제가 즐겨보는 C-SPAN 방송에서는 각계 저명 인사들의 연설들을 자주 재방영해 줍니다.
지난 주말에는 미국 몇몇 대학의 졸업식에서 있었던 다음과 같은 유명한 사람들의 졸업연설(commencement speech)이 재방영되었습니다.
①뉴욕 시장인 마이클 블룸버그(Michael Bloomberg)가 5월15일 Washington DC에 있는 George Washington University에서 한 졸업연설.
②불법체류자로 캘리포니아의 농장에서 일하면서 야간에 커뮤니티 칼리지를 다니고 그 후 대학을 나와 하버드 의과대학까지 졸업하여 Johns Hopkins 메디칼 센터의 신경외과 전문의(neurosurgeon)가 된 Dr. Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa가 5월9일 Southern Vermont University에서 한 연설. 그는 졸업생들에게 “여러분 모든 장애물을 기회로 만드십시오”(You turn obstacles into opportunities.)라는 귀한 메시지를 주었습니다.
③ 멕시칸 레스토랑인 Chipotle의 CEO인 Steve Ellis가 5월6일 자신의 모교인 University of Colorado에서 행한 연설.
④ 유명한 흑인 미남배우인 Denzel Washington이 5월16일 University of Pennsylvania에서 한 연설.
다음은 뉴욕 시장인 마이클 블룸버그의 졸업 연설의 일부를 지면관계상 영어로만 소개합니다.
다른 연설문들을 보려면 www.C-SPAN.org/events/commencement-speakers로 들어가 보시면 됩니다.
“....Now, before I offer you some thoughts that you graduates will undoubtedly remember word for word decades from now, let me first thank another very important group here.
And I’m talking about the group sitting out there this morning beaming proudly, not even thinking about what it cost to get you to this day.
Or what happens if you can’t find a job and you have to move back home. Why don’t you give your parents and relatives a big hand.
With their support, all of you are joining a distinguished list of alums, including Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy and Colin Powell. So take a look at the people sitting around you.
The guy sitting to your left could be a future Secretary of State, and the girl sitting to your right could be a future President of the United States.
Also, take a moment to look around this National Mall.
We gather not only at the foot of the Washington Monument, but also in President Lincoln’s long shadow.
Last month, our nation marked the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. It was fought to preserve the union, to preserve America’s bold experiment with democratic self-government. But Lincoln’s war for Union grew into something even larger, a struggle for freedom.....”
“.....Ten years ago, while many of you were in the sixth or seventh grade, the freedom that Lincoln secured for all Americans and that generations of Americans have fought to protect came under attack by terrorists, the most deadly foreign attack in our Nation’s history.
I’m sure some of you remember where you were or what you were doing that September day when you first heard the news, and I’m sure all of you will remember for the rest of your lives what you’d been doing when you heard the news that Osama bin Laden had been killed.
문의 DrSuzieOh@gmail.com
