on his alma mater

I am pleased to present to you

doctor William Gates

thank you

President what

former President means time

incoming President balanced

members

the harvard corporation

and the board of overseers

members of the faculty

parents

especially the ground

I've been waiting

more than thirty years

to say this

I've always told you

I come back

they get my degree

well

I would think

for this on

a big change in my job next year

and we'll be nice to find me

have a college degree

on my resume

I applaud the graduates

for taking a much more direct

you're degrees

from our my part

I'm just happy that the crimson called me

harvard's

most successful dropped out

I guess that makes me valedictorian

of my own special class

I did the best

of everyone would fail

but also

want to be recognized

as the guy got the bomber to drop out of business school

I'm about and who I am

that's why

I was invited to speak

that your graduation

if I've spoken to her or him teach and

you're out here

might be here

however was a phenomenal experience for me

academic life was fascinating

I used to sit him

on lots of classes

but I hadn't even signed up for

and or might with record

I lived up to

reckless

in for house

there are always a lot of people in my dorm room late at night discussing things

because everyone knew that I didn't worry

about getting up in the morning

that's how I came to be the leader of the anti-social group

we climbed each other as a way of balloting

our rejection

although thoughtful people

radcliff it's a great place to live

there were more women out there

and most of the guys were math science times

the combination offered me the best thoughts

you know what I mean

that's where

I learned the sad lesson

that improving your odds

doesn't guarantee success

one of my biggest memories of harvard

came in January nineteen seventy five

and I made call

from her house

the company in albuquerque new Mexico

the begun making the world's first personal computer

I offered to sell them software

I'm worried they would realize

I was just a student in a dorm

ending up on

instead they said

well not quite ready

come see is some up

which was a good thing

because we have Britain the software yeah

from that moment

I worked day and night

on that extra credit project

the market can

but my college education

and the beginning of a remarkable journey

with microsoft

what I remember

above all about harvard

was being in the mideast

of so much energy and intelligence

it can be exhilarating

intimidate

sometimes even discouraging

but always challenging

it was an amazing privilege

and no one left early

I was transformed by my years of are

the friendships I may

and the ideas I worked on

but taking a serious look back

I do now

one big regret

I liked harbor

with no real awareness

of the awful inequities in the world

the appalling disparities of

opportunity

they can get millions of people

the lives of despair

I learned a lot you're a harvard about

new ideas

in economics and politics

I got three explosions

the advances being made

in this time

but humanities reduced advances

are not in its discovery

but and help those discoveries

or applied

to reduce inequity