SUU grads counseled to 'forge ahead'

CEDAR CITY — From its first graduating class of 18 in 1909 to the 1,767 graduates of 2009, Southern Utah University has continued to grow amid economic uncertainty.

During commencement exercises Saturday, SUU President Michael T. Benson told the graduating class to "forge ahead in the face of adversity."

"This is your moment," Benson said. "Seize the opportunity, and strive to make a difference."

The theme was repeated in a talk by President Thomas S. Monson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as he urged graduates to seek their destiny, listening to the voices of the past to guide them.

"The pilgrimage you graduates now make from your beloved Southern Utah University has the bittersweet urgency of one who turns from home, eagerly but reluctantly moving past the point of no return; who becomes aware of the awesome magnitude of life, confronting questions bigger than life itself, knowing the answers he or she gives will not be complete; who realizes that the future is wide open and unmade, its opportunities breathtaking, its dilemmas increasing, its guarantees evaporating," President Monson said.

Third-generation SUU graduate Natalie Brooke Gunn told a crowded Centrum Arena audience that graduation day was not the end but the beginning of "great things" to come.

"We are not the next generation; we are the generation," Gunn said, adding that the "next great writers, politicians, teachers are among us."

Gunn's motivation was echoed by President Monson's plea to graduates to "help shape the world."

"No graduate can afford to close his textbooks or his mind; for learning is not just an in-class activity, but an all-day, everywhere process," he said. "You have developed the skill to study; use it. You have learned the value of effort; apply it. You have pursued the quest for excellence; continue it."

After speaking to Utah Valley University graduates a day prior and giving them much of the same advice, President Monson encouraged the graduates of SUU to learn from the past, prepare for the future and live in the present.

"Like the stars of the heavens are the ideals of your life. You can't touch them with your hands, but by following them you will reach your destination," he said, adding wishes for a safe journey to all.