More than 2,600 Grand Valley State University students put behind them a phase in their lives when they were honored during two sessions of the Winter 2011 Commencement ceremony this past Saturday.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute president Shirley Ann Jackson served as the honorary guest speaker during the morning session, at which 1,106 students received Bachelor’s degrees while another 212 students received Masters and Doctoral degrees.

Jackson, who was appointed in 2009 to serve on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology now serves on both the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution and on the Board of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Jackson told her wide-eyed audience of graduates that optimism, commitment and high aspirations were the three key ingredients to future success and to having high hopes. And hope, Jackson added, is what will help to attempt the seemingly impossible.

“…As you are going through your lives, hope will enable you to take calculated risks instead of being satisfied with the status quo,” she said.

In the afternoon session, former Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta served as the honorary guest speaker before 1,328 students received Bachelors degrees and 111 students received Masters and Doctoral degrees.

Mineta, who was appointed as Secretary of Transportation in 2001, talked of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 that year with a simple message behind it all: we can’t always predict the future, but it could still turn out to be amazing.

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