I finally found the video recording my Dad made of my speech for the Saint Mark’s graduating class of 2010. His tapes had gone missing for a decade. Watching it now, I’m not sure which of us had more butterflies in our stomach.
From the transcript, posted by Saint Mark’s in English and Spanish:
“With his parents Tony and Tia Jurvetson looking on, Mr. Jurvetson addressed the class of 92 boys, remarking: “Not so long ago, I was sitting in those seats where you are today. I was a bit insecure and socially awkward – in short, a young budding geek.”
He went on to say, “At St. Mark’s, I was a computer programming hobbyist, then became a chip designer at HP, then a management consultant, then a product marketing intern at Apple, and finally a venture capitalist investing in entrepreneurs starting new Internet companies, then nanotechnology, then energy, cleantech and synthetic biology. It’s like my career path has ADD. But had I stopped at any of the earlier branches, I may never have found my true calling, when fortune taps you figuratively on the shoulder and allows you to do something special. To find your calling in life is priceless.”
Mr. Jurvetson shared his memorable observations about life, education, business, the future, and life-long learning saying: “My hope for you is that you find a reservoir of self-confidence in some aspect of your life so that you can be humble, that you learn enough to never stop learning. And rest assured that we are entering an Intellectual Renaissance interwoven across the sciences. There is no better time to be a student of technology, no better time to start a company, no better time to learn something new. Individuals with good ideas are empowered as never before.”
“There comes a time when you look back on your life as an adult and realize that of all the myriad potentials that you envisioned as a child, your life has tracked a path of progressive narrowing.
This observation was actually by Henry Kissinger, in the opening of his undergrad thesis. He was just a few years older than you, and he was already this depressingly mature!
Remember, as a child, when you dreamed of being an astronaut, or fireman, or racecar driver. I hope Kissinger’s warning will not be your fate. In many ways, college should further open your field of view. The tree branches again and the child-like rush of horizons opens anew. Embrace something new. Explore the world. There will be plenty of time to iterate and execute as you age.”
Mr. Jurvetson concluded his remarks with the following advice to the Class of 2010: “Skip forward on your future path with a playful curiosity; consider your destiny on this planet as something grand; change the world for the better, and you will find the sublime satisfaction of symbolic immortality.”
My photo of the graduating class from the podium.
video
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