Our time together shall soon be at an end, yet we, the Ford Fellows of Fall 2009, have to be proud at how far we’ve come. In only a few short months we’ve polished professional skills at our internships, enhanced our knowledge of the United Nation’s eight Millennium Development Goals, and created strong lasting friendships. Ultimately, our time here in Washington D.C. has been a success and our successes and experiences this semester shall lead to many prestigious opportunities in the future.

However, as new opportunities rise in our individual lives, and life in the future becomes less and less connected to this moment here in Washington D.C., we cannot forget about our common responsibility. For with our skills perfected, knowledge improved, and partnerships established we now possess great potential; potential power to change and improve our communities. This potential power must be coupled with our current and future ambitions to fulfill our shared responsibility of promoting the eight UN MDGs.

How can we not support such a cause, now knowing intimately the suffering and burdens that face our fellow brothers and sisters? We know of the burden of poverty, the fear of disease, and the reality of ignorance that exists upon this Earth, yet with this understanding we also hold the keys to a progress better future. We know an antidote to poverty is the empowerment of women, a child’s victory over disease is linked to education, and that the survival of our world’s environment depends on the cooperation of all nations. With this knowledge, again I ask, how can we not promote the UN MDGs?

Thus, as our time here slowly comes to an end let us together take a moment to realize how far we’ve come and where we eventually need to go. It is our responsibility as citizens of humanity to aid our fellow brothers and sisters. This aid shall be founded upon our experiences and understanding of the UN MDGs, and shall be delivered through action. We’ve discussed the lack of political will to create real beneficial change to those suffering across the Earth. However, what is more important is the discussion of what we, the Ford Fellows, shall do. With the time remaining here together let us commit to this dialogue by discussing where our individual ambitions and passions lie, how can they be connected to our common responsibilities as educated ambitions adults, and what we are going to do to promote the human condition in the future. Ultimately, what we must recognize is that, while our common moment together here is temporal, our common responsibility to aid humanity is eternal.