SUNY Potsdam

Kathleen Friery '84
May 23, 2010

The Bumblebee

President Schwaller, distinguished faculty and staff, friends and relatives, and most especially graduates of the class of 2010, thank you for this great honor.  26 years ago I sat right where you’re sitting now….and I have a confession to make.  I have no idea who my commencement speaker was.  I don’t remember one word he --or she -- said.   

I guess I don’t recall my graduation speech because I was too busy thinking what you’re probably thinking right now -- “What’s next?  What am I going to do with my life?”  Or maybe you’re asking, “What’s next…and  how long is this speech going to last?”  Not long, I promise.  It’s too hot for that.

And so, as I thought about what I’d say to you on this big day, I thought…it’s kind of pathetic that I don’t remember anything my graduation speaker said.  Not one nugget of advice, or a funny story or something, anything, I could take with me on the next part of my journey.  And I thought, why is that?  It’s because I was distracted.   

Now, this was 1984, and we didn’t know from distracted.  There were no cell phones and no texting. Tweeting was something birds did.  And “hooking up” meant connecting your turntable to your receiver.  (Okay, we did that too…we just had another name for it.)

So distraction isn’t something that’s new or unique to your generation.  But it’s gotten more profound. 

You – and I – are so busy typing with our thumbs and checking messages and posting on Facebook walls –  we’re so distracted that it can prevent us from reaching our full potential.  We’re not present in the moment.   So I’m going to ask you to be present right now.  Just for a few minutes.  

My goal today is to get you to remember just one thing from this speech.  And that is ….(pause)…  the bumblebee.  

I’m wearing a ring today with a bumblebee on it.  A wise person gave to me before I went on a challenging job interview. When you’re uncertain –-and at times you will be -- remember the bumblebee.   That’s because the bumblebee should NOT be able to fly.  With its fat body and tiny wings, it’s aerodynamically unsound.  By any scientific standard, it simply cannot fly.  And yet, bees do fly….because they don’t know they’re not supposed to. So, when I say remember the bumblebee, what I really mean is:  don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t fly. 
By the way, I nailed that job interview and that was how I got my start at CNN.

Back to 1984 for a moment.  When I graduated,  September 11th was just another date on the calendar.  My classmates and I had never lived through an attack on American soil.  Most of us didn’t think we ever would.  We were wrong. Change happens, sometimes for the worse.

And in 1984, no one had heard of a guy with a strange sounding name who had just finished college. He wanted to make a difference so he decided to move to Chicago and work as a community organizer.  We know, now, that he went on to make history.  Barack Obama understood the bumblebee.  

Many Americans believed a black man would never be elected president, but they were wrong.  Change happens, sometimes for the better.  

I want to share something President Obama said at a commencement speech  a few years ago when he was a senator.   He said: “I hope you’ll remember, during those times of doubt and frustration, that there is nothing naïve about your impulse to change the world.  Because all it takes is one act of service –  one blow against injustice – to send forth what Robert Kennedy called that “tiny ripple of hope.”  That’s what changes the world.”  

That change—the kind that comes from just one act--can be made by you, each one of you, members of the class of 2010.  

I’m not suggesting your path will be easy.  Change for the better can be hard…but it’s easier if you really believe in and love what you’re doing.  Ask yourself this question:  If you didn’t have to do something perfectly…and you weren’t afraid of being judged harshly . . . what would you try to do??

Many of you may be thinking: I’m ready to go for it….if only you knew what “it” was!  But chances are you do know.  When are you happiest and most alive? 

It doesn’t matter what makes you feel that way.  Someone had to invent the X-Box.  Someone had to start Marvel Comics.  And you know what? Those creators failed before they succeeded.   

So what if you fail?? You will. So what if other people tell you that you can’t do it?  That will happen too.    And when it does you’ll be among some pretty impressive company.  

Like my favorite comedian, Lucille Ball—I LOVE LUCY.  She had been at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts for just one month when her mother received a letter from the school saying “Don’t put any more money into this.  This girl will never make it.“  

And then there was the band that was turned down by a record company that explained, “We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.” That was a little group called the Beatles.   

And how about the inventor who was told he was “too stupid to learn anything.” Thomas Edison.  

So go ahead and risk failure.  Risk criticism.  

My father used tell me:  “Don’t let your critics live rent free in your head.”  That real estate in your brain should belong to YOUR dreams.   

Of course, for many of us, our worst critics are ourselves.  Our fear of humiliation and embarrassment—of failure-- keeps us from taking chances.  Silence that negative chatter inside your head.   

Remember the bumblebee.

I’ve come up with 6 rules that the Bumblebee lives by—the rules that make an unflyable bug fly.  

Rule of Flight Number 1: Stay true to yourself.  Your time is limited.  I bet you think your years at Potsdam flew past.  I’ve got news for you.  As you get older, time goes faster and faster. The days may seem to drag on forever – but the years fly by. So don’t waste your precious time being what someone else wants you to be.   

Rule of Flight Number 2: Make Your Journey, Not your Destination, the Point of the Experience.  When I was at Potsdam, my roommate and I read Machiavelli and used to argue about whether the ends really did justify the means.  It took me a while to appreciate what Gloria Steinem said:  “The means are the ends.  Whatever means you use become an organic part of the ends you achieve.”

In other words, if you love the process, success will follow.  Not only that, it’s the only way you’ll have fun.

Flight Rule Number 3:  Think for Yourself.  As a political science major, it wasn’t so much WHAT I learned here at Potsdam … it was that I learned HOW to think for myself.  I’ve spent my career working in broadcast news – most of the past ten years in cable news.  During that time, some cable networks have started spending less time reporting and more time editorializing.  There are people out there who want to tell you what to think.  Don’t let them.  Make up your own mind.  Reject media labels no matter where they come from.  You don’t have to be red state or blue state, liberal or conservative.  Define your own category. 

Rule Number 4:  Learn to listen.  Be skeptical without being cynical.  Be open minded without being gullible.  The only way to figure out the difference is to listen first.  New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman describes it this way: “Skepticism is about asking questions, being dubious, being wary, not being gullible, but always being open to being persuaded of a new fact or angle.  Cynicism is about already having the answers – or thinking you do – answers about a person or an event.  The skeptic says, “I don’t think that’s true; I’m going to check it out.” The cynic says: “I know that’s not true.  It couldn’t be. I’m going to slam him.”  Cynics don’t believe in the bumblebee.

Rule of Flight Number 5: Work hard.  You can’t control whether or not you’re the smartest person in the room, but you can control whether you’re the hardest working.

I’ve interviewed hundreds of recent graduates over the years.  People like you looking for jobs. I always look for people who work hard and I never hire anyone who won’t. 

Hard work requires three things, and I recommend you master them all: preparation, curiosity and enthusiasm.   

Preparation simply means doing your homework.  I always ask the people I interview for their feedback on the show they’re applying for.  You’d be surprised by how many tell me they didn’t have time to watch it.   Interview over.   

Curiosity is just as basic.  At some point in the interview I always give the candidate an opportunity to ask questions.  Again, you’d be amazed at how many people don’t ask a single one.   Bye-bye.

Enthusiasm.  If you can’t muster enthusiasm for the interview, why would I suppose you’d have enthusiasm for the job?   I wouldn’t.

And finally, Rule of Flight Number 6:  Make yourself proud. Ask yourself:  If I were judged for my behavior today, would I be proud of who I am and what I’ve accomplished ?  Remember politics aren’t limited to what happens in Washington DC.  Politics are personal, too.  When a man gets a job that a woman is more qualified for, that’s politics.  When a rental apartment goes to a white person instead of an equally qualified minority, that’s politics.   That phrase on the posters—“If you see something, say something”—isn’t limited to suspicious looking packages.  Change happens because people make it happen.  Sometimes you’ll have to leave your comfort zone.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with the intrepid journalist Anderson Cooper for the past several years.  While covering the earthquake in Haiti, he found himself in the middle of a food riot. It was complete chaos.  People were running and shouting.  Rocks were flying.  While he was filming, he saw a young boy take a serious blow to the head.  Anderson’s first instinct was to do what TV reporters do and capture the moment on tape.  But a split second later he realized he had to be a human being first, a reporter second.  He tossed his camera aside, ran into the fray and pulled the boy--covered in blood-- to safety. 

Sometimes being human is more important than your job.  So be present.  Do the right thing.  Speak the truth to power, truth to your friends, and truth to yourself.      And if you make yourself proud, there’s a bonus.  You’ll make your parents proud too.  As a new parent (my baby daughter is in the audience with my mother), I can tell you that your parents love you more than you can possibly imagine.  So return the favor and do them proud.  

I’m going to end with a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt. She said: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”  

So much of what lies ahead for you depends on you.  Remember the bumblebee.  Every one of you can SOAR. 

Good luck on your flight…