Gary Locke Keynote
Commencement speaker Gary Locke (LAW’75), governor of Washington and first Asian-American governor in the country, told the 5,000-plus degree candidates who filled Nickerson Field on May 17 that they were the American dream personified.
In 2009, US President Barak Obama chose Gary Locke as his new Secretary of Commerce, and he was sworn into office on March 26, 2009.
“Our family story is no different from the stories of every family here—whether you are a first-generation immigrant or a sixth. Your stories are made of similar journeys—journeys fueled by the American dream of freedom, hope, and opportunity. And this Commencement ceremony is what generation after generation of Americans and people all across the globe have dreamed of and sacrificed for.”—Gary Locke
