Thank you Dr. Manning, Board of Directors, professors, honored guests, students, and your families. I am honored and delighted to be here today. As a graduate of the Class of 1993, it is good to be home.

I can imagine that this OSSM graduating class of 2003 must feel like you have succeeded in a battle against enormous odds. I can still remember the grocery sacks of books I was provided during my first evening as a student at Oklahoma’s premiere educational institution and one of America’s best magnet high schools. You have survived.

In this way, you must feel much like the army of Henry the V after the victory at Argincourt, which is not far from where the Americans landed on D-Day during World War II. As you know, in the year 1415, King Henry led about 2,000 foot soldiers and 6,000 archers to the defeat of 40,000 to 50,000 French troops, including most of the Nobles of France, with almost 2,000 of them in heavy armor and on horse back. The English archers had decimated the French because they had mastered the new technology of the long bow. As OSSM students, I would anticipate that you also will be expected to be in the forefront of technology in any discipline you might choose. May you be victorious.

The battle of Argincourt was joined on October 25, on Saint Crispian‘s Day, but you also may remember this graduation day, May 31, as a victory. Thousands of the English had died from dysentery, it was cold and wet, they had used up all their food and their prospects for survival were dismal. Shakespeare immortalized for all of us King Henry’s words to his army the morning before the battle. At the end of this rousing speech, King Henry, or “Harry” as his soldier’s called him, said: 

Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,

But he’ll remember with advantages

What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,

Familiar in his mouth as household words

This story shall the good man teach his son;

And Crispian shall ne’er go by,

From this day to the ending of the world,

But we in it shall be remembered.

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.

For he today that sheds his blood with me

Shall be my brother; be he ever so vile,

This day shall gentle his condition.

And gentlemen in England now abed

Shall think themselves accurst they were not here,

And hold their man hoods cheap whiles any speaks

That fought with us upon Saint Crispian’s Day.

Over 1,500 French nobles were killed in addition to over 4,000 French soldiers. Only about 100 of Henry’s army were killed.

Of course, today most of you will be soldiers of a different kind. You must also know that your battle has only begun if you are to fulfill the promise you began at OSSM. Today, we also speak of our sisters, daughters and ladies as well as our brothers, sons and gentlemen. However, you are very much a ‘happy few’ and the future struggles in which you engage might take just as much courage as demonstrated by King Harry’s men. The world is a wondrous but dangerous place.

Please let me share with you a little of my personal experiences during the last ten years. Let me tell you what I have learned is necessary to win your personal battles and contribute to the world. My hope is that each of you in time ‘shall be remembered’ and when ‘Old men forget,’ none of you shall hold your man or womanhoods ‘cheap.’ When sitting where you are today, I wanted to become an United States Olympian and a very good medical doctor.

I had the good fortune of using my athletic gifts to propel my academic career. The two may seem incompatible but a dozen years ago OSSM was open-minded enough to support me in both pursuits. Generous professors would stay late to transport me back after track practice here in the city to the OSSM dorms that were then in Norman. Two years later I attended Georgetown University on a track scholarship. Afterward, with the financial support of the U.S. Army, and with the blessings of Georgetown Medical School, I took a year of sabbatical from my medical studies to train for the 800-meter sprint in the 2000 Olympic games.

These experiences have taught me three important lessons that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. These three basic tenants are as follows:

Follow your heart;

Know that you are what you think; and

Recognize that personal goals are not accomplished without the efforts of many supportive people.

The great mythologist, Joseph Campbell, believed that highly motivated people pursue a vision quest--to follow their heart’s desires. He summed up this belief in a simple phrase, “Follow your bliss.” It sounds uncomplicated. Perhaps up to this point you have found this easy. OSSM provides vast opportunities in a very supportive and encouraging environment. Please know that you may encounter less support and even resistance to following your bliss after today. It is up to you to overcome obstacles and be tenacious in pursuit of your most cherished goals.

As a Georgetown undergraduate, I found that my professors were not always supportive of my athletic pursuits, despite the fact that the athletic department was paying for my education. I was told that getting into Georgetown’s medical school was difficult and reserved for those students who focused solely on academics and standardized tests. It did not occur to me to believe them.

I was also never the favorite of my college track coach. He did not really share my Olympic quest. Instead, he favored some of my teammates, runners he believed to have more potent track pedigrees. I had misjudged him when he recruited me. He was an experienced and talented coach who was free to make such judgments. I considered myself free to not agree with him. For this reason, I will refer to him as my “foster coach.” He never adopted me. We didn’t really belong to each other.

The problem with my foster coach was also partially my fault. As a student athlete first and foremost, I felt that my education consisted of more than just attending classes, taking tests, and training and competing with the track team. I wanted to take advantage of other opportunities uniquely available in Washington, D.C. I was privileged to volunteer part time for over a year for the great late Oklahoma Congressman Mike Synar, who has recently been profiled in Caroline Kennedy’s book, PROFILES IN COURAGE FOR MODERN TIMES. I also took some time to help tutor inner city school children in reading and science. When eventually made captain of the track team, I organized the group to assist a local agency that fed the homeless. These were far from monumental efforts, but were not part of the expected curriculum of a biology and pre-med student, and a successful Division I student athlete. I was competing at a track meet during my graduation ceremonies from Georgetown University. Nevertheless, after four years of undergraduate work and the activities I have just described, I was accepted to Georgetown’s medical school.

During the second year of medical school I applied to the Army’s World-Class Athlete Program. This would provide the financial support I needed to train for the Olympics. I was informed that being successful in this program would take longer than the one-year sabbatical I had planned to take from my medical studies. I was encouraged to stay in school and give up my Olympic dream.

You may understand that returning professional athletes dominate many Olympic sports, like track. I trained in D. C. with a professionally sponsored team that, to my chagrin, was managed by my foster coach. My husband, Mike, was also preparing for The Games and belonged to the same team. The Army provided me with a sports agent to secure superior competition; a West Point sports psychologist, Dr. Z, for the purposes of performance enhancement; and a strength coach. I also had to report to my Army superiors at Ft. Carson, Colorado. It was a complicated and convoluted situation but it was the best that I could arrange.

I ran in the Second World Military Olympics, held in Croatia immediately following the war in the Balkans. It was somewhat frightening to run in a place where I was usually under the guard of a Croatian soldier carrying an Uzi sub machine gun. My agent secured for me international competition in the United States, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Belgium and Sweden. Dr. Z tutored me through countless hours of visualization, biofeedback, and positive thought control.

After twelve months of this intense training, Mike and I were finally in California at the 2000 US Olympic Trials. Among the selected field of the fastest American 800 meter woman sprinters, I found myself competing against four of my former Georgetown teammates. I had never beaten two of these teammates nor competed against a few of the perennial runners that were the media darlings of this event. Since support from my foster coach was nonexistent, I consulted with supporters of my quest, including my high school Junior Olympics mentor. This was Coach Charles Butler of Pauls Valley and Wynnewood, and it is noteworthy that he was just this year inducted into the Oklahoma Secondary School Association’s Coaches Hall of Fame.

At the Trials, I surpassed all my former teammates, set three consecutive personal records, made the finals, and became an alternate for the United States Olympic team. I ran the 800 meters faster than any woman in the history of Georgetown University. My foster coach then asked me to retain him and continue my professional running career. I declined, feeling that my Olympic dream had run its course. I elected to return to medical school rather than wait another two months for the final selection of the USA team. I pocketed what I had learned from the experience and chose to move on with no regrets.

When I decided to become an orthopedic surgeon, I was again discouraged. This discipline was reserved only for those who had designated it at the top of their lists for years. I wasn’t even invited to the school sponsored preparatory meetings for those wishing to enter this field.

I am currently finishing my orthopedic surgery internship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Ironically, I have found that many of my mentors at Walter Reed have been competitive athletes. I believe that my short tenure as a professional runner was one of the assets that made me a desirable candidate.

The overriding lesson here is to not be bound by history or by those who are. Follow the advice of Henry Thoreau; “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined.” Surround yourself as best you can with people who support your quests. Most importantly, follow your dreams as far as they might take you. Recognize what you would attempt if you knew you could not fail. What dreams give you goose bumps? Now, go follow your bliss. Solve the problem of world hunger. Help cure cancer. Eliminate homelessness. Make world peace politically and culturally possible.

Now let me say something about thinking. It has been said that the average human being has about 50,000 thoughts a day. Like the breaths we take, these thoughts occur without our conscious acknowledgement. Part of my mental training for performance enhancement was to recognize the little voice inside my head. When I started to really listen, I was surprised! Often the voice would sabotage my goals. I would step up to the line at the start of a race in anticipation of running well and going for the win. My mind however, had different plans. It was focused on all the negatives--the what ifs, the excuses, the insecurities.

The most liberating and difficult realization of my mental training was that I have ultimate control over that little voice in my head. If I listened to my inner fears, then they would limit me. If instead, I replaced the negative, constricting thoughts with positive, encouraging ones, I could gain a great deal of energy and strength. Dr. Z used to say, “If you can’t think of anything positive, don’t think at all!” Replace the thought, “What happens if I fail?” with, “It will be great when I succeed.”

Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re right.” The mind is powerful and it obeys the inner voice. Recognize what you are telling yourself. Learn to discipline your thoughts. What you think and feel is what you become.

My final tenant involves the recognition that our personal goals require the supportive efforts of many others. As Hilary Clinton wrote in, IT TAKES A VILLAGE, it is the effort of the community that allows us to grow up and become accomplished adults. Reaching for my Olympic dream required the efforts of coaches, an athletic scholarship, a sports psychologist, a sports agent, and the Army’s World-Class Athlete Program. Becoming a very good medical doctor has required the help of the faculty and deans at Georgetown Medical School, an Army medical school scholarship, and the continuing supervision of the directors and staff at Walter Reed. I have received tremendous emotional guidance from my husband, family, and friends--including several teachers from OSSM. Students, as bright as each of you are, you also have had tremendous support in order for you to be in this graduating class. You each have family, friends, professors, Dr. Manning, the Board of Directors, your home high schools, the Oklahoma state government, tax payers and private financial contributors to OSSM to thank for the privilege of being here today. In Luke 12.48 it is written, “From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required.”

Finally, let me again help you join this celebration with the victory on St. Crispian’s Day. Like King Harry, let me rouse you to be remembered and to never hold your personhoods cheap.

To this OSSM graduating class of 2003, I implore you to listen to your most positive inner voice. Recognize how much you have been given. Make a part of your bliss the satisfaction of giving back.

GIVE BACK... to your families and the communities that reared you! When your time comes, volunteer for community service, serve on community boards--with humility, spread the wealth of your dreams.

GIVE BACK... to your friends and others that have encouraged you! Imitate their kindness; be there for others who might have no one else.

GIVE BACK ...to your OSSM professors and staff by contributing to their retirement fund! In the immediate future, your donation might be small, but so may be their fund.

GIVE BACK... through the OSSM Foundation with financial support that increasingly matches your means! Do not abandon that very institution that did everything possible to launch you toward greatness.

GIVE BACK... to the Great State of Oklahoma, the United States of America, and the world community!

GIVE BACK... to all those to which you might have the privilege and responsibility to help in their time of need! Unlike you, to most others so much has not been given.

Follow your bliss and listen to the most benevolent little voice inside you.

Be humble, for many have helped you. Be remembered. Be not forgotten.  Thank you.