On a picture-perfect morning in front of a jubilant crowd of more than 40,000 on May 16, President Steven B. Sample called upon USC’s 125th graduating class to remain engaged citizens in our global society.

“As USC’s greatest export, the intellectual capital of our graduates has had an influence on not only the City of Angels but on communities around the world,” Sample said.

Honorary degrees were presented to four distinguished individuals: Walt Disney Co. President and CEO Robert A. Iger, noted community activist Sweet Alice Harris, Emmy award-winning producer Norman Lear and philanthropist Harlyne J. Norris.

In his address to the Class of 2008, Iger traced his own rise from weatherman to “chief mouse,” including a job along the way at ABC Sports. “I covered the best of the best in the world of sports,” Iger said, adding, to audience approval, “Of course, nothing was better than covering a USC football game.”

Iger reminded students to embrace the life ahead of them.

“Mine sped by in analog. Yours will go in digital,” Iger said. “Ride all the rides, take them all in. Don’t just look where you’re going. Look left and right, look up and down, look all around you. Listen. Smell. Feel everything about your life and be present in your life.”

The ceremony began at 9 a.m. after a colorful processional through the heart of USC’s University Park campus, culminating in Alumni Memorial Park.

The processional included graduates from all academic units of USC, faculty, distinguished guests and Half Century Trojans, alumni who received their degrees from USC at least 50 years ago.

In the invocation preceding the ceremony, Rabbi Susan Laemmle, dean of religious life, asked everyone to clasp the hands of those seated next to them: “I wish and pray for you to grasp our connectedness and channel that connectedness in a quest for peace,” she said.

During the ceremony, Sample recognized valedictorian Julianne Yulan Gale and salutatorians Reed Doucette and Andrew Horning.

In her valedictory address, Gale spoke of how USC’s bond with its community has taught her the importance of listening.

“The power of listening is the power behind change,” said Gale, a computer science major from Massachusetts. “As a global community, we already have the brainpower and raw resources to create a world that is fed and sheltered, safe, healthy, embraced, empowered and free. So let’s do it.”

Sample also congratulated 56 Discovery Scholars, 32 Global Scholars, 213 Renaissance Scholars and four undergraduates with a perfect 4.0 GPA.

More than 10,000 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees were conferred on candidates presented by Provost C. L. Max Nikias. As the USC faculty stood to commend the new graduates, a flock of doves soared above the crowd and into the clear, blue sky.

To close the ceremony, Sample joined the crowd and USC Thornton School of Music graduate student Timothy Campbell in the singing of “All Hail,” written by Al Wesson in 1923.

“No matter where you go, I predict you’ll find a fellow Trojan – sometimes unexpectedly,” Sample said. “You are now part of that long procession of USC graduates that stretches back through 124 previous commencements and that also spans the globe.”