Speeches
Welcome Remarks, American College of Greece Commencement
Chargé d’Affaires, a.i., Thomas Countryman
June 30, 2007
Good evening. President Bailey, thank you very much for your warm introduction and for inviting me here tonight.
Archbishop Dimitrios, Dr. Bok, President Bok, faculty and friends of the American College of Greece, parents, graduates, it is an honor for me to welcome you tonight.
A graduation is supposed to start with happiness, proceed to joy at the closing of the ceremony, and descend into uncontrolled exuberance afterwards. With that goal in mind, I won’t keep you too long.
As a diplomat, what I do and what I care about is building the strongest possible cultural, political, and social understanding between Greeks and Americans. I tell anyone who will listen that my two key partners in this task are the Greek-American community, and the American educational institutions in Greece. I am proud to work with the American Community Schools in Athens, and in Thessaloniki – the Pinewood School, the American Farm School, and Anatolia College, among many others.
Among all these fine institutions, the American College of Greece stands out, not just for its length of service – since 1875 – but for providing the highest quality education in Greece, and for offering a free and objective forum for the exchange of ideas. I could give you a long speech on what Dr. Jack Bailey has done to extend and strengthen that tradition, but let me save that for another time. Tonight, I will only say that he has earned my deepest admiration.
The effort to build understanding through education does not happen only in Greece. As Father Dimitrios knows well, in the United States there are many Greek schools that the Orthodox Church sponsors along with educational programs supported by the Greek-American community and the Greek Ministry of Education. Long ago Pericles called Athens “the school of Greece.” Educational institutions have always been and are the heart and soul of a community.
Let me take this opportunity to congratulate President Derek Bok on his years of service at Harvard, as he concludes today his second tour of duty as its President. Let me also confess that I would have paid good money to hear Dr. Sissela Bok lecture on philosophy and ethics. To hear her for free – and in the company of these graduates – adds up to a trifecta, a triple bonus.
In closing, I will leave tonight’s graduates with that traditional obligatory piece of advice for the graduates. It is this: professional diplomats are not the most effective diplomats. The best diplomats are those who carry with them the best of their homes, who open their minds – and their hearts - to absorb the best of another home, and then give back to the world that endowment of richness and that open-mindedness. The excellent international education that you have received here at the American College of Greece makes you ready to take your place as world citizens, as Ambassadors of knowledge and of tolerance . Just by being yourselves, you will represent the best that our countries have to offer. And you will make my job much easier!
Congratulations to you all, and to your parents, families and friends who have supported you. As you move on to the next stage of your lives I wish you καλή επιτυχία στή ζωή σας. Thank you for inviting me tonight.