Tonight, I am going to present you with a graduation gift, a most unusual gift one unlike any you have ever received. 

What do you see? A piece of old wood?  Something that should have been tossed aside, perhaps put in the garbage? What do you see? Look closely, what do you see?  Perhaps a piece of wood used to light a fire?  Perhaps a piece of wood to put on the fire to keep you warm. Or maybe it is a piece of wood to use to heat your food. What do you see? Perhaps it is a piece of wood that will be used to put on a bond fire and roast marshmallows and make S’mores one last time with your friends? What do you see?

Look closely. I see a piece of wood that has been made into paper in which some of the greatest words ever written are inscribed. The Maga Carta, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States. the Gettysburg Address, the Treaty signifying the “War to End All Wars” was over, the truce signed by the emperor of Japan signifying their surrender at the end of World War II, a last letter home from a soldier in Iraq, a love letter to a friend, your qords. What do you see?

I see books written by some of my favorite authors — Mark Twain, James Thurber, Robert Fulghum and, yes, even William Shakespeare... and the greatest book of all — The Bible.

Look again, What do you see?

I see the wood used to make furniture for desks of presidents, gavels for judges to issue rulings of law, the wood floors in Independence Hall, where statesmen debated long hours over the type of government that should be instituted among men, struggling over words that would ultimately cause them to be viewed as having committed treason to their government and yet words that would bring freedom to men every where. I see a simple manger in which a baby was placed who would change the world.

What do you see?

I see houses, great houses — Mount Vernon, Monticello, the White House, a log cabin where a young man studies the law by candlelight and will someday become president of the United States. I see the house my father built with his own labors, filled with love and caring. I see your house.

What do you see?

Is it just a piece of wood, something that should have been left where I found it, something that should have been tossed in the trash or tossed on the burn pile? Or is it something more. Something you’ve never seen before?

There are people in this room tonight that have been given this same gift many years ago. Some have made great use of it; some have left it in the field to rot, or tossed it away. What will you do with your gift tonight? 

This is what I want you to do with your gift tonight, I want you to take it with you and put it somewhere where you will see it every day, morning, noon and night. Take it with you to school. Take it with you to work.Take it with you where ever you go.  Put in on the dresser in your room, on the mantle over the fireplace. Put it where all can see. And when someone asks you what it is, ask them, “What do you see?” If all they see is an old piece of wood that is OK, but if they see what it can be, what it can become, then you will know they know how valuable this gift really is. Because no one can ever take it from you, you can never lose it, it is always with you, you can only add to it and watch it grow even more. 

Now what do you see? Take this gift given to you by your parents, your teachers, your friends and all those around you and do great things with it.

Congratulations on receiving the gift of education.