U.S. SEN. BRIAN SCHATZ ’94
ON OPPORTUNITIES TO DO GOOD:
“Every day will give you a chance to change the world.
But it’s not always super clear when your moment arrives. I mean, life isn’t a Marvel movie, when your opportunity for courage and leadership presents itself in an obvious way, when the bad guys show up with ominous music. What do you do when human rights and civil rights are undermined during your comfortable life, sliver by sliver, minute by minute? What do you do when the sea levels rise millimeter by millimeter? What do you do when you see injustice, but your life is becoming more successful by the day? You do whatever you can with whatever you have. That is your responsibility as of today, as of your graduation from Pomona College. You have done very well. Now you have to do good.” (The U.S. senator from Hawaii spoke at Commencement 2017.)
MYRLIE EVERS-WILLIAMS ’68
ON COMING TO POMONA COLLEGE:
“IT HELPED, IN A SENSE, TO BRING
together the different parts of a shattered body, of a shattered mind, of a shattered family, and bring hope, when there was really no hope, that my children and I could survive and not only survive, but thrive here on this campus.” (The civil rights leader spoke at Alumni Weekend 2017.)
JUDGE RICHARD TARANTO ’77
ON WORK THAT MATTERS:
“THERE IS NOT MUCH THAT’S MORE
satisfying than being able to exercise a craft well, which takes a lot of work, and if you can be
excellent at work that you have come to believe, at some moral or philosophical level, is worth
doing, the combination can be wonderful.” (The U.S. appeals court judge spoke at Alumni Weekend 2017.)
BRIAN TUCKER ’67
ON MOTIVATING PEOPLE TO PREPARE FOR DISASTERS:
“A HIGH-CONSEQUENCE, LOW-PROBABILITY
event is pretty unmotivating. But we have found, in all the cities we’ve worked in around the world, if you talk about the safety of the parents’ children, that motivates them. As some of us say, this is the ‘gateway drug’ to disaster reduction—to talk about schools.” (The founder of GeoHazards International spoke at Alumni Weekend 2017.)
PENNY DEAN ’77
ON TRAINING DISTANCE SWIMMERS:
“IN THE POOL, YOU’LL PASS THAT
barrier, that pain threshold, and you’ll feel it in your side, and if you just say, ‘Oh great—here’s the pain. Now go faster. Go harder. Go harder now.’ And you’ll get through it. You’re on top of the world.” (The record-breaking swimmer and former Pomona College swim coach spoke at Alumni Weekend 2017.)