Thank you, Ms. McNairy, for that generous introduction. I extend my sincere appreciation to those of you who are here from the Kenan Institute. I also applaud the generous community partners in the Young Scholars Program for the work you do on behalf of these children.

    To my good friend, Tom Lambeth, the financial support of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation continues to spread dividends that are reaped exponentially across the state.

    I am grateful for this invitation to speak here tonight at this special occasion for these young people. As President of the Community College System, I usually address civic groups, community college graduates and politicians. In some ways those speeches are much easier than talking to you tonight.

    You young people are at such an important point in your lives. I know how important this Summer Institute was for you and how special this night is for all of you. It is a special responsibility to talk with young people at important crossroads in their lives. This is such a crossroad for you. But you are on the right path by participating in this Lenoir County Young Scholars program, stay the course.

    Before I go any further, I really have to commend you for the way you have conducted yourselves tonight. I know you have worked very hard this summer on many things, including etiquette. It shows. Your manners have been exceptional; you have learned your lessons well this summer. Perhaps I could take a few lessons from you. You’re never too old to learn, you know.

    It has been a few years since I was your age, but I still remember some of the questions I had about life. Will I do well in school? What will I be when I grow up? Will I be successful? Will I make a lot of money?

    The time you spend in the next few years will make all the difference in your lives as you begin to answer those questions. The time and energy you invest now will make life more successful for you when you become adults. Thorough preparation makes the difference.

    A great American statesman and lawyer named Daniel Webster lived many years ago. He felt that there was no such thing as a "little" job.

    When Daniel Webster was just beginning his career as a lawyer, he took a job that only paid him $20, far less than what a lawyer was usually paid for jobs like this one. In preparing for the case, Webster even had to make a trip to Boston, which actually cost more than he was going to earn as a fee. Webster was determined however, to do a thorough job on the case, no matter what he was paid. He worked hard, did the necessary preparation and he won the case for his client.

    Years later, a large company approached Webster on very short notice. They wanted him to undertake a case for them and they were willing to pay him a great deal of money. As Webster reviewed the case, he discovered that it was almost identical to the one he had researched and won nearly twenty years before for the fee of only $20. He took the new case on behalf of the large company, and just as before, the verdict was in favor of his client. He had done the preparation and it paid off in the end.

    Some rewards are immediate; you play hard in your basketball game and you win the game. But others take time. You study hard, get good grades and you get that degree or certificate that leads to a great job and a wonderful life.

    So I encourage you to follow Webster's lead--always do your best, no matter how small the task or reward. Preparation and hard work on those small tasks now will pay off in the future.

    I know you have spent a great deal of time at Lenoir Community College over the past few months, and you will spend more time there in the years to come. You have had fun this summer and you have learned some new skills. It is true you have some hard work ahead of you, but there are people ready to provide great support at Lenoir to help you through it.

    Lenoir Community College and the Young Scholars Program believe in you. They have agreed to work together on a way to find the money to create college scholarships for you. That is the job they have generously chosen to undertake on your behalf.

    Your job is to work as hard as possible so you can make the most of this wonderful offer when you graduate from high school. Right now that time may seem so far away, but believe me; the time will pass very quickly. Each moment you experience, each decision you make is a brick in the foundation of your future.

    If you do decide to attend one of our community colleges, and of course I hope you do, there are so many things that you will be able to pursue. If you are looking for job training, you can find it at a community college.

    Our community colleges offer a window to opportunity. If you are interested in auto mechanics, you can get the necessary training at a community college. If you are interested in driving or repairing heavy equipment, you can find the training at a community college. Our health care training can prepare you for a wonderful career.

    Here at Lenoir you can pursue a program in everything from Basic Law Enforcement to Engineering. Perhaps you would like to be a pilot. There is a course in Aviation Management and Pilot Technology.

    Many of you probably know more about the Internet than I do, but of course there is much more you have to learn. At Lenoir you can receive computer-programming training that will prepare you for a high paying job.

    Perhaps you will attend Lenoir and then transfer to a university, ECU, A&T or perhaps, my alma mater, Chapel Hill. You can take the first steps of your higher education career in the college transfer program here at Lenoir and then the sky is the limit, literally.

    When the space shuttle took off for the first time with a woman as the pilot, that astronaut was a community college graduate. Eileen Collins began her higher education at a community college and then continued her studies at a four-year institution, getting a science degree, a master’s and a doctorate.

    I would bet that when Dr. Collins first began at her community college, she had no idea that one day she would be in outer space. But I would bet she did have a plan and felt secure she was on the right track.

    You are on the right track right now. Over the next few months you will have experiences and opportunities that many of your friends will not. Make the most of these opportunities. And by all means, thank your parents for taking the time and making the decision to place you in this program.

    Of course I have a few words for the parents who are here tonight. You made a wise decision to place your children in the Lenoir County Young Scholars Program. You did so because you felt this was a project that would help your children become better students and better people.

    Without your support and participation, this program will not work. You went through the orientation with your children and you are there to make sure your sons or daughters have a solid future.

    Lenoir Community College will work to help make scholarships available for your sons and daughters when they are ready for college. But you have to help us make sure Lenoir Community College and the other 58 members of the North Carolina Community College System are ready for them.

    You can take a large step toward the future on November 7 with a vote for the $3.1 billion dollar bond referendum for higher education.

    The $600 million that is included in the bond package for community colleges will help ensure that the doors of our community colleges remain open for your children. Lenoir Community College will receive $12.8 million from the bond and the county only has to match $3.2 million. That’s because Lenoir County has been very supportive of the college in the past and now is the time to reap the benefits of that support.

    The bond funds will be used solely to construct new buildings and to renovate and modernize existing buildings at community colleges and UNC campuses. We need those new buildings. The community college system anticipates an enrollment growth over the next ten years equivalent to about 57,000 full-time students and for the University expects 50,000 new students during that same ten years.

    Your children will be among those new students who will attend our community colleges or universities. This kind of growth means big problems unless we repair, renovate, and build on our campuses as soon as possible.

    Lenoir Community College needs this money to provide more classes and improve situations for the students of the future, your children. Classes have been canceled because of overcrowding. Students are missing out on opportunities because the college can’t handle the growth. The money in the bond will help solve that problem here in Kinston and across the state.

    We have to maintain our competitive edge at our universities and our community colleges. I hope you will help, so your sons and daughters will have the opportunity to be the best they can be.

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