who are you going to be and if you'll
notice I'm not asking what are you gonna
do but who are you gonna be I'm asking
you about how you plan to live your life
every day how are you gonna respond when
you don't get that job you had your
heart set on for all of you who are
gonna be teachers what are you gonna do
if the students in your class next year
just don't respond to your lessons for
all of you going into business how will
you react when your boss gives you an a
goal that feels way too high
see these are the moments that define us
not the day you get the promotion not
the day you win Teacher of the Year but
the times that force you to claw and
scratch and fight just to get through
the day the moments when you get knocked
down and you're wondering whether it's
even worth it to get back up see those
are the times when you've got to ask
yourself Who am I gonna be and I want to
be clear this isn't just some vague
platitudes about building character in
recent years we've actually been seeing
a growing body of research that shows
that skills like resilience and
conscientiousness can be just as
important to your success as your test
scores or even your IQ
for instance West Point cadets who
scored high on things like grit and
determination were more likely to
complete basic training than those who
ranked high on things like class rank
SAT scores and physical fitness so what
we're seeing is that if you're willing
to dig deep if you're willing to pick
yourself up when you fall if you're
willing to work and work until your
weaknesses become your strengths then
you'll develop a set of skills that you
can mold and apply to any situation you
encounter any job you might have any
crisis you might confront but you got to
make that choice and let me just share
just a little secret before I end as
someone who has hired and managed
hundreds of young people of the course
of my career whether it was during my
time as a lawyer as an administrator as
a university a nonprofit manager even
now as first lady I have never once
asked
one I was interviewing to explain a test
score or a grade in a class never I have
never once made a higher just because
someone went to an Ivy League school
instead of a state school never what I
have looked for is what kind of person
you are
are you a hard worker are you reliable
are you open to other viewpoints have
you stepped outside of your own
self-interest to serve others have you
found a way to serve our country whether
in uniform or in your community again
and again I have seen that those are the
qualities that I want on my team because
those are the qualities that move our
businesses and schools and our entire
country forward and and just understand
this those are the qualities that you
all already embody they're the values
you learned from your parents from the
communities you grew up in and today
more than ever before that's what the
world needs