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Feature Summer 2011 Winter 2004 Winter 2006
Their remarks are as varied as their backgrounds, but the speakers share one thing: a desire to inspire the next generation of business leaders. Whether working in health care or in headphones, the NAC lecturers gave nearly 250 students a broader understanding of the business world’s day-to-day tasks. Enjoy the following excerpts from the lecture series’ inaugural semester.
There are bird watchers, and there are whale watchers, but I’m a genius watcher. I am fascinated by the intelligence of others. I notice it, study it, and have learned to identify a variety of aptitudes—even without my binoculars. 
It wasn’t love at first sight when Mike Ward saw the fixer-upper on an overgrown lot in La Canada, a suburb of Los Angeles. But behind the weeds, worn siding, and faded paint, he saw something that intrigued him: potential.
I am truly honored and delighted to be here with you on this joyous occasion. This ceremony is called commencement because you are about to commence, or begin, the next stage in your lives. Up to this point most of what you have done is prepare.
Throughout our lives we may ascend to many summits. These climbs have unique challenges that require us to prepare and approach each one differently.
Commencement—or the ability to begin or start something—is a vital part of life. Boris Pasternak, a Nobel Prize-winning Russian poet, once described the talent and art of writing as “boldness in the face of the blank sheet.”