Commencement: What Next?

“You have received certain talents, some ten, some five, some one . . .” Dr. Karl T. Compton said to a class at Commencement. “Whether you wish it or not. . . the world will hold you . . . accountable . . . Each of you has his own particular amount and kind of knowledge. Some . . . have had wider experiences . . . some have studied harder, . . . some . . . have the more retentive memories, . . . Like the nobleman in the parable, . . . we may . . . say, here are your talents as they are today; what next? What are you going to do about it? You may reply: ‘That is my business, I’ll do as I please with them.’ Or you may answer, ‘I wish I knew;’ or, ‘I want to do the best I can. . .’ But . . . let me call attention to a very important point: after a time the nobleman called on his servants for an accounting . . . and dealt with them . . . in accordance with their performance . . . Just so, . . . the world will call on you for an accounting . . . From now on, for better or for worse, is very largely within your own control. What you have today . . . has largely [been] given you; what you will have made of it . . . is up to you . . . . Some students have the mistaken idea that, after graduation, they quit learning and begin to practice,” Mr. Compton continued “But . . . graduation should be no such sharp break as this. . . . You have only just enough to start out with. There is an infinite lot for you still to learn, . . . to extend your knowledge and improve your skill. . . . [A survey has shown] far too many in the category of that servant who simply gave back to his master that which was his young men who worked the appointed hours . . . and drew their pay, and beyond that were making no effort to increase their talents. Such men constitute the great . . . mass of mediocrity; . . . In infancy, parents and all the world protect us. In childhood also every effort is made to give each one of us the best possible chance. . . . Parents are indulgent, teachers try to help; but the world is not indulgent, and [expects] . . . performance . . . . By and large, man sinks or swims by his own efforts. . . . It is you, . . . who must use these opportunities so that, when the accounting comes, the world will say unto you, ‘. . . thou has been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things (Matthew 25:21).'”¹