瑟利夫夫人在哈佛大学2011年毕业典礼上的演讲(3)

President Drew Gilpin Faust, members of the Harvard Board of Overseers, members of the Harvard Corporation, faculty, staff and students, fellow alumni, members of the graduating Class of 2011, parents, family and friends, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, friends:

福斯特校长，哈佛监管理事会的各位理事，哈佛集团的各位成员，各位老师，各位教工，各位同学，各位校友，各位2011级的毕业生，各位毕业生的家长和亲朋，各位贵宾，先生们，女士们，朋友们，

I am honored not only to be the 360th Commencement speaker at my alma mater, but to do so in the year Harvard University celebrates 375 years of preparing minds as the oldest institution of higher learning in America. Thank you for the invitation and congratulations to you, Dr. Faust, the first female president of Harvard! It is a great privilege to share in Harvard’s distinguished and storied history. Harvard has produced presidents, prime ministers, a United Nations secretary-general, leaders in business, government, and the church. But more than anything, Harvard has produced the men and women on whose talent our societies function — the leaders in law, health, business, government, design, education, spirituality, and thought.

我感到非常荣幸，不仅因为担任母校第360届毕业典礼的演讲嘉宾，还因为赶上了哈佛大学—-这个美国最早的高等教育机构—-第375周年校庆。福斯特博士，您是哈佛历史上第一位女校长，谢谢您邀请我，向您表示祝贺。成为哈佛大学卓越传奇的历史的一部分，这是一种莫大的荣誉。哈佛培养了总统、首相、联合国秘书长、商界领袖、政界领袖、宗教领袖。但是更重要的是，哈佛培养了维持我们社会运转的各类充满才华的学生—-优秀的法律工作者、医生、商人、公务员、设计师、教育家、心理指导师和思想家。

An event four decades ago put me on the path that has led me to where I am today. I participated, as a junior official of Liberia’s Department of Treasury, in a national development conference sponsored by our National Planning Council and a team of Harvard advisers working with Liberia. My remarks, which challenged the status quo, landed me in my first political trouble. The head of the Harvard team, recognizing, in a closed society, the potential danger I faced, facilitated the process that enabled me to become a Mason Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government. The Mason Program provided me with the opportunity to study a diversified curriculum for a master’s degree in public administration. Perhaps more importantly, in terms of preparation for leadership, the program enabled us to learn and interact with other Fellows and classmates who represented current and potential leaders from all continents.

四十年前的一件往事，让我走上了今天的道路。当时，我作为利比里亚财政部的低级职员，参加了由我们的”国家规划委员会”赞助的一次国家发展会议，与一组哈佛大学的顾问一起在