created transgenic plants and synthetic organisms.
And it all started from a foundation
of strong education,
but you're also develop skills
that allowed you to take
advantage of opportunities,
you have get the attention of a potential employer in a nanosecond,
and you already know how to do that.
How many of you can be walking
and talking with your best friend
and still communicate
your most complex, deepest thoughts in a hundred and sixty characters or less.
You've also developed the ability to multitask and focus.
How many windows do you have open on your laptop?
25?
50?
And that doesn't include the twitter and MP3 feeds.
And you were still able to concentrate and successfully complete your coursework.
Life
is full of windows and the ability to ignore distractions and focus on the
important things
is critical for success.
Through your classmates, alumni, professional organizations
hobbies, sports, social networking -
you are already
connected to hundreds of thousands of people. This is a large graduating class.
Use those connections.
Remember that in this hybrid, virtual world that we live in,
one person can make a difference
look at what a passionate crusader accomplished in Egypt. {Audience cheers: EGPYT!}
It also shows,
it also shows,
that opportunity is not limited by a geograph- geography or culture.
The world looks like you.
Look around at your diversity, in your class,
within UCR
and within the UC system.
You have a head start.
Many of you already speak a second language.
I encourage you to travel as much as you can,
see the world,
live and assimilate perspectives from different cultures,
solutions for a healthy you
and for a healthy planet,
will come from these unexpected encounters,
and you may have more time than you think,
under the affordable health care act
we now can allow parents to carry their children until age 26.
So, with all this global connectivity, there is one thing that becomes even
more important than before,
it is something you need to watch out for
because of the transparency and permanency of information on the
internet,
anyone can snoop around in your backyard
and we're talking about something that you have sole responsibility for
and it affects the quality of both your professional and your personal life -
it is your integrity.
your employers, friends,
lovers, can research your history on the Web,
and you take that history with you everywhere you go all of the time.
Your integrity is yours to nurture
and protect.
So, when in doubt
take the high road.
Treat yourself and everyone around you with respect,
with kindness,
and with grace. That way you'll burn no bridges and you'll have no regrets.
You know those gut feelings you get before making a decision?
Go with them.
They're usually right, even though need not quite sure why.
When I came to UCR, I wanted to be a veterinarian,
but instead I became an entomologist.
It turns out
that a background in insects,
chemistry and pest management,
led to opportunities to...
conduct research and develop products
to improve the health of turkeys,
chickens, pigs, cattle, horses and fish.
Now, mucking around in livestock manure, collecting flies, maggots, parasites, rodents
and other interesting organisms does not sound like the most
desirable career path
but it was fun and rewarding,
and I enjoyed it, because I was working with animals and their caretakers.
Literally education in the field
I have been living my dream but from another direction
and honestly I hadn't realized it until preparing my talk with you today.
Life is funny.
It's an experiment,
just like science.
We are still deciphering the intricacies of our DNA
but there is a reason why you gravitated towards certain studies,
why you like to sing, play the saxophone,
build engines, write software or illustrate the wings of butterflies.
These are gifts that make you happy.
Incorporate them into your journey.
Remember that your career is only one chapter in your biography.
So, don't give up on the rest of your dreams.
I would like to conclude with words from Eleanor Roosevelt
who said,
"yesterday is history,
tomorrow is a mystery
and today is a gift.
That is why they call it a present."
And that's why we need to savor times such as these.
Like right now,
sit back,
take a breath
no, really, sit back and
and take a deep breath. Yeah.
Take a look around you, smile, laugh
and rejoice in this moment,
because you are living your dream.
I'd like to congratulate
you on all of your achievements.
Go class... 200- 2011. Thank you.