{"id":117679,"date":"2019-12-20T15:31:49","date_gmt":"2019-12-20T22:31:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=117679"},"modified":"2020-01-10T14:24:08","modified_gmt":"2020-01-10T21:24:08","slug":"commencement-keynote-never-give-up-never-surrender-your-community-needs-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=117679","title":{"rendered":"Commencement Keynote: \u201cNever give up, never surrender. Your community needs you.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" src=\"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_4735_.jpg\" alt=\"Matt Carpenter delivers the 2019 fall commencement address.\" class=\"wp-image-117712\" srcset=\"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_4735_.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_4735_-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_4735_-750x500.jpg 750w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><figcaption>Matt Carpenter delivers the commencement address at the fall 2019 ceremony. Photo by Jeffrey M. Foster.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In his keynote address at UCCS\u2019 fall 2019 Commencement, Matt Carpenter \u201906 encouraged graduates to carry three concepts with them \u2013 gratitude, pursuing their passions and mentorship \u2013 in order to make their communities better places to live. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Carpenter addressed more than 500 graduates and their families\nat the Broadmoor World Arena during the Dec. 20 commencement ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe are fortunate to live in Colorado,\u201d he said, \u201cand I hope\nas you complete this education and graduation journey and consider where to\nlive now or in the future, that you will make Colorado your home. Once you find\na place to live, I hope you will remember these three concepts I have shared\nwith you today: gratitude, pursing your passion, and mentorship. These will\nhelp you have a meaningful life, and also transform your community to a better\nplace for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Carpenter memorably illustrated his advice for the graduates\nby walking them through the 1999 cult classic film Galaxy Quest, in which Tim\nAllen delivers the famous line, \u201cNever give up, never surrender!\u201d&nbsp; &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI believe that life is more fun when you love what you do. But\nknowing your passion is just the first part of it,\u201d Carpenter said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhile you may not be a commander of a spaceship protecting the Earth from hostile aliens, I encourage you to pursue your passion and pursue it with all your heart. Make your community where you live a better place. \u2018Never give up, never surrender.\u2019 Your community needs you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Carpenter, a 2006 Masters of Public Administration graduate,\nthanked his wife and parents \u2013 as well as the educators, administrators and colleagues\n\u2013 who motivated him to complete his graduate degree at UCCS. Today, he is the\nexecutive vice president, chief operating officer and corporate secretary for\nEl Pomar Foundation in Colorado Springs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As he thanked those who supported him, Carpenter invited all\n500 graduates to stand up and look for the individuals who supported them\nduring their time at UCCS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOur community would be a better place if we expressed our\ngratitude to one another,\u201d he said. \u201cMake eye contact your friends and family,\nfaculty members or fellow students, and let them know they were a crucial part\nof helping you to reach this goal of graduation. When you see your supporters\nface to face, give those individuals a hug and say, \u2018Thank you for supporting\nme.\u2019\u201d&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In closing, Carpenter remarked, \u201cI look forward to hearing the great things you \u2013 <em>and<\/em> your communities \u2013 will accomplish in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Carpenter spoke to the graduates as the 11th Distinguished Alumni Award recipient. UCCS conferred degrees on more than 1,000 students who completed their academic programs in the summer and fall semesters, and more than 500 participated in the commencement ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"740\" height=\"417\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bOm7uo_BHi0?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>In his keynote address at UCCS\u2019 fall 2019 Commencement, Matt Carpenter \u201906 encouraged graduates to carry three concepts with them \u2013 gratitude, pursuing their passions and mentorship \u2013 in order to make their communities better places to live.  <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=117679\" title=\"Commencement Keynote: \u201cNever give up, never surrender. Your community needs you.\u201d\">(More)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":117712,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[49,12],"tags":[53,61,107,62,40,82,114,86,39,42,190,105],"class_list":["post-117679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-announcements","category-events","tag-academic-affairs","tag-advancement","tag-alumni-relations","tag-chancellors-office","tag-college-of-business","tag-college-of-education","tag-college-of-engineering-and-applied-science","tag-college-of-letters-arts-and-sciences","tag-college-of-public-service","tag-commencement","tag-graduate-school","tag-helen-and-arthur-e-johnson-beth-el-college-of-nursing-and-health-sciences"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/IMG_4735_.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1mBpJ-uC3","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=117679"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117679\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":117769,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117679\/revisions\/117769"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/117712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=117679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=117679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=117679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}