U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --
Brig. Gen. Kevin Lamberth, the Air Force Academy’s vice superintendent, gave class of 2016 commencement speeches at Southern Union State Community College in Wadley, Alabama, May 5, and Faulkner State Community College in Bay Minette, Alabama, May 6.
Lamberth spoke to 300 graduates at each school walking to receive their diplomas about controlling their destiny and making success in life happen.
Additionally, Lamberth mentioned ways to handle diversity, which he said is inevitable in the graduate’s lives and careers. He used a personal example of how he overcame a setback during his time at Faulkner State Community College to become an officer in the Air Force, and vice superintendent of Academy.
He also covered five topics for the graduates to consider as they begin to navigate their journey to success: integrity, service, excellence (the Air Force’s core values and how they have relevance to any discipline), aggressiveness and education.
Lamberth is a formerly-enlisted Airman. As vice superintendent, he is the chief operations officer, principal executive to the superintendent, and the principal coordinating agent for all command matters at the school.
As he closed, Lamberth relayed to the graduates, “My plea to you is this… use what you’ve learned here and build on it. And continually ask yourself what more do you need to do to ensure you’re up for any challenges that are sure to come your way. Success in life is yours for the taking. What do you want to be? What do you want to accomplish? Whatever it is, make it happen. Be in control of your own destiny!”