it's not my distinct pleasure and a very high honor to present our commencement speaker are you in for a treat dr. Rick Rigsby is a Bay Area native and former award-winning journalist who followed a television news career with six years of graduate school culminating with a PhD from the University of Oregon a college professor for two decades Rick spent most of those years at Texas A&M University where he served as character coach and chaplain for the Aggies football team I think they needed that chaplain go Kia haulers he now the votes his full attention to empowering people worldwide from presenting leadership principles in Nigeria to speaking to Fortune 500 companies in the Americas Europe and up to Canada he offers common-sense wisdom to those desiring to rise to greater levels of excellence throughout three decades in broadcasting and academia Rick Grigsby has received numerous commendations and awards he's a two-time recipient of the outstanding teaching award given by Texas A&M s College of Liberal Arts in addition to academic publications dr. Rigsby is the author of lessons from a third grade dropout and he has generously provided a copy for each of our graduates so please join me in a joyous warm Cal maritime welcome for our commencement speaker dr. Rick Rigsby [Applause] thank you very much thank you very much Joey and Ted that was awesome first of all great job to president cropper and to captain Bolton and to Rear Admiral de cuatro to the trustees of the CSU system to the wonderful alumni and to one of the greatest faculty in all of the world you see California Maritime they attract the greatest faculty members anywhere to the parents the grandparents in the aunts and the uncles the cousins and the brothers and sisters but most of all to the graduating class of 2017 what's up y'all I won't be long we have a lot of activities some of them will go into the late hours of the night but I come from a predominantly black family I don't know if you all can tell that or not and I happen to be an ordained minister now that's a lethal combination when it comes to time give Big Daddy some chicken wings I'll talk to you all day long yes sir but in the words of King Henry the eighth does he spoke to each of his six wives I won't keep you long but I will be very brief and on points I promise you that cadets y'all are graduating from one of the greatest institutions in the world there is no education like a maritime education and for all of you in the audience the curricula is rigorous tough demanding compelling forcing you to be your best and to give your best the sacrifice young people that you went through most of us will never ever know but here's my message to whom much is given much is required you have been blessed invested in by this great faculty you won't ever receive the kind of knowledge that you've received in your time here but I wish that you would couple that knowledge with something else wisdom wisdom from a mother wisdom from a father a grandmother a grandfather an uncle an aunt a friend of a favorite professor wisdom from somewhere that that combination will keep you centered regardless of the turbulence of the sea that that combination will keep you well grounded regardless of the ups and downs of life that that combination will cause you to make an impact to grow your influence it was John Maxwell who said leadership is influenced nothing more nothing less your ability to influence people within the sphere of your periphery will determine the impact that you make will Cal maritime graduates make an impact they make an impact all over the world making an impact it's not about making a nice impression it's about making an impact it's about doing your best I learned how to make an impact from the wisest person I've ever met in my life a third-grade dropouts why is this and drop out in the same sentence as rather oxymoronic like jumbo shrimp mm-hmm like fun run ain't nothing fun about it like Microsoft Works y'all don't hear me I used to say like country music but I've lived in Texas so long I love country music now I back yeah I hunt I finish I have cowboy boots and cowboy y'all I'm a black neck redneck do you hear what I'm saying no longer oxymoronic for me to say country music and it's not oxymoronic for me to say third grade and drop out that third grade dropout the wisest person I ever met in my life who taught me to combine knowledge and wisdom to make an impact was my father my daddy grew up in the Piney Woods of East Texas little town called Huntsville Texas after World War 2 was over my father decided to be the only one in his family to migrate West and in the 1950s he found his way to the San Francisco Bay Area fell in love with a forklift driver my mother was a bad memory jamming let me tell you right now baby didn't need a man he was just there my mother was a forklift driver over the Benicia Arsenal where they would she would provide the services to support the war efforts during World War two in the 50s my mother and father get married and they migrated to this area my father gets a job as a cook a simple cook why is this man every men in my life just a simple cook at some school called California Maritime Academy oh come on what you come on you have no idea how thrilled I am to be here this is so emotional this may be my favorite speech of all time because y'all are my family I can't wait to take a picture with you I grew up on this campus I was born and reared here lived at 11:41 Louisiana Street Vallejo California nine four five nine Oh my daddy used to work in something called the galley the mess hall now it's the dining center and it's a nice one my father why's this man ever met in my life left school in the third grade to help out on the family farm but just because he left school doesn't mean a jezic education stopped Mark Twain once said I've never allowed my schooling to get in the way of my education my father taught himself how to read taught himself how to write decided in the midst of Jim Crow ISM as America was breathing the last gasp of the Civil War my father decided he was going to stand and be a man not a black man not a brown man not a white man but a man he literally challenged himself to be the best that he could all the days of his life I want to share something with you the wisest man I ever met in my life never made it past the third grade impacted tremendously me and my brother growing up right here in Vallejo this this was our family this Academy was our backyard going on that training ship and getting lost sneaking into the pool going to all the different places for nearly 30 years this was home and I want to tell you I know what it takes to get where you are and I need you to listen to me very carefully I have four degrees my brother is a judge we're not the smartest ones in our family it's a third grade dropout daddy a third grade dropout daddy who was quoting Michelangelo when he was a cook at kalimera time saying those boys I won't have a problem if you aim high and miss but I'm gonna have a real issue if you aim low and hit a country mother quoting Henry Ford saying if you think you can or if you think you can't you're right you say it takes knowledge and wisdom combined to grow your influence so that you will make up an impact you'll be a shipmate that others can count on I learned that from a third grade drop simple lessons lessons like these son don't judge people sound I've worked at Cal maritime you know I've been all over the world I've seen good and bad in every shade don't judge people that nc of a person is to walk away from somebody that's different from them you stay there and you get to know them never judge did he drop Jonathan Swift on me who's that vision is the ability to see the invisible don't judge another lesson from this third grade dropout son you'd rather be an hour early than a minute late we never knew what time it was at my house cuz the clocks were always ahead we were on Cal maritime come on somebody watch this my father had the breakfast and lunch shift here at the Academy he had to be at work at five o'clock we lived on tennis we lived on Louisiana Street 15 minutes away my mother said for nearly 30 years my father left the house at 3:45 in the morning one day she asked him why daddy he said maybe one of my boys will catch me in the act of excellence I want to share two things with you Aristotle said you are what you repeatedly do there for excellence ought to be a habit not an act don't ever forget that the other thing I want to share with you is Harvard Business Review September 2004 the article is titled deep smarts here's the thesis lecturing what our universities are based upon is the worst kind of teaching method usually present company excluded that if you want to get the intended message across model the behavior my daddy a third grade rap out a cook was modeling excellence for his boys combining academic knowledge an old-school wisdom that's what makes an impact in impact as you go all over the world you're not interested in making a nice impression you want to make an impact lesson number three be kind to people he always told us kind deeds are never lost I get to do a lot of NFL chapels you see some amazing things with those National Football League players you see guys that convince press 200 300 pounds 20 times you see folks that are huge that can run like a deer you see folks from a flat-footed position jump 40 inches 40 inch vertical leap I even saw a white guy do it once but the boy you know what stops me in my tracks when I see one of those rich folks show kindness it literally stops the world George Washington Carver said when common people do common things in uncommon ways they command the attention of the world I just described your grandmother I know you're tough I know you're seaworthy but always remember to be kind always don't ever forget that never embarrass mama mm-hmm yeah if mama ain't happy ain't nobody happy if daddy ain't happy you don't nobody care but you know I'm tell you next lesson lesson from a cook over there in the galley son make sure your servants towel is bigger than your ego I want to remind you cadets of something as you graduate ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity y'all might have a relative in mind you want to send that to let me say it again ego is the anesthesia the deadens the pain of stupidity pride is the burden of a foolish person you'll never be a great shipmate you'll never be a great executive you'll never be a great teammate it's all about you you'll never be a great supervisor a councilperson if it's all about you you'll never be a great staff member if it's all about you rather make sure that servants towel is always big on president croppers bookshelf in his bookshelf he has everyone from every book from Plato's Republic to lessons in leadership by coach wooden John Wooden coach basketball UCLA for a living but his calling was the impact people and with all those national championships guess what he was found doing in the middle of the week going into the cupboard grabbing a broom and sweeping his own gym floor you want to make an impact find your broom every day of your life you find your broom you grow your influence that way that way you're attracting people so that you can impact them final lesson son if you're gonna do a job do it right I don't have to tell you all that kalimera time and I know grammatically that's not correct it I'll be doing well but I like that old-school ghetto kind of do it the right way I'm thinking about a little boy in Los Angeles all he wants to do is play Little League baseball his mother can't even afford to buy him a glove and he eventually plays Little League and he's really good and he's so good he gets a scholarship to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and he's so good he gets drafted by the San Diego Padres and he's so good he helps the st. Louis Cardinals win a World Series 12 years ago when Ozzie Smith walked into the Hall of Fame he said during his induction speech and in part I quote word for word he said I've always been told how average I can be always been criticized about being average but I want to tell you something I stand here before you before all of these people not listening to those words but telling myself every single day to shoot for the stars to be the best that I can be good enough isn't good enough if it can be better and better isn't good enough if it can be best that's the California maritime way good enough isn't good enough if it can be better better isn't good enough if it can be best let me close with a very personal story that I think will bring all this into focus wisdom will come to you and the unlikeliest of sources a lot of times through failure when you hit rock-bottom remember this while you're struggling rock-bottom can also be a great foundation on which to build and on which to grow I'm not worried that you'll be successful I'm worried that you won't fail from time to time person that gets up off the canvas and keeps growing that's the person that will continue to grow their influence back in the 70s to help me make this point let me introduce you to someone I'm at the finest woman I've ever met in my life mmm-hmm back in my day way to called her a brick house I was going to that great academic institution in the north Chico State y'all don't know what I'm talking about probably studying really hard let me just put it to you like this I haven't always been a preacher if you understand what I'm saying this woman was the finest woman I'd ever seen in my life there's just one little problem back then ladies didn't like big old lime and The Blind Side hadn't come out yet they may like quarterbacks and running backs any former quarterbacks and running backs here raise your hands why we a couple of you punks anyway so with his dance and I find out her name is Trina Williams from Lompoc California and we were all dancing and we're just just excited and I decided in the middle of dancing with her that I would ask her for a phone number she Trina was the first one Trina was the only woman in college who gave me her real telephone number the next day we walked to Baskin and Robbins ice cream parlor my friends couldn't believe it this has been 40 years ago and my friend still can't believe it we go on a second date and a third date and a fourth date mm-hmm we drive from Chico to Vallejo so that she could meet my parents my father meets her my daddy my hero he meets her pulls me to the side and says is she psycho but anyway we go together for a year two years three years four years by now Trina's a senior in college I'm still a freshman but I'm working some things out I'm so glad I graduated in four terms Nixon Ford Carter Reagan so now it's time to propose so I talked to her girlfriends and it's California it's in the 70s so it has to be outside have to have a candle and you have to have you know some chocolate listen I'm from the hood had a bottle of Boone's Farm wine that's what I had she said yes that was the key I married the most beautiful woman I've ever seen him I y'all ever been to a wedding and even before the wedding starts you hear this how in the world we get married we have a few children our lives are great one day Trina finds a lump in her left breast breast cancer six years after that diagnosis me and my two little boys walked up to mommy's casket and for two years my heart didn't beat it wasn't for my faith in God I wouldn't be standing here today if it wasn't for those two little boys there'd have been no reason for which to go on I was completely lost that was rock bottom you know what sustained me the wisdom of a third grade dropout the wisdom of a simple cook from California Maritime Academy ret the casket in College Station Texas I've never seen my dad cry big strong man there are several alumni that remember Riggs that are here we've been sharing stories all weekend but this time I saw my dad cry that was his daughter Trina was his daughter not his daughter-in-law and I'm right behind my father about to see her for the last time on this earth and my father shared three words with me two changed my life right there at the casket it would be the last lesson he would ever teach me he said son just stand president cropper captain Bolton Rear Admiral de cuatro I don't think there's anything more profound that I can share with these cadets than these words you keep standing you keeps knitting no matter how rough the sea you keep standing and I'm not talking about just water you keep standing no matter what you don't give up I learned that lesson from a third grade dropout who was a cook at Cal maritime who said boy you keep standing no matter what I stood and a miracle took place a couple years later my heart started to beat again I'm stalking in a group about like this when all of a sudden I spot the finest woman I've ever met in my life again first thing Janet did after we got married was she adopted those little boys fulfilling Trina's last wish that her babies not go through life without a mommy and then we decided to do something really bright we thought 1617 years ago and I was having more children it's worked out lovely and I'm honored to tell you that we had more boys I have four boys from 34 years old all the way down to my daddy's youngest grandson who's here with me this weekend Joshua Grigsby sitting on the front row right here I close with this I close with this and this will make the point more salient than any of my previous words let me take you back to two days before Trina died no hair because a chemotherapy could it's a tummy pooched out because of a liver no longer working she weighed about 75 pounds I'm in the kitchen so I can keep an eye on her in the family room she's surrounded by pillows are the in youngest son Andrew walks up with a shirt that he wants mommy to fold and this is what I hear from Trina Andrew momma not always gonna be there to help you she was saying goodbye and I was so moved I waited for Andrew to leave and I walked over and I sat next to her on the couch and as clearly as I'm talking to you today these were some of her last words to me she looked me in the eye and she said it doesn't matter to me any longer how long I live what matters to me most is how I live cadets I've come here with honor with bells on - all one question a question that I was asked all my life by a third grade dropout how you live in how you live in everyday ask yourself that question how you live in here's here's what a cook in the dining sinner would suggest you to live this way that you would not judge that you would show up early that you'd be kind that you'd make sure that that servants towel is huge and used that if you're gonna do something you do it the right way that that that cook would tell you this that it's never wrong to do the right thing that how you do anything is how you do everything and in that way you will grow your influence to make an impact in that way you will honor all those who have gone before you who have invested in you from teachers to grandparents to mom and dad and when you combine that academic knowledge with that wisdom oh my goodness you will change the world so to the class of 2017 it is with great honor did I say all your life look in those unlikeliest places for wisdom enhance your life every day by seeking that wisdom and asking yourself every night how am i living may God richly bless y'all thank you [Applause] [Applause]