Washington Scholars Luncheon

May 20, 2009

It�s truly a pleasure and an honor to be here with you today.

Nothing pleases me more than being surrounded by the best and brightest seniors in our state. Congratulations to our 2009 Washington Scholars.

You clearly understand the value of an education. And, earning the honor of becoming a Washington Scholar tells me you not only understand it, you put in the hard work. For that you should be very proud.

I was the first person in my family to go to college. I grew up with a single mom who supported us as a short-order cook in Auburn. My mom worked very hard and we didn�t have much, but she always had a dream that I would attend college, and it was my dream, too.

I�m living proof of what an education can do for you if you believe in yourself, work hard and keep focused.

So, I encourage each and every one of our 147 Washington Scholars to follow your dreams.

Students like Thea Marriott of Stanwood High School who will study International Law � which is much needed in the most trade dependent state in the nation.

Rachel Damiano of Mount Spokane High School, who, in the future, just may be the nurse that takes care of you at your local hospital.

Aviation High School�s Shawn Stern could some day be the engineer behind the Boeing airplane of the future.

Brian Chou (Chow) of Richland High School, might be a physician practicing in your town in a few years.

And, William Brenc (Brank) of Mark Morris is pursuing political science - so in 20 years or so he might be vying for my job after I�m long gone, while eyeing the president�s job further down the road.

The possibilities are endless for Thea, Rachel, Shawn, Brian and William � and all the other high-achieving Washington Scholars of 2009.

And before I go any further talking about today�s students, I need to offer a thank you and congratulations to the parents, family members, relatives and teachers here today.

You deserve a big thanks and congratulations for a job well done. It really does take a village to raise a child and without that foundation of support, love, and encouragement that comes from all of you, our students wouldn�t be where they are today, and who they are today.

Please join me in giving a round of applause to our families and supporters.

The students before us are model citizens who excel in our classrooms, while serving as student leaders, volunteering in your communities, participating in athletics, and taking on more responsibilities than many adults.

I am thoroughly impressed at the diversity of the students being honored here this afternoon. You come from all over the state, you grew up in a variety of unique family situations, and you are aiming toward varied majors and careers.

But, as diverse as you are, I know you share some of the same interests and concerns.

You want to know that there will be a place for you in our state universities? Will you and your families be able to afford your expenses?

I bet you�re also worried about the economy and whether there will be job opportunities when you graduate.

As governor, I worry and care about all of those same concerns.

There�s no denying that we�re in tough times � some of the worst since the Great Depression.

Education has always been one of my top priorities. It�s your future � individually and ours as a state.

We did have to make cuts this legislative session, but the smallest reductions were made to K-12 education, as it should be.

And yes, state universities have been authorized to raise tuition. As distasteful as this was, we need to keep the doors of higher education open, maintain quality education and make sure there are classes available so students can graduate in four years, not five or more.

I can assure you that your scholarships are not in jeopardy. We made commitments to you and we�re keeping those commitments.

There is no better investment we can make than in your education. You are our future software engineers, scientists, musicians, film producers, teachers, doctors and politicians.

And, I know there are professions that will be available to you that don�t even exist today.

Just to give you some indications of how fast things are changing, consider a You Tube video from a gentlemen by the name of Karl Fisch. He notes we�re in a period of exponential change.

More unique information will be created this year than in the previous 5,000 years. And the top ten in-demand jobs for 2010 didn�t even exist in 2004.

Fisch notes that it took radio 38 years to finally reach an audience of 50 million people. TV reached 50 million people in 13 years, the Internet reached that number in four, ipod in three and Facebook did it in just two years.

I�m not sure where Twitter is at, but I�m sure it will beat out Facebook�s timeline, if it hasn�t already. How many of you out there are on Twitter today?

What all of this tells me is that we absolutely cannot turn our backs on technology as an educational tool for the 21st century. And as our state�s top students, you are ready.

Fisch also contends the amount of new technical information is doubling every two years.

That means for students starting a four-year technical degree, one half of what you learn in the first year of study could be outdated by your third year!

While that�s alarming to me in some ways, I feel good about the caliber and quality of our students. You are ready to embrace the challenges that lie ahead.

You�re bright, you�re visionary, you�re leaders, you�re thinkers and you�re doers. You�re not the kind of students that will let things just happen to you.

Change is happening and I see you leading and shaping that change, and it makes me feel very good about our state�s future and our country�s future.
As Washington scholars � give back.

I again congratulate you and encourage you to go forth and learn. Be a part of the change. Make a difference. Give back when you can. Enjoy what the future holds, because I�m sure it will be very, very bright for all of you and thus for all of us.

Congratulations!