Vice President Kamala Harris gave the address at the 141st Coast Guard Academy Commencement Exercise on Wednesday in New London, Connecticut.
She told the class of 2022 what they will need to deal with in their careers.
“The world you graduate into is unsettled,” Harris said. “It is a world where long-established principles now stand on shaky ground. Where the rule of law in places is strained. Where rules and norms are under question. We see this in Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.”
This year’s graduating class was made up of 39% women, with the largest number of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in academy history.
Twelve of the graduates came from Connecticut. There were also graduates from nine other countries, including Ukraine.
Cadet First Class Logan J. Tobias from Long Island was one of 252 graduating cadets. He reminded his classmates of all they had to go through during the pandemic.
“So as we prepare to commission here today, understand that for us, the die is cast. We know not what opportunities we’ll be presented with or risks we will take,” Tobias said. “But remember on your cutter, or in the cockpit, ashore and in cyberspace or back in your home countries. Fortune may not always, but eventually will, favor the brave. ”
This year’s class also made history being the first to graduate with a degree in cyber systems, recognizing the increasing role of cyberattacks in the U.S. and around the world.
“You came of age in a post 9/11 era, defined by threats, like the climate crisis and the global health pandemic,” Harris said. “You are familiar with a world that frankly feels strange and new to so many of us.”
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