Blog

June is Commencement Month. I thought I’d pass on some of the wisdom that was shared with this year’s graduates. Sometimes in life, a reminder of an earlier lesson is refreshing and just what is needed to give you perspective.

Charlene Li–Founder Partner at Altimeter Group—(Altimeter Group provides research and advisory for companies challenged by business disruptions, enabling them to pursue new opportunities and business models.)

Never be so faithful to your plan that you are unwilling to consider the unexpected. Never be so faithful to your plan that you are unwilling to entertain the improbable opportunity that comes looking for you. And never be so faithful to your plan that when you hit a bump in the road – or when the bumps hit you – you don’t have the fortitude, grace, and resiliency to rethink and regroup.

But for everyone, plans or no plans, keep a little space in your heart for the improbable. You won’t regret it.

Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System At Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Great Barrington, Massachusetts

The history of technological innovation and economic development teaches us that change is the only constant. During your working lives, you will have to reinvent yourselves many times. Success and satisfaction will not come from mastering a fixed body of knowledge but from constant adaptation and creativity in a rapidly changing world. Engaging with and applying new technologies will be a crucial part of that adaptation. Your work here at Simon’s Rock, and the intellectual skills, creativity, and imagination that that work has fostered, are the best possible preparation for these challenges. And while I have emphasized technological and scientific advances today, it is important to remember that the arts and humanities facilitate new and creative thinking as well, while helping us to draw meaning that goes beyond the purely material aspects of our lives.

-Kim