Brad's Graduation Speech

Last night, we went to the graduation ceremony for City Year Miami. When Brad got up to speak, he told the graduates that when he was 22 years old and graduating from the University of Michigan, he entered the schoolwide competition to be the graduation speaker. He lost, never even making the second round. But as he said last night, he's a stubborn bastard. He is. And then he reached into his pocket and pulled out the speech that he'd waited nearly 20 years to give. See below. Back then, the term Gen-X wasn't even invented, but his words are as relevant now as they were then (and does it sound like him, or what?). Just some fun to remind us when we were young.

Feel free to send to others, of course...

- Cori

Chase Your Dreams; Find Your Road Runner
By Brad Meltzer, age 22

The media loves to speculate about what our generation will accomplish. They call us the "Television Generation" or "The Baby-busters." Above all else, the media loves to report that our generation, aged 18-25, will be the first generation in history to have less than our parents. I cannot express how much this annoying little factoid bothers me.

I do not question the economic principles on which this prediction is based; rather, I am concerned about the consequences of the statement. It is both silly and bothersome to hear anyone "tell" us what we will be. The logical flaws alone are staggering. How can they know what our generation will accomplish when so many of our future leaders are still sitting here, awaiting graduation? It is as if they are trying to write that widely read year-in-review article before the year takes place.

They don't know our capabilities or the extent of our ingenuity. They simply base their "prediction" on the assumption that our limits are equal to the limits of their generation. They are wrong. This is a new generation. Graduates, it is "our" generation, and we differ from all others. Granted, we may have lower national math scores, and lower geographical knowledge. Certainly, there is some truth to the notion that we will not have the same economic advantages that our parents had. Yet, that does not mean that we will necessarily have less than our parents. Let the world know - we will not be counted out. I am confident we will surprise them. We have a different type of knowledge; more street-smart and clever. We are imaginative and more ingenious.

Creativity is an elemental force of nature. Use that force in whatever you decide to do. Whether you choose law, medicine, business, teaching, or any of the other limitless doors that are open to you, show the world - our time has come - we have arrived, and we will not be easily defeated.

As we face graduation, do not be scared of the future. Embrace it. Do not weather the storm. Control it. Make the most of your time, and we will make the best of our generation.

For the past two decades, we have seen Wile E. Coyote chase the ever-elusive Road Runner. For twenty years, we have known that he will never be able to catch him; yet, we still continue to watch. No matter how impossible our dreams might be, we must all practice the childhood lessons of Wile E. Coyote. Be persistent as you chase your own dreams, so that you may one day find your Road Runner.

Thank you, and good luck to you all. Go Blue.

City Year Miami Lives!

From yesterday's Miami Herald:

Role models help young students

We grew up in Miami, so we know about the beauty of this city. But while the community can boast of gorgeous beaches and neon on Ocean Drive, we can get caught up in the superficial.

Recently, we saw the real beauty of Miami, where dozens of residents and local organizations used their passion and resources to bring City Year, America's premier service organization, to town. What's more beautiful than that?

With the launch of City Year Miami, 80 uniformed young adults have committed to serve our city, working full-time in Miami-Dade County public elementary schools, tutoring and mentoring children and giving much-needed help to overworked after-school programs, vacation camps and other aspects of overextended schools. They'll even be trained as emergency volunteers to assist when the next hurricane strikes. Think of it as a Peace Corps for the United States. The young adults' diversity and age -- 17 to 24 -- give them a unique ability to connect with the children they mentor and give these kids someone to look up to.

Is it any surprise that both Barack Obama and John McCain are supporters?

City Year corps members come from all walks of life. Irene, an 18-year-old from Boston, was admitted to Stanford. But she deferred her dream so that she could help children in Miami pursue theirs.

There's also Lucien, a 24-year-old from Little Haiti. He is returning to his old Miami neighborhood to serve. When he tells children not to make the mistakes he has made, they know where he comes from. And when he shows them the path he took to graduate high school and pursue a career, they know it's more than simple talk. Young people like Irene and Lucien inspired us to bring City Year to Miami. A few months ago, a national study ranked the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area dead last in the percentage of adults that dedicate time to volunteering. City Year Miami will help change that by giving young people the opportunity to serve -- and turning them into involved, engaged community participants for life.

City Year corps members -- in their bright red jackets -- also will act as reminders to the rest of us: If they can give a whole year, maybe we can give an hour, a day, maybe more. City Year isn't just for the kids -- it's for our entire city.

In our efforts to bring City Year to Miami, dozens of people told us it couldn't be done -- that the city couldn't support yet another public interest organization; that there wasn't enough funding to go around. But our schools are in a crisis, and our children and community suffer because of it. Miami-Dade County Public Schools' high-school graduation rate hovers at around 50 percent. And the school system has one of the highest drop-out rates in the state. In the face of these sad realities, how could we not act?

We are uniting as a community -- The Knight Foundation, The Children's Trust, Volunteer Florida, Bayview Financial, Comcast, CSX, Royal Caribbean, T-Mobile, and our own charitable foundation -- ready to work alongside City Year Miami corps members for a stronger community.

Everyone loves a hero, and in Miami, heroes aren't hard to find. Irene, Lucien and many others are dedicating a year to our city. They are building, for all of us, a stronger community. They are changing this world -- and changing Miami. That's what we call beautiful.

BRAD and CORI FLAM MELTZER, Miami

City Year Miami

The board meeting was wild -- like that scene in Flashdance where she's standing in front of the judges -- but instead of dancing, we pled our case, left the room, and then they voted (okay so we kinda knew the result).

And in September, City Year Miami will launch!

Also found out that if you do City Year, you automatically get an interview if you apply to work at Comcast. Love that.

Gotta think of what you get from me? Free advice for writing your book? Free Yoo-Hoos? I'm open to anything.

Thanks to the real team -- the current corps -- for letting us dream this one. And if you're between 17 and 24, and want to be in Miami, and change the world, go to the site.

Now in a cab in NY and headed for top secret project.