May 15, 2007
The EnergySolutions Scholarship Banquet Keynote Speech
Good evening ladies and gentlemen, parents, educators, and to our student guests of honor. It is wonderful to be here. I would like to take a moment to thank the EnergySolutions Foundation for the invitation to speak tonight, and for EnergySolutions' support of WSU Tri-Cities’ incoming freshman class. EnergySolutions was the first business in the Tri-Cities to step up and make a commitment, sponsoring ten freshman scholarships right out of the gate. EnergySolutions’ financial contribution demonstrates its commitment to developing an educated workforce here in our community.
Nationally, the EnergySolutions Foundation is taking a leading role in promoting math and science education through its Math, Science and Technology high school scholarship program. Science and technology will continue to be the driving force in the global economy. I salute EnergySolutions for investing in our nation’s young minds, for America's future depends on the quality of our students’ education.
For more than a century, the United States has been at the forefront of scientific research and engineering, making breakthroughs in medicine, exploring the universe and designing everything from cars to computer chips. And doing it better than anyone else in the world. Now, we need a new generation of scientists and engineers. A generation that reflects the vast potential of the new American workforce.
Tonight we honor nine students who have demonstrated exemplary academic achievement, citizenship and commitment to studies in science, math and engineering.
Student, you are to be commended, not only for your achievement, but also for the choice you have made. The choice to devote the extra hours of study and homework that a path in math, science or engineering requires. I can tell you, it will be well worth it.
A strong foundation in math and science will prepare you no matter what career path or course of study you choose. For math and science affects everything we do in our daily lives. It is all around us. Even in areas you would not think of as being related to science. Music, painting and drawing—all of those disciplines have a basis in math and science.
There are so many discoveries out there for you to make. Perhaps one of you will find a cure for cancer. One of you may help solve the problem of global warming. One of you may even develop a new technology that makes computers obsolete. Many of you will work in fields that haven’t been invented yet!
Yours is the generation that will keep America’s science and technology firing on all cylinders. Yours is the generation that will blaze new paths of learning and discovery in our nation’s ongoing endeavor of improving conditions of life for the country and the world.
As you consider your choices of colleges and universities, I want you to know that a world-class education is available right here at home. Although some of you may choose to spend your college years in places farther a field, I hope that many of you will choose to spend them here. WSU Tri-Cities has a stellar faculty—offering classes taught by some of the top minds in math, science and engineering. Our partnerships with area businesses like EnergySolutions, Pacific Northwest National Lab and the scientific community offer outstanding opportunities for internships and hands-on learning—opportunities that many other Universities simply cannot match.
As our region continues to grow, so does the demand for a qualified, skilled workforce. When you graduate from WSU Tri-Cities—or any college or university you choose, you will be prepared to succeed in the many career opportunities available to you. Yours is a very bright future indeed.
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