So, I also want to thank all the family and friends who are really enthusiastic.  And you all know, without them you wouldn't be  here and I know if I hadn't had my family  --which I will get to -- I wouldn't be here  either. So I brought my supporters  with me, too. Thanks to them for being here.  

A path that’ll  lead you to do your life’s best work,  and hopefully to leave the world  better than you found it. Your education and experiences here position you so well to find purpose and  meaning in your professional and personal lives.  

But the real reason I wanted to mention them is  because both of my parents, John and Patricia,  are Duke alumni — Dad was a graduate of the  law school, and my mother of the college.  And I have had the joy and privilege of  watching and learning from them my entire life. And so, with the two of them here as my muses,  I thought I’d share three lessons I have learned from these two Duke alums that you might find  useful as you begin your post-Duke lives. 

The first lesson I learned from my parents is that  you can feed a lot of people with a four-pound chicken. I’ll get to what that means in a second.  Our family comes from quite humble origins;  both my parents worked hard to pay their way  through school, and when my two brothers and  I were little, we lived in a 2-room walk-up  apartment in Greenwich village in New York City.  The back room was our bedroom, and my parents  slept on a pullout couch in the living room. They  could have chosen a more remunerative path.  But early on, they both committed themselves  to becoming advocates for the planet.  In 1970, Dad, supported by my Mother,  became a founder of the Natural Resources Defense  Council the NRDC — one of the first nonprofits  

created to enforce the country’s nascent environmental laws. The National Environmental Protection Act and the Clean Air Act had just been  passed, and the Clean Water Act would soon follow. Sometimes though, in those early days, we thought their life’s work would crash before it got off the ground.The NRDC’s opponents held  many levers of power, and it would be a great understatement to say that not everyone agreed  with the young environmentalists’ radical ideas.  At one point, NRDC’s 501c3 status was revoked. The  organization would have been doomed without the generosity and skill of a corporate tax attorney  who, pro bono, brought a groundbreaking legal case that restored NRDC’s ability to receive  tax deductible donations. But what really set 

the organization and indeed the movement on its  path was the generosity and openness my parents showed to any and all comers. My parents’  door was always open — and I mean that quite literally. Weeknights, groups of enthusiastic  young lawyers, scientists, and advocates would gather at our apartment or meet for heated conversation at the local pizza joint. Weekends, unexpected guests would show up at the door —  invited by my Dad at some forgotten, earlier moment — only to be warmly welcomed, handed  some cheap red wine, and drawn into the fray. And that’s where I come to the chicken part. Now,  chicken is a pretty cheap protein, and mom often had it in the fridge. Many was the night when she’d roast up a small four-pound chicken with some potatoes, and feed it to us kids — along  with the half dozen or so other people hanging around trying to save the planet. Her gifts of  chicken and potatoes were gratefully accepted. And while you might leave our home inspired,  excited, or slightly overwhelmed — you never left it hungry. Even when we didn’t  have a lot to give, we gave what we had.  And that example of generosity and community has  always stayed with me. Because sometimes, in our toughest moments, it can feel like what we have to  give is not enough. That we can't offer something of value. That our ideas are unworthy or our  actions insufficient -- our poultry too paltry.  But my parents taught me that whatever  you have to give — wherever you are in life — is enough. Whether it’s hospitality,  pro bono legal services, or a chicken dinner,  your generosity of spirit will be  appreciated — and may even be inspirational. 

The second lesson I learned from my parents  is not to shun the road less traveled. The opportunity to find purpose and  meaning may be hiding in unexpected places.  I was just finishing the clerkship I’d always  dreamed of with Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.  I knew to expect a brilliant legal mind, but it’s  her compassion and wisdom that left the deepest impression on me. But after that experience, I had to ask myself what was next. It turns out, the answer was: My rebellious phase. After my second clerkship, I broke ranks. Instead of joining 'the mission,' I went to a New York law firm, and from there to a company called  Honeywell. And when I joined Honeywell as its head of litigation, the company was in dire straights.  It had two failed mergers, accounting issues and, of all things, an enormous superfund liability  — the largest of any corporation in America. The company had a terrible reputation  as a notorious polluter. So terrible, in fact, that a local politician once returned  a Honeywell political contribution... That’s  right, a politician gave the money back to the  company. Around that time, an environmentalist colleague of my parents asked me, “So, when  are you coming back over from the Dark Side?”  You might quite reasonably ask why I  took that job. It was certainly not the obvious choice. But interestingly, I found that I loved working in business, and that I had a knack for solving strategically complex problems. And I thought I might be able to influence how at least one company tackled its environmental responsibilities.To my parents’ credit, they never once criticized my decision. Rather than demeaning the work I was doing, they always told me how proud they were that I was a woman in business,  and the path I’d chosen would have its own rewards. And they were right. As it turns out, you can find  professional meaning in unexpected places.  

Now, finally, there is one last lesson I would like to share with  you before the degrees are awarded. At one point,  I remember a conversation with my mother when I was feeling frustrated with where my career was.  I felt I’d been doing the same thing for a long time, in the same place, and I couldn’t see where I was going. I felt stymied about next steps  and was constantly agitating about the future. After listening in her 'special mom' way, she said  to me: Don’t wish your life away, Kate. Live it now. I can’t say I fully appreciated the depth  of what she said right then. It has taken me many years to appreciate the significance of  NOW. But now is an amazing place. It is full of immediate possibilities, if you are open to them. That risky decision to join a troubled company at a difficult time — to take the opportunity  that moment presented — was the crucial step that gave me the legal and management  experience to eventually move to Apple.  And that means the most important decision you  can make is to capture the possibilities of this moment. There are infinite ways to broaden your experience by making the circle of options around you wider. Whether it’s taking a pro bono case, joining the board of a worthy organization, asking to work on a new matter that interests you, or becoming involved in your local government. Our journey as professionals is a marathon — not a  sprint. So savor each moment... And seize today’s opportunity to enrich your lives and the lives of those around you. I think that’s a worthy mission for any life. And I never would’ve found it without the example my parents set for me. So I’m grateful for this chance to pass along their  wisdom — about generosity of spirit, the courage to take risks, and about commitment to making each  moment count. 

I hope that as you chart your path, these lessons are helpful to you, as they have  been for me. I’m honored to share this day with you. And I wish you a future full of learning,  full of joy, and full of purpose. 

Congratulations!

Thank you!