The following are Gwen Ifill's remarks delivered at C.W. Post's 44th annual commencement exercises.

Thank you Dr. Steinberg, Provost Shenker, Rosalind Walter, Chancellor Mullarkey. Thank you Long Island University, C.W. Post Campus. I am deeply honored today to receive this honorary degree - and to be in such fine company, as well. I know all you graduates will be getting your own degree in a few moments Here are two things to know:

First of all, it feels really great. And, you will be getting one soon because I know better than to stand between 1,500 graduates and their hard-earned degrees. So I'm going to keep it short.

But first, it only seems appropriate to take a moment to honor the people here today who really did the hard work the ones who pulled the all-nighters the ones who worried around the clock the ones who scraped together the money No, not you graduates. You will have your moment in the sun in just a few minutes.

But I want you to rise and salute your mothers on this Mother's Day. Hey moms, what better way to celebrate all those years of hard work then to be saluted on Mother's Day. Congratulations Moms.

I understand a thing or two about commencement speeches, and one of the things I understand comes from the fact that next month I will be celebrating, shockingly, my 25th reunion And I will admit to you that although I can remember the name of the speaker, I cannot tell you a single thing she said. So I will strive not necessarily to be memorable for the ages. But to be memorable for today. This special day.

May 12, almost exactly eight months after September 11 - a day, an event, a searing moment -- that changed our lives like nothing else. It's been eight months and words still fail me. Conventional Human emotions still don't capture it all. Whatever we say on the news every night can't possibly tell it all. But the event of that day have served to sharpen our purpose To remind us in the words of the four stanzas of the song we sang earlier of America the Beautiful . The beauty of our spacious skies The richness of our alabaster cities the enduring nature of our patriot dreams And no one is better positioned to build on that clarity, to help America move to the next stage of her life than you, today's graduates.

Last year, I made two commencement speeches. And I can admit to you now that I had some trouble figuring out what to say. How to encourage How to explain the world that lies beyond your academic experience here. September 11 has changed that. Everything is now much clearer for me, and I know it is for you too. You are now part of a world, part of a shared human experience, where the challenges are right in your face. Where the options before you are extraordinarily clear. I suspect this has already occurred to you. I trust that I am not the only one telling you this. But we are counting on you, we are counting on you, the graduates of today, as we never have before. We are counting on you to rise to challenge to make honorable choices to learn the correct lessons of September. And to know how important it is to apply them well.

But first, I guess you're thinking I've got to get a job. And I know this seems like a daunting challenge. But daunting now then when you arrived here seeking your degree So many things have happened in four years. The Dot Com bubble you were counting on burst right before your eyes The fat, robust economy that was supposed to provide a cushion to your ambitions kind of faded away The world outside our borders now seems like a collection of contradiction Distractions that breed hunger, war and malevolence That Global information superhighway that we were all taking about now seems as fraught now with menace as it once seemed with opportunity And our personal sense of security feels just a little shattered. It actually all makes you want to turn and flee back into undergrad, doesn't it?

But my job here today is not to tell you about what you should fear - you can do that perfectly well on your own. It is to assure you of the vast and rich opportunity before you. The joys of living in a vibrant democracy where anyone who is optimistic, hardworking and informed enough can change and save the world you live in. Think of me as a magazine cover. One of those supermarket glossies that you see when you're standing in line, that tells youhow to lose 50 pounds in 50 days or how to snag a mate or how to tell if he's lying Except, that I'm going to tell you the fives keys to living a good life. Any one of these keys can open a door to a rich, fulfilled life but first you have to know how to use them They won't get you flatter abs, but they'll get you something even better

Number one:

Know you are called to a mission. With or without a college degree in hand, we are here for a reason. It may be to change the world, just the world just around us. It may be to change the world in our hometowns, or for our families. It may be to fix, and to explain, and to investigate, and understand like James Kallstrom*. It may be to be a bridge among our diverse communities, like Manuel Ramos*. It may be to educate, like the Professors and Administrators here at C.W. Post who will be seeing you off today and so many of you who will be going into the education field yourselves. But whatever it is, you must treat it like a mission, a life's work, something that you are called to do. A responsibility, if you will, to care about more than yourself to affect the lives of those around you.

Number two:

Know you have limitless choices. You are on the cusp of a great life. You can choose to build strong families. Raising or helping to raise children. Supporting siblings, paying your parents back, honoring your grandparents. You can leave the world a better place than you found it. The clarity we all have in the wake of September gives you the advantage of seeing the choices before you more clearly, and the responsibility to step toward those choices - not away from them.

Number three:

Resolve today to fix on flawed relationship. You all know someone you're not speaking to. Some relative who's been getting on your nerves. Some friend you didn't say goodbye to today. Some professor you had a fight with. Some acquaintance who never believed in you, never believed you would see this day before you. Today, step beyond yourself and your resentments. Make the first call. Try to fix that relationship.

Number four:

Resolve to cross a barrier. That barrier may be race, gender, class. It may be disability, achievement, expectation. But use what you know about potential - the potential of rebuilt bridges and healing words - to create new relationships where none existed before. You can use that. It is our only hope as a nation and as a world.

And, Number five:

Kiss your mothers - or the memories of your mother - or the dear person who sacrificed and raised you. Do it today and every day you get a chance. Trust me. You will never know another love like hers. It will carry you through challenges you have not now ever imagined.

You do these five things, or some variation of it, you will live a good life. More important, you will involve yourself in building a good life for other people as well. You don't have to be a hero to do all this. But you do have to be, and you should strive to be, a fully engaged human being. If you can be that, there is little more anyone can ask of you And you can be everything that C.W. Post has prepared you to be.

Fellow members of the Class of 2002. I salute you, and wish you all the best in your every endeavor. Thank you.

* James Kallstrom, 1980 graduate of C.W. Post, serves as director of the newly created New York State Office of Public Security, and coordinates anti-terrorist efforts throughout New York State. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate at C.W. Post's commencement exercises on May 12.

* Manual Ramos, director of the Office of Hispanic Ministry for the Diocese of Rockville Centre, was awarded an Honorary Doctorate at C.W. Post's commencement exercises on May 12.