Karen Mills Delivers Commencement Address at the University of Maine
(From a University of Maine News Release) ORONO – Encouraging graduates to embrace America's entrepreneurial spirit and to approach their careers with passion and enthusiasm, the head of the U.S. Small Business Administration told the University of Maine Class of 2009 that "this economy will not define you."
Karen Gordon Mills of Brunswick, confirmed last month as the federal SBA administrator, addressed the approximately 1,871 graduates at two ceremonies inside UMaine's Alfond Arena.
Mills, whose career is characterized by notable successes in managing various kinds of businesses and in raising capital to support entrepreneurs, had an upbeat message for graduates entering the job market during difficult economic times.
"You will succeed," she said, "and your success will define you and the future of America."
Mills pointed to passion as the defining characteristic of successful business owners, particularly in the context of small business operations. She noted that small businesses are responsible for half of private sector jobs and that they have created 70 percent of new jobs in the past decade.
"Passion is the driver of America's successful small businesses," she said. "It is the basis for our country's entrepreneurial spirit. And I strongly believe that this class has both an opportunity — and a responsibility — to discover and pursue your passion."
Read the full text of Karen Mills’s remarks: http://www.umaine.edu/commencement09/mills2.htm