Jun 22, 2007 1:22 PM

Celebration! Commencement 2007

They filed into Pauley Pavilion in black gowns and caps, cheering, waving and dancing. A sign inscribed on one cap summed up the crowd’s collective pride and joy: "My day."

True, it was a day of singular importance for the approximately 2,900 students who participated June 15 in the UCLA College of Letters and Science commencement ceremony, the campus' largest. But it was also a day of pride and rejoicing for the thousands of parents and relatives who had gathered to see their loved ones graduate.

"Over there, in the polka dot blue dress," gushed one excited mother from the stands, drawing her husband's attention to their daughter in the sea of shimmering black below. Numerous students used cell phones to contact their families, seated among some 12,000 guests.

"You will become the next generation of leaders in all fields you pursue" said Patricia O'Brien, executive dean of the College of Letters and Science, welcoming the graduates. "You will be the best face of UCLA in the world."

Chancellor Norman Abrams presented the UCLA Medal, the university's highest honor, to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a UCLA alumnus whose warmth for the campus is well-known. "It was here at UCLA that I found my voice, my confidence as a young man," the mayor told the audience, adding: "It was here that I discovered the truth that people on the Westside are no different from people on the Eastside, where I grew up."

Basketball legend, New York Times best-selling author and community leader Kareem Abdul-Jabbar delivered the commencement speech. Towering several feet over the microphone (officials hastily pinned one to his coat after shouts of "Louder!" filled the air), the 7-foot-two-inch-tall UCLA alumnus, who majored in history, elicited much cheering and applause from the audience.

"Success is pretty easy," he began. "Here’s a hoop, here’s a ball; you put the ball through the hoop — that's success." Abdul-Jabbar added that he's called a success because he was able to "put the ball through the hoop more than anyone in history." What's less appreciated, he pointed out, is that he worked tirelessly for 20 years to succeed.

Abdul-Jabbar evoked the insights of Albert Einstein and French novelist Gustave Flaubert to stress the importance of being worthy of success. Quoting Einstein, he said: "Try not to become a man of success but rather become a man of value." He then quoted Flaubert, who once said: "Success is a result, not a goal."

Shortly before the graduates received their degrees, Joseph Iniguez, a political science major who was the designated student speaker, urged the outgoing class of 2007 to take responsibility for addressing social challenges.

“UCLA is the most applied-to school in the nation,” he noted. “But it’s so easy to forget the poverty and crime that afflict areas within miles of our beautiful campus. As we embark on a new chapter in our lives, let’s remember that through service we are of most value to the world.”

More commencement coverage:

Kellie Lim: New doctor's determination trumps her disability.

School of Dentistry keynote speech by Gerald S. Levey, vice chancellor of medical sciences and dean of the David Geffen School of Medicine.

Veteran comedy writer Larry Gelbart addresses grads of the School of Theater, Film and Television. Read the commencement address

Complete coverage of commencement at the School of Public Affairs.

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