Alumni Magazine - Summer 2008 - (Page 51) “You have become part of a very, very small group of people that the world is depending on to change the future,” Kamen said. “You have a lot of work to do.” Kamen told graduates the most relevant advice he would give them is to “pick something important to work on — something you will have passion to spend a lot of time on. That might sound easy. I personally think that’s the hardest thing you’ll ever do.” Georgia Tech awarded Kamen and former Sen. Sam Nunn, who now leads an initiative to reduce the nuclear threat, honorary doctoral degrees during the ceremony. President Wayne Clough, presiding at the graduation ceremonies, jested that as a student at Tech, Nunn, Cls 60, was more interested in the freshman cake race than the nuclear race. Nunn won the cake race and, Clough observed, it must have had a positive impact, because he has not lost a race since. After serving in the state Legislature, he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972 at age 36 and became chairman of the powerful Armed Services Committee. After retiring in 1997, Georgia Tech named its school of international affairs in Nunn’s honor. Nunn is chief executive officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, working to reduce the threats of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. Nunn’s address to the graduates was filled with wit and humor. “When I entered Georgia Tech as an industrial management student in 1956, never in my wildest dreams did I anticipate that it would take me 52 years to receive a degree. By the end of my freshman year, it was apparent to all observers that I was a Ramblin’ Wreck, but there was strong suspicion that I would never be a helluva engineer. “At the end of my junior year, I realized that three years of law school would be much easier than passing the two remaining courses which were required in mechanical drawing. So instead of becoming a great engineer or architect, I dropped into law school, I descended into the practice of law and I finally sank into the depths of politics. “To complete my life story, after leaving the United States Senate in 1997, I returned to Georgia Tech because I discovered to my delight that you had dropped mechanical drawing and you had added women. “You graduates already know that Georgia Tech is one of the toughest schools in the country. In the years ahead, you will find that it is one of the most respected in the world. And you will be increasingly proud of the degree you receive and the acquired knowledge and the wonderful opportunity to serve that it represents. “One thought for all graduates: Technology and science are outrunning the world of law, the world of religion, the world of human relations, the world of governance and the world of international cooperation. “Bridges must be built between the world of science and technology and the world of human relations, bridges which can give shape and purpose to our technology and our science and breathe heart and soul and wisdom into our knowledge. “Your Georgia Tech education gives you not just opportunities to cash in but also opportunities to build bridges. I urge you to do so. So from the slowest RAT of the class of 1960, I offer my congratulations.” GT At the spring commencement ceremony, honorary doctorates were given to businessman Dean Kamen, left, and former Sen. Sam Nunn. Kamen told the graduates that “the world is a mess. It is going to require extraordinary, smart, passionate people to fix it.” In his address, Nunn reminded the new alumni, “Bridges must be built between the world of science and technology and the world of human relations, bridges which can give shape and purpose to our technology and our science and breathe heart and soul and wisdom into our knowledge.” Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine • Summer 2008 51
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