Former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, center, smiles during the commencement exercises at the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y., Monday, June 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
With his wife, former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, watching and cheering nearby, retired astronaut Mark Kelly exhorted graduates at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy to a life of public service, encouraging them Monday to persevere when faced with unexpected challenges.
Kelly, a 1986 graduate of the academy who later flew combat missions for the U.S. Navy during the Gulf War and then flew on four space shuttle flights, including as commander of the Endeavor’s final mission in 2011, quoted from Winston Churchill, Ralph Waldo Emerson and several times from his wife during a 20-minute address to the 219 graduates.
Giffords, who was seated with other dignitaries near the side of the stage, didn’t speak during the commencement but enthusiastically sang the National Anthem and waved to her husband as the ceremony started. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood introduced the congresswoman to the graduates, their parents, friends and faculty, eliciting a standing ovation for the lawmaker who was shot in an assassination attempt that left six dead outside a Tucson shopping center 18 months ago.
Kelly also spoke of his wife’s recovery and sought to use it as inspiration for the graduates.
“I have learned a thing or two about the power of the human spirit,” he said. “It has been an incredible experience for me to watch my wife, Gabby, first fight so hard to survive and then fight so hard to come back. She has been an incredible inspiration to me. Each day as she heads off to therapy she’ll often tell me, ‘fight, fight, fight.'”
“She reminds me each and every day to deny the acceptance of failure.”
Former astronaut Capt. Mark Kelly speaks during the United States Merchant Marine Academy commencement exercises in Kings Point, N.Y., Monday, June 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Kelly said when he left Kings Point in 1986, he dreamed of being the first human to walk on Mars. He said that when he first started pilot training he wasn’t the best of aviators and confessed that Tom Cruise — the actor, not the character he played in the film “Top Gun” — would have made a better pilot back then. But he said perseverance and hard work paid off in a successful career.
“I started out as a lousy pilot and ended up commanding a rocket ship,” he said. “I never made it to Mars, but the journey was certainly worth the effort. ”
Kelly also encouraged the graduates to find some way to give back to society, a passion he said he and his wife share.
“It is vitally important that we all give something back. I encourage all of you to find some cause that you believe in, find yourself some role, either at a church, charity or service organization or maybe even seek elected office.”
The academy, located on Long Island Sound, just outside New York City on the grounds of an estate once owned by automobile magnate Walter Chrysler, is operated by the Department of Transportation through its maritime administration. It trains graduates in a spectrum of disciplines to support the maritime industry.
As with the better-known U.S. military academies, midshipmen are nominated by their local members of Congress. Kings Point graduates, who receive bachelor’s degrees, must serve five years on active-duty in the military or work in the maritime industry for five years, as well as eight years in the reserves, said academy spokeswoman Marcie Katcher. This year, graduates came from 37 states and four other countries.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
