By Dr. Gary L. Gregg, McConnell Center Director
Senior Dinner Remarks 2012
Regarding the Passing of Captain Daniel H. Utley
Good evening and welcome.
It's really great to have all of you
here tonight helping us say farewell to the latest graduates of the McConnell
Scholars program. Many others
wanted to be here this evening, I know, but were unable to. They send their regards and
congratulations to the graduates.
Senator McConnell is on his way to be
with us this evening and we anticipate him being here before the end of the
ceremony this evening.
We are here tonight to bid farewell
to those students who have managed to survive—and thrive—amid the challenges and
travails of the last four years with us and at the University. From the class that started with us in
the Fall of 2008, just seven are left standing and one joined along the way.
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| Dan Utley |
But before we tell the story of this
class, which is what brings us
together tonight, we should pause and remember our fallen brother, Captain
Daniel H. Utley who fell in the service of our country one week ago today. In April of 2001 he sat out there at a
Senior Dinner, less elaborate for sure, but no less important than the one we
host tonight.
This has been a difficult week, one
of the most difficult of my life, frankly, and I appreciate the patience and
understanding and kind words I have heard from so many of you.
This week has been a great reminder
that amidst all the trappings, what makes this program so great is the people.
Most of you have seen the news
stories, Senator McConnell's tribute, or read my blog commemorating Dan and our
relationship and I won't dwell on the facts of his life as they are known to
the world now—from his time wearing sombreros and being a goof in high school
to his winning of the Bronze Star.
But I wanted to just say a few words
tonight that might help Dan continue to serve—this time by serving to call us
all to being better than we are.
Dan was an exemplary McConnell
Scholar and young leader.
Senator Robert Byrd once told me
there were two types of Senators—Workhorses
and Showhorses. He lamented
the decline of the workhorse in the modern Congress and the state of our
culture. The same division seems
true in most aspects of life and Dan Utley was surely a Workhorse as a
McConnell Scholar. He served as
vice chair twice—not caring for the trappings of position, but wanting to
serve. He also served in student government, in the admissions office, as one
of the first Cardinal Hosts for the Presidents office, and he was the
coordinator for the Frankfort Internship program for U of L.
In his application for the McConnell
Scholars program he wrote of his volunteer experiences with Habitat for
Humanity, being the only youth member of a Community Advisory Council for an
international corporation, and in Democratic politics. Most of all, he said, he valued his
time as a volunteer on the Yakama Indian
Reservation where he experienced true poverty for the first time and felt
called to dedicate his life to the less fortunate. From his teen years until his final mission in one of the
poorest nations on Earth, Dan did just that.
Dan was a model student, classmate Connie Tobbe remembers, in fact, that
he was too smart for law school and bored. Not that it was too much for him. . . he was too much for
them. The terrorist attacks of
9/11 called him from school.
But, he also kept it light. In his Senior Exit Survey, among all he
could have written, he listed his favorite memories as: "1. The tongue lashings myself and other
members of the group who were more liberal than Scott Jennings or Mike Adams
received on the listserv. 2. The
post-Scholars-meeting margarita sessions in which most of the Scholars
decisions were actually made."
He listed his favorite event as
"Justice Clarence Thomas because he told me I had no idea what I was
talking about and that the Constitution is to be strictly adhered to. We then spent a great deal of the time
talking about the Washington Redskins."
His generosity and appreciation knew
no bounds . . . but those stories are an emotional step too far for me tonight.
We should learn from Dan's life of humility, generosity, humor, appreciation,
courage, magnanimity, and service and dedicate ourselves to being better on
all those fronts.
I also hope all McConnell Scholars
will take another lesson from Dan's life:
One “McConnell
Scholar Types”
always need reminded of:
His life and career were glorious and
he ended earning the accolades deserving of a hero. But, no one, least of all himself, could have predicted his
career path or his life's legacy.
The Army was the furthest thing from his mind when he entered this
program. But his experiences here
at the Center and life in college gave some new shapes to his hopes and
dreams. He didn't force his
destiny, but let it find him.
Relax, folks. Live a great life.
Experience all that you can.
Serve. Learn. Wade in—intellectually,
emotionally, physically. Let
yourself learn and grow and change—though change only for the better, I might
edit myself. Be confident and
positive and let your destiny come to you wrapped in your learning and born on
the shoulders of your experiences.
We may never be permitted to know the
full circumstances under which Dan lost his life in that collapsing state of
Mali, but we can remember him as a great exemplar and hero and dedicate
ourselves to being better in his honor and under his inspiration.
Tyler.
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