Admiral James A. "Sandy" Winnefeld, Jr., the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff gave hundreds masters and doctoral students their final send-off May 2, as the keynote speaker for the Georgia Institute of Technology's Graduate School Commencement program.

The next day, more than 130 AE undergraduates were treated to an inspirational speech by Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar A. Kent, who presented the keynote for the morning program at McCamish Pavilion. Check out these photos of the festivities.

A 1978 graduate of the School of Aerospace Engineering, Admiral  Winnefeld did not restrict his message to any one segment of his audience, which drew from every College within the Institute. Instead, he intoned a message that spoke to the universal respect - and responsiblity -- that a Georgia Tech degree commands -- and demands.

“I would submit that you are blessed with this knowledge and thus have a responsibility to use it in some kind of positive way. So make the most of it,” he said.

Winnefield predicted that many of the newly minted masters and doctorates would go on to leadership positions in the fields of their choice. To excel in those fields, he suggested, they would have to open themselves up to new perspectives and new areas of expertise, as their careers demanded.

“This fusion of disparate knowledge can come to you in the most fascinating ways at the most unexpected times. … But these flashes of insight, as exhilarating as they are, don’t arrive free of charge. Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, ‘I wouldn’t give a fig for the simplicity on this side of complexity, but I’d give my life for the simplicity on the far side of complexity.’”

Winnefeld suggested that the graduates look beyond  the mere accumulation of knowledge to the energetic deployment of their vision.

“First, … have a good idea in which you believe, and then … push that idea through whatever poor, unsuspecting system it is in which you operate,” he said.

Whatever their goals, Winnefeld encouraged the graduates to remember that great success is borne of great humility.

"The quickest way for a young fighter pilot or platoon commander or submarine watch officer to lose credibility in my business is to lack humility, by denying mistakes or taking credit where it’s not due or even taking credit where it is due" he said.

“You don’t have to be a rock star to lead change. Your people will be more eager to follow you if they know they’re doing it for the betterment of something other than your own reputation.”

Winnefeld told the graduates that while the ingredients of success are many, the vision that drives it generally comes from precious few.  He encouraged his listeners to be the sorts of leaders who could synthesize the big picture from disparate sources.

“Leading change begins with the creative process, when someone like you challenges the assumptions and connects the dots from different fields into previously unknown combinations, then unveils either an incremental or revolutionary idea people haven’t yet seen,” he said.

Get an Institute-wide rundown on Commencement 2014.