2009 Baccalaureate Remarks

Abridged remarks by U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus, as provided to the University Baccalaureate - May 31, 2009 - Delivered to the Princeton University Class of 2009 Good afternoon and thank you for that warm welcome. It’s a pleasure to be back at Princeton, an honor to help celebrate the class of 2009’s graduation, and every Princeton graduate’s dream to share a few thoughts with you today! [Salutations] Finally, of course, congratulations to the class of 2009! You have worked hard here at Princeton over the last four years. And you should feel rightly proud of all that you have accomplished to get to this day. But today, with your accomplishments in mind, I would like to do more than just congratulate you; I want to challenge you. For at present, perhaps more than ever before, your communities, your nations, and our world need talented people like you to help tackle the pressing issues we face. So this afternoon, I want to challenge you to respond to this need and to make a commitment to something larger than self, to a greater good .