American Community School Commencement
ACS GymnasiumRemarks by U.S. Ambassador David D Pearce
June 18, 2014, 7:00 pm

Dr. Gialamas, faculty and staff, family and friends, students, thank you for having me here this evening.  Members of the class of 2014: congratulations!

And congratulations too to all the moms and dads, the grandparents, the uncles and aunts, the brothers, the sisters, all of you who have helped raise these fine young men and women — you have seen them through so much, and you have poured your hearts and souls into their upbringing.  So today is your day, too, and you should be very proud.
I am especially pleased to be here, and offer a few brief words, on two counts – first, because it’s my first year as U.S. Ambassador in Athens; and second, because I myself served for four years as Chairman of the Board of the Damascus Community School in Syria, 1997-2001.   My son did all four years of his high school there and forged what I’m sure will be lifelong friendships with his classmates.

DCS was very much like ACS; we competed in the same kinds of regional athletic and academic events.   Regrettably, that very fine school is now closed, and that’s a real loss for Syria.   But the point is, I think I know a little bit about the value of the education that a school like this provides to those who are lucky enough to attend it.
Of course, just being in Greece is in itself an advantage.

I first came in 1971, as a college student of Classics, clutching my 1964 Hachette Guide Bleu guidebook, still probably one of the best guides to Greece ever written.  And I filled it with beautifully engraved entrance tickets – which I still have – from the old Acropolis Museum, and the Archaeological Museum, and the Agora, and Delphi, and Elefsis, and Piraeus, and Thebes, and Epidauros, and Mycenae, and Tiryns, and Argos, and Moni Daphni, and Corinth, and the Palace of Knossos on Crete, and many more.

It was a trip that made a very great impression on me.  So I hope you too will cherish the privilege of having been able to study here.  How many others – in this world – will have the chance to go down to the Agora, and stand in the Royal Stoa, the very room where Socrates stood and was indicted?   How many others will be able to go to the Stoa of Attalos and see the very first artifacts of democracy, of the mechanics of elections and random jury selection.   There may be even still lessons to be learned – we never did pick up on the good Greek institution of ostracism, whereby any politician deemed a danger to the state could be exiled for ten years.  I suspect a good argument could be made today by many in Washington for that.  Who knows?  Our systems are always evolving.   Now, commencements are a time for dispensing advice.   But I said I would be brief, so I’ll limit myself to just a few fairly obvious remarks.

The first you probably know.  It is from Thales of Miletus (‘o Milee’sios), one of the seven sages of Greece, and it was inscribed in stone at Delphi.   His advice was:  “Know thyself.”   Build to your strengths.   It is important to have discipline and do the things we must when we must.   But we also have choices along the way.  Do things that resonate with you.  I took Ancient Greek in college.   It made very little sense.  I was 18.  I had no idea what I would do with it later.  I took it because I wanted to, and because I felt it was important to know.   I know now, more than 40 years later, and given how handy it has been to me here in Athens, that it was all part of the divine plan.

Second piece of advice is:   Be modest.   Underpromise, overdeliver.  Don’t think you’re the most important person in the room — even if you’re the Ambassador, maybe especially if you’re the Ambassador.  People aren’t fooled.   When my father saw someone puffing themselves up, he used to comment:  “I’d like to buy him for what he’s worth, and sell him for what he thinks he’s worth.”

And while I’m on my father, who was something of a homespun philosopher in his own right, I’ll quote him again on the value of plain hard work and making your own luck.   He used to say, “the harder I work, the luckier I get.”

The final thought I’ll leave with you is from my friend and colleague, Ambassador Ryan Crocker, with whom I worked closely for seven years, in Syria, Iraq, Washington, and Afghanistan.   He often spoke the importance of service beyond self.   I saw that he recently reminded a graduating college class in Afghanistan that much is expected from those to whom much has been given.  You have been given an education that very few will have a chance to get.  So much will be expected of you.  As you continue to study, over the next few years, you will make choices.  As you do, I hope you will remember the importance of service – service not only to self, not only to family, but to your community, and to your country.   I hope you will consciously choose to give back some of your energy and commitment to your home country.   Don’t stand on the sidelines.   Get involved.   Take hard jobs.   There are many battles out there that need to be fought.   Choose your fight, then step up and do your part.   Because in the end, the value of our lives is measured not by what we accumulate, but by what we contribute.

So, to summarize:  Know yourself.   Be modest.  Work hard.  And give something back to your country.

Good luck to you all.
Συγχαρητήρια και σας ευχαριστώ πολύ.

ACS Commencment Speech by Ambassador David D. Pearce, June 18, 2014

American Community School Commencement
ACS GymnasiumRemarks by U.S. Ambassador David D Pearce
June 18, 2014, 7:00 pm

Dr. Gialamas, faculty and staff, family and friends, students, thank you for having me here this evening.  Members of the class of 2014: congratulations!

And congratulations too to all the moms and dads, the grandparents, the uncles and aunts, the brothers, the sisters, all of you who have helped raise these fine young men and women — you have seen them through so much, and you have poured your hearts and souls into their upbringing.  So today is your day, too, and you should be very proud.
I am especially pleased to be here, and offer a few brief words, on two counts – first, because it’s my first year as U.S. Ambassador in Athens; and second, because I myself served for four years as Chairman of the Board of the Damascus Community School in Syria, 1997-2001.   My son did all four years of his high school there and forged what I’m sure will be lifelong friendships with his classmates.

DCS was very much like ACS; we competed in the same kinds of regional athletic and academic events.   Regrettably, that very fine school is now closed, and that’s a real loss for Syria.   But the point is, I think I know a little bit about the value of the education that a school like this provides to those who are lucky enough to attend it.
Of course, just being in Greece is in itself an advantage.

I first came in 1971, as a college student of Classics, clutching my 1964 Hachette Guide Bleu guidebook, still probably one of the best guides to Greece ever written.  And I filled it with beautifully engraved entrance tickets – which I still have – from the old Acropolis Museum, and the Archaeological Museum, and the Agora, and Delphi, and Elefsis, and Piraeus, and Thebes, and Epidauros, and Mycenae, and Tiryns, and Argos, and Moni Daphni, and Corinth, and the Palace of Knossos on Crete, and many more.

It was a trip that made a very great impression on me.  So I hope you too will cherish the privilege of having been able to study here.  How many others – in this world – will have the chance to go down to the Agora, and stand in the Royal Stoa, the very room where Socrates stood and was indicted?   How many others will be able to go to the Stoa of Attalos and see the very first artifacts of democracy, of the mechanics of elections and random jury selection.   There may be even still lessons to be learned – we never did pick up on the good Greek institution of ostracism, whereby any politician deemed a danger to the state could be exiled for ten years.  I suspect a good argument could be made today by many in Washington for that.  Who knows?  Our systems are always evolving.   Now, commencements are a time for dispensing advice.   But I said I would be brief, so I’ll limit myself to just a few fairly obvious remarks.

The first you probably know.  It is from Thales of Miletus (‘o Milee’sios), one of the seven sages of Greece, and it was inscribed in stone at Delphi.   His advice was:  “Know thyself.”   Build to your strengths.   It is important to have discipline and do the things we must when we must.   But we also have choices along the way.  Do things that resonate with you.  I took Ancient Greek in college.   It made very little sense.  I was 18.  I had no idea what I would do with it later.  I took it because I wanted to, and because I felt it was important to know.   I know now, more than 40 years later, and given how handy it has been to me here in Athens, that it was all part of the divine plan.

Second piece of advice is:   Be modest.   Underpromise, overdeliver.  Don’t think you’re the most important person in the room — even if you’re the Ambassador, maybe especially if you’re the Ambassador.  People aren’t fooled.   When my father saw someone puffing themselves up, he used to comment:  “I’d like to buy him for what he’s worth, and sell him for what he thinks he’s worth.”

And while I’m on my father, who was something of a homespun philosopher in his own right, I’ll quote him again on the value of plain hard work and making your own luck.   He used to say, “the harder I work, the luckier I get.”

The final thought I’ll leave with you is from my friend and colleague, Ambassador Ryan Crocker, with whom I worked closely for seven years, in Syria, Iraq, Washington, and Afghanistan.   He often spoke the importance of service beyond self.   I saw that he recently reminded a graduating college class in Afghanistan that much is expected from those to whom much has been given.  You have been given an education that very few will have a chance to get.  So much will be expected of you.  As you continue to study, over the next few years, you will make choices.  As you do, I hope you will remember the importance of service – service not only to self, not only to family, but to your community, and to your country.   I hope you will consciously choose to give back some of your energy and commitment to your home country.   Don’t stand on the sidelines.   Get involved.   Take hard jobs.   There are many battles out there that need to be fought.   Choose your fight, then step up and do your part.   Because in the end, the value of our lives is measured not by what we accumulate, but by what we contribute.

So, to summarize:  Know yourself.   Be modest.  Work hard.  And give something back to your country.

Good luck to you all.
Συγχαρητήρια και σας ευχαριστώ πολύ.