2008 Woodie Awards
Steny Hoyer will speak at graduation
Steven Overly
Issue date: 1/31/07 Section: News
House Majority Leader and university alumnus Steny Hoyer will deliver the commencement address at graduation ceremonies in May, a spokesman for the senior class announced yesterday.
A Maryland congressman since 1981, Hoyer represents the state's 5th congressional district, which now includes the section of Prince George's County where the university lies. He became the House of Representatives' top-ranked Democrat last month after his party took control of both houses of Congress in November.
"We had discussed other people, but right after they declared he was going to be House Majority Leader, he moved right to the top of our list," said senior psychology major Jesse Fox, who chaired the senior council's commencement speaker selection committee. "[As] an alumni with such a high rank, we thought he was the best choice."
In an interview with The Diamondback, Hoyer, who graduated magna cum laude in 1963, said he was excited about the prospect of speaking to graduates of his alma mater.
"I was honored to be given that opportunity and be asked," Hoyer said. "The University of Maryland has meant a great deal to me, and I've been very close to the university throughout my adult life."
Fox declined to name other potential candidates, but Hoyer follows a prominent list of speakers who have addressed graduates: Google co-founder Sergey Brin delivered the address in 2003, then-Secretary of State Madeline Albright in 1998, and then-first lady Hillary Clinton in 1996.
Hoyer acknowledged, with laughter, that some students might groan at the thought of a politician making another speech, but said when he was in the audience here as a government and politics undergraduate, another politician made a rather strong impression during commencement.
"Well, Lyndon Johnson was the speaker at my graduation, and if it had not been Lyndon Johnson I might not remember who it was," he said. "For anyone who's coming, hopefully I can say one or two things of worth, and say it briefly."
Although Hoyer was inducted into the university's Alumni Hall of Fame in its 1995 inaugural class, the accomplishments Hoyer has racked up outside of the university are much more exhaustive.
Elected to the Maryland state senate just three years after graduating, Hoyer exploded onto the political scene almost immediately. In 1975, after becoming the state's youngest senate president at 35, and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1981. He is now Maryland's highest-ranking member of Congress in history and its longest-serving.
"Clearly I'm in a position now where I've been given a great deal of responsibility as majority leader, in putting forth legislation, or responding to presidential initiatives that are in the best interests of the country," Hoyer said, but downplayed that it would change the way he approached his May speech.
With such an impressive political career, few might believe that it all began with a loss. But Hoyer said he lost a bid for Student Government Association vice president his senior year, gaining an appointment to the spot after the winner had to leave. He was also a brother in the Sigma Chi fraternity, and was listed in the prestigious "Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities," according to his yearbook.
Although the address is four months away, Hoyer said he hoped his address would cover the potential students have to contribute to the United States.
"It is a long way away, but I will talk to them in some respects about the world they will enter, and the world I entered, which was a long time ago," he said. "But probably more about the relevance of their careers to our country."
Staff writers Kevin Litten and Patsy Morrow contributed to this report. Contact reporter Steven Overly at overlydbk@gmail.com.
A Maryland congressman since 1981, Hoyer represents the state's 5th congressional district, which now includes the section of Prince George's County where the university lies. He became the House of Representatives' top-ranked Democrat last month after his party took control of both houses of Congress in November.
"We had discussed other people, but right after they declared he was going to be House Majority Leader, he moved right to the top of our list," said senior psychology major Jesse Fox, who chaired the senior council's commencement speaker selection committee. "[As] an alumni with such a high rank, we thought he was the best choice."
In an interview with The Diamondback, Hoyer, who graduated magna cum laude in 1963, said he was excited about the prospect of speaking to graduates of his alma mater.
"I was honored to be given that opportunity and be asked," Hoyer said. "The University of Maryland has meant a great deal to me, and I've been very close to the university throughout my adult life."
Fox declined to name other potential candidates, but Hoyer follows a prominent list of speakers who have addressed graduates: Google co-founder Sergey Brin delivered the address in 2003, then-Secretary of State Madeline Albright in 1998, and then-first lady Hillary Clinton in 1996.
Hoyer acknowledged, with laughter, that some students might groan at the thought of a politician making another speech, but said when he was in the audience here as a government and politics undergraduate, another politician made a rather strong impression during commencement.
"Well, Lyndon Johnson was the speaker at my graduation, and if it had not been Lyndon Johnson I might not remember who it was," he said. "For anyone who's coming, hopefully I can say one or two things of worth, and say it briefly."
Although Hoyer was inducted into the university's Alumni Hall of Fame in its 1995 inaugural class, the accomplishments Hoyer has racked up outside of the university are much more exhaustive.
Elected to the Maryland state senate just three years after graduating, Hoyer exploded onto the political scene almost immediately. In 1975, after becoming the state's youngest senate president at 35, and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1981. He is now Maryland's highest-ranking member of Congress in history and its longest-serving.
"Clearly I'm in a position now where I've been given a great deal of responsibility as majority leader, in putting forth legislation, or responding to presidential initiatives that are in the best interests of the country," Hoyer said, but downplayed that it would change the way he approached his May speech.
With such an impressive political career, few might believe that it all began with a loss. But Hoyer said he lost a bid for Student Government Association vice president his senior year, gaining an appointment to the spot after the winner had to leave. He was also a brother in the Sigma Chi fraternity, and was listed in the prestigious "Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities," according to his yearbook.
Although the address is four months away, Hoyer said he hoped his address would cover the potential students have to contribute to the United States.
"It is a long way away, but I will talk to them in some respects about the world they will enter, and the world I entered, which was a long time ago," he said. "But probably more about the relevance of their careers to our country."
Staff writers Kevin Litten and Patsy Morrow contributed to this report. Contact reporter Steven Overly at overlydbk@gmail.com.
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