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Thank you, and the last part was unexpected.
Now I'm pleased to introduce our keynote speaker,
Captain Jay A. Kadowaki.
As the Naval Service Warfare Center, Corona Divisions Command
Officer,
Captain Kadowaki leads the scientists and engineers of the US Navy's
Independent Assessment Agent for Training, Weapons and Combat Systems.
He oversees one the newest federally designated labs located at the Inland
Empire Naval Base.
Captain Kadowaki he is a 1986 graduate of US Naval Academy
and received his master's degree
from Naval Postgraduate School.
He's a graduate of College of Naval Command and Staff at the Naval War
College
and the Darden School of Business Executive Program.
During his distinguished career,
Captain Kadowaki has been awarded four Meritorious Service Awards,
five Navy Commendation Medals,
two Navy Achievement Medals and numerous campaign and service awards.
In October of last year, the captain and I
signed an agreement
to formalize our long-standing partnership,
offering our graduate students opportunity to work at this specialized
facilities that the Naval Surface Warfare Center
and for the Navy
to benefit from our faculty's expertise.
Please join me in welcoming Captain Jay Kadowaki.
[Kadowaki] All right, thanks Reza,
Really a great opportunity to be able to work with you... these past... two
years and a real treat, and how about Andrew, what poised young man, great job, {applause}
and he's joining the Navy,
Navy, thank you very much.
So that's a bravo zulu to Andrew, and that is, for you non-Navy types, that means for
a job well done,
and again we're looking forward to having him as a shipmate and bringing him
in as one of our own.
And for Chancellor White, a BZ to you and your team, sir, for
producing such stellar engineers.
You know, at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Corona, we have over
100 UCR graduates.
I know there's countless others that are serving
across the country. Now,
I know for the class of 2011, are you out there 2011?
Where are you? {cheering}
Oh, there you are, 2011, good to see you.
I have great news. I know many of you are very nervous right now as to what the future
holds,
and I have taken care of that y'all will enlist in the Navy.
I have buses I will be rolling up shortly. I will shave your head, girls and boys alike,
and you'll commence your very great journey.
Just kidding, just kidding.
All right, ladies and gentlemen - graduates - what an honor to be here with you today,
and I do have some great news
about my commencement speech,
because of my experience as a naval officer, we are trained, and again this is not
something that is easily trained in those like me, who like me to speak,
but we're trained to be seen,
to be brief
and to be seated,
and so if my remarks are not memorable at least they will be much,
much shorter than Chancellor White's Undercover Boss episode.
And I do have a confession to make,
and that confession is that this probably standing here with you,
College of Engineering, is probably one of the last places I expected to be because I'll
tell you
as a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, with a bachelors of science
degree in Economics
...that I graduated,
with what I consider distinction,
I graduated.
And I graduated what I'd like to refer to as the top 95% of my
class.
Top 95% of my class, so
you all took calculus, you do the math.
So I like to do something special here today, give a shout out to the bottom
5% of the class,
to the bottom 5% of the class you are the survivalist,
you are the grinders, you are the bell- curve makers. {laughter}
Your diploma will say...
your diploma will the same thing as your neighbor who graduated in the top
5% of their class. So well done.
So seriously as the commanding officer of the Naval Surface Warfare Center
in Corona, gives me a great deal of pride
to represent your Inland Empire Navy base here today.
I have the privilege of leading an organization of 1000 scientists
engineers
as the Navy's independent assessment agent,
where we are charged with the awesome responsibility of gauging the war
fighting capability
of our Navy ships and aircraft, defend our nation
and to preserve our freedom.
Now how many of you knew that we had a naval base 20 miles from here?
Anybody?
That's good, no one knows that were there. Because Inland Empire
Magazine called us
your secret weapon.
I can tell you all
that what we would do in this forum I cannot share that with you because
you all seem like a nice group and again being a military man I would have to
kill you.
But I will tell you that we are one the largest employers of scientists and
engineers
within this region.
And if we were a corporation,
and this is where my economics degree comes in handy,
our annual report would say that we have a revenue over of over
$250 million
and because of our tactical expertise it would list customers like
Army,
Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines, and of course, the Navy.
But that is not the full extent of the list.
We would also include other organizations like NASA,
which uses our one-of-a-kind measurement facilities for their work.
Now let me tell you,
this really... I want you to see the work that your tax dollars
supporter through our stellar work force
and our world-class laboratories.
Last October Reza and I signed an education partnership agreement
between the Bourns College of Engineering
for Corona that enables us to share our technical expertise
and also provide access to our state of the art facilities.
What it also means is that one of the Navy's newest federal laboratories is
now officially partnered
with one of the UC's top engineering schools. That's you, you're
part of that top engineering school.
What's more it's a partnership between two of the most diverse campuses in the
country.
Reza, Chancellor White, this is something we both can be extremely proud
of
and that I want to publically applaud your efforts and your support to make
this reality. Well done, sir. {applause}
And for you students,
and those coming behind you, this means Bourns students can enhance your college
experience through internships with us.
Where you can work on tough technical challenges of national importance,
we'll give me the inside secrets if you work with us,
and have a springboard into the entire Navy research enterprise
which IEEE ranked as the number one government patent portfolio in the world.
That's right, the Navy's patent portfolio
is ranked number one
in the world. That's higher than NASA.
Or the nations of Japan and France.
This partnership also helps us maintain technical excellence
for the Navy with talented up-and-coming scientists and engineers.
And that would be each of you.
And we pay well.
We pay well. OK now you're listening.
That means you can afford your own place.
Think about it.
No more roommates. Walking around in your underwear all day.
Maybe even buy your own house or condo shortly after you graduate.
Okay maybe that's a lofty goal,
so if nothing else you can start to pay off those hefty student loans that will
come do shortly after you cross the stage here today.
And for your parents, the parents sitting out there,
I say that with my oldest heading off to college in the Fall,
that means no re-nesting
with mom and dad once you graduate.
Love you, Lindsey, but you're always welcome as a visitor in a non-resident
status. {laughter}
This also means diversity. I mentioned earlier the diversity we have on these two
campuses
and the importance the Navy has placed on diversity for a number of
years.
And really what it's all about is about bringing the best solutions to bear
for the security of our country.
For we know that diversity of thought
brings fresh approaches to new challenges
and it's what makes America great.
And diversity of thought comes from every aspect of who you are - your gender,
your upbringing, your culture, your academic
disciplines. And for us, diversity is how we ensure the Navy reflects the face
of the nation we still probably serve.
So here's a few examples.
Diversity of thought
is how we are using alternative energies like bio-fuels the power F-18s
and Navy ships.
How we're going to use alternative energy sources for at least
40% the Navy's total consumption
by the year 2020.
And we're working on getting a synthetic diesel pilot underway with UCR
oh by the way.
And how we are using the Navy ballistic missile flight technology to help the
Army defeat improvised explosive devices
IED's on the battlefield
and that work is being led by UCR graduate,
oh by the way.
So that's how we are using diversity in a science and engineering environment
to better the world we live in.
And UCR graduates can be part of this very proud team.
So I come here today to ask you how you might do that.
How after spending four years prepping for this day,
well maybe five or six years,
and oh my god for the parent that had to support you for seven years,
whatever it took to get through,
how might you be a force for good in the
world. With the talent that UCR minds have seen come through our ranks
those of you I've met here on campus I am confident that you, no
doubt,
make this a better,
more peaceful,
more prosperous world.
You have everything going for you.
You have acquired great skill sets that... here at the College of Engineering.
I know the caliber of your faculty.
You are limited only by the boldness of your dreams. So,
ask yourself,
what will your professional resume say in 30 years?
What will you want your family relationship to be decades from now?
Or how will you define your personal successes over the coming years? What
will the whole you be?
Will be defined by wealth?
By professional achievement?
Or through the knowledge that your work has truly made a difference
in the world.
If you're after wealth
that's easy to figure it out.
Just check your bank account.
Got a lot of money? You're wealthy.
You've achieved.
If you want professional achievement,
check your office location. I suggest a high floor with the corner office.
If you want to make a difference then check
that content of your soul.
And however you might see yourself as you begin the next chapter of your life
let me tell you
that you're making this world a better place.
It is the most notable mission that you might ever undertake,
not to mention it is really, really good for your soul. And as a former naval
officer said during his inaugural address as
president,
John F. Kennedy,
he so brilliantly stated, "Ask not what your country can do for you,
ask what you can do for your country."
So here is where my very fine military training helps me get
inside your mind.
I got a lot of mines talking to me right now.
This mission, should you choose to accept it, is to answer
the call.
Answering the call gives you the opportunity to give back to a nation that
has given
you so very much.
Answering the call would give you a fulfillment relatively few
will ever really know. A guiding force to do whatever it takes,
however it takes you. And whether in uniform, like Andrew, myself, or any
veterans here today,
whether a military civilian like the thousand civilians who work for me at
Naval Surface Warfare Center in Corona,
or the over 200,000
that work for the Navy,
whether a scientists or engineer working in the private sector,
to ensure our nation is at the forefront of innovation
and discovery to keep on our economic base strong,
whether a community volunteer helping those less fortunate
or those grade school students who have never experienced the excitement
of scientific discovery,
you, each and every one of you, can answer the call.
If you're wondering what the call is,
it is what makes America the greatest, most generous nation
on Earth.
It is the call,
the call to serve.
It has no sound, yet we can hear it.
It echoes in the whispers retelling of honorable sacrifices.
We can see it in the eyes of men and women infinitely more courageous
and more driven them most.
The call to serve has no weight,
yet we can hold it in our hands.
Commit to carrying it
close your heart until our country is safe.
And the anguish of those less was fortunate
has been soothed.
The call to serve is at once invisible, yet always present.
And for those who choose to answer the call, your country,
for your fellow man, for yourself, it is the most powerful force on Earth.
Congratulations on your ... congratulations on graduation
and I thank you for allowing me to share your very special day.
{applause}