L i ' l ' . ' o * KAO Xf

It is t r u ly a n h o n o r to h a v e b e e n a sked to give th is convoca t ion speech . It ha rd ly s e e m s like 25 y e a r s s ince I w a s s i t t ing in t he aud i ence w h e r e you a r e now, l i s tening w i t h a w e to Dr. Leon L e d e r m a n a n i m a t e d l y d iscuss t he Big Bang theo ry . P rev ious convoca t ion speake r s , s o m e also from t h e Char t e r Class, have b e e n except ional as well . As a m e r e su rgeon , I ha rd ly feel qualified, a l though you k n o w w h a t peop le say: t h e only difference b e t w e e n a s u r g e o n a n d God is t h a t God k n o w s s h e is n o t a su rgeon .

As a s u r g e o n scient is t , I deve lop hypo these s , des ign s tud ies to t e s t t h e h y p o t h e s e s , i n t e r p r e t t h e resu l t s , and app ly t h e m to prac t ice to i m p r o v e ou tcome . Reflecting back ove r t h e p a s t 25 y e a r s of IMSA his tory, I h a v e a h y p o t h e s i s t h a t w a s likely s h a r e d by t h e founde r s of IMSA. My h y p o t h e s i s is t h a t w i th t h e r ight educa t iona l e n v i r o n m e n t such as t h a t p r o v i d e d by IMSA inte l l igent a n d t a l en t ed individuals like you a n d y o u r p r e d e c e s s o r s can achieve g rea tnes s . The specific a ims to p r o v e or d i s p r o v e th is h y p o t h e s i s a r e threefold:

(1) To s u m m a r i z e a n d eva lua te t h e a c h i e v e m e n t s of IMSA g r a d u a t e s to date . (2) To identify b o t h pe r sona l a n d l e g e n d a r y e x a m p l e s of g r e a t n e s s and to

d e t e r m i n e t h o s e qual i t ies a n d charac te r i s t i cs a s soc ia ted wi th g rea tnes s .

(3) To syn thes i ze t h e r e su l t s of m y r e s e a r c h a n d to p r o v i d e r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s

for capi ta l iz ing on y o u r IMSA expe r i ence to achieve g r e a t n e s s yourself .

Fifteen m i n u t e s is n o t long e n o u g h to list t h e a c c o m p l i s h m e n t s of IMSA a lumni . Gradua t e s of IMSA h a v e i m p a c t e d t h e field of sc ience a n d technology; t hey have d i scovered n e w so la r s y s t e m s a n d chemica ls t h a t can kill cancer s t e m cells. They h a v e s p u r r e d global in i t ia t ives to del iver ca re to i nd igenous peop l e in t he Amazon ra infores t , to p r o m o t e h a n d w a s h i n g a n d hyg iene in Africa, a n d to i m p r o v e w a t e r s an i t a t ion in Jamaica. They have given back to t h e s t a t e of Illinois as educa to r s , doc tors , sc ient is ts , and b u s i n e s s m e n and w o m e n ; t h e y p o p u l a t e all a spec t s of t h e workforce . They h a v e given back to IMSA the i r t ime, energ ies , a n d exper t i se . IMSA a lumni have excelled in fields ou t s ide of m a t h a n d sc ience as well - a lumni have w r i t t e n novels a n d o t h e r bes t - se l l ing books , w o n a James Beard a w a r d , a n d p layed profess ional basebal l . IMSA a lumni actual ly touch o u r e v e r y d a y lives as we l l—did you k n o w t h a t IMSA a lumn i h a v e con t r i bu t ed to t h e evolu t ion of t h e Wor ld Wide W e b b y con t r i bu t i ng to t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of Netscape , Paypal, and YouTube a n d even to t h e food t h a t is offered on a i r l ine flights [which no longer r e q u i r e re f r igera t ion)? T h e s e a r e powerfu l examples , wh ich a r e by no m e a n s c o m p r e h e n s i v e of w h a t IMSA g r a d u a t e s have accompl i shed .

You migh t a r g u e t h a t t h e s e e x a m p l e s d e m o n s t r a t e se lec t ion bias on t h e p a r t of t h e r e s e a r c h e r . So, h o w do w e k n o w t h a t t h e s e g r a d u a t e s a r e n o t t h e excep t ions and a r e ac tual ly t h e ru le? Firs t of all, I w o u l d a r g u e t h a t t h e r e is n o "rule" a t IMSA, b e c a u s e t h e w o r d ru le impl ies a v e r a g e a n d o rd ina ry . The g r a d u a t e s of IMSA a r e un ique , e x t r a o r d i n a r y individuals . In fact, w h e n I looked u p the defini t ion of g rea tnes s , t h e d ic t iona ry s t a t e s t h a t g r e a t n e s s is a v a r i a n t of g r ea t which m e a n s "much h igher in

s o m e qual i ty or degree ; m u c h above t h e o r d i n a r y or average." As an e n t e r i n g s t u d e n t of t he 25 t h IMSA class, you a r e all above ave rage and definitely no t o rd ina ry . The SAT scores for t h e class of 2 0 1 3 u p o n e n t e r i n g as an example wou ld have qualified m a n y of t h e m for top - t i e red colleges; t h e ave rage m a t h score w a s wi th in t he in t e rqua r t i l e r a n g e of accep ted admis s ions to schools such as Brown, Dar tmou th , George town, a n d Cornell. The g r a d u a t i n g s t u d e n t s of IMSA a r e no less ex t rao rd ina ry . The Bureau of Labor Stat ist ics r e p o r t e d t h a t 6 8 % of 2 0 1 0 high school g r a d u a t e s w e r e enro l l ed in colleges or univers i t ies ; 9 9 % of IMSA g r a d u a t e s go to college.

So, w h a t exactly is g r e a t n e s s a n d h o w is it ach ieved? In r e sea rch , to a n s w e r a ques t ion , one wou ld pe r fo rm a sys t ema t i c review, eva lua te t he qual i ty of t h e l i t e ra ture , a n d r a t e t h e methodologica l r igor w i th wh ich r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s w e r e der ived . Since I w a s wr i t i ng th is speech last night, I t ook a s h o r t c u t - I googled "how to achieve g r e a t n e s s " and identif ied > 600 ,000 ent r ies . Luckily for you, I have n a r r o w e d d o w n t h e n u m b e r of r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s to eight:

1). E m b r a c e g r e a t n e s s in all o f i t s d i f ferent s h a p e s a n d s i zes . Many ac ts of g r e a t n e s s r e su l t in fame, b u t I w o u l d q u o t e Mar t in Luther King Jr w h o said "Not e v e r y b o d y can be famous b u t e v e r y b o d y can b e great , b e c a u s e g r e a t n e s s is d e t e r m i n e d by service." Ray Charles said, "I n e v e r w a n t e d to be famous. I only w a n t e d to be great ." As a surgeon , t h e r e is a legacy of g r e a t n e s s (or a t leas t m o s t s u r g e o n s bel ieve t h e y leave a legacy of g rea tness ) . For example , t h e r e have b e e n 10 s u r g e o n s w h o have w o n t h e Nobel prize. For one, W e r n e r F o s s m a n w a s still a surgical r e s i d e n t w h e n he p e r f o r m e d t h e e x p e r i m e n t t h a t r e su l t ed in a Nobel prize. He deve loped ca rd iac ca the te r i za t ion ; h e w a s his o w n first pa t i en t . He p laced a u re t e ra l c a t h e t e r in his an tecub i ta l ve in and pas sed it 65 cm into t he hea r t , t ied u p the o p e r a t i n g r o o m n u r s e w h o objected to his expe r imen t , and w a l k e d to radio logy to verify t he p l acemen t . Whi le his m e t h o d s w e r e n o t convent iona l , he cer ta in ly exemplif ied w h a t m a k e s m a n y s u r g e o n s g rea t in m y eyes. An ar t ic le in t h e Journal of Invest igat ive Surge ry p u t it b e s t : " Surgeons advance the i r a r t and t e c h n i q u e s by bel ieving in themse lves , by b e t t e r defining the i r quali t ies , a n d of course , by e m b r a c i n g grea tness . "

W h e n I w a s little, I w a n t e d to g r o w u p and cure cancer in t he g r and sense , to find "the cure" for cancer . And whi le I conduc t r e s e a r c h in t he h o p e s of finding a t r e a t m e n t t ha t will affect t h e lives of millions, I have found t h a t I can have a significant impac t on individual pa t i en t s eve ry day as a physic ian. I can even cure a p e r s o n cancer if I a m lucky. If a t t h e e n d of t h e day, I have r e m o v e d a small l u m p t h a t is i r r i ta t ing, t a k e n ou t a d i seased gal lb ladder , or pe r fo rmed cancer surgery , I will be satisfied if t h e s e a r e m y g r e a t e s t accompl i shmen t s .

2) R e m e m b e r y o u r h u m i l i t y a n d y o u r h u m a n i t y . Gandhi said, "The g r e a t n e s s of h u m a n i t y is n o t in be ing h u m a n , b u t in be ing humane . " Dr. Jill Mitchel l , w h o is on the b o a r d of MyLifeLine.org, wh ich is a social n e t w o r k i n g s i te for peop l e living wi th cancer , s t a t e s on t he w e b s i t e t h a t she is "cont inuous ly h u m b l e d a n d insp i r ed by

peop le ' s abi l i ty to find mean ing , h o p e a n d p u r p o s e t h r o u g h chal lenging t imes." Dr. Mitchell r ece ived a BA a t P r ince ton , an MA from t h e Univers i ty of Minnesota , a n MSW from Cal Sta te-Long Beach, a n d a PhD in medica l a n t h r o p o l o g y a n d psychocu l tu ra l s t ud i e s from UCLA. She qui t academics las t y e a r a n d b e c a m e t h e c o o r d i n a t o r a n d t r a i n e r for an innova t ive a n d r evo lu t i ona ry educa t ion a n d s u p p o r t p r o g r a m for p a t i e n t s w i t h cance r called t h e Seven Levels of Heal ing P r o g r a m t h r o u g h o u t t h e Rocky M o u n t a i n Cancer Cente rs n e t w o r k . It is i m p o r t a n t to k n o w t h a t t h e " t rapp ings" of a c a d e m i a - t e n u r e d p rofessorsh ip , mul t ip le g ran ts , a n d a pub l ica t ion r e c o r d - a r e n o t t h e mak ings of g r ea tne s s . Rather , I a m h u m b l e d by t h e ac t s of h u m a n i t y t h a t cha rac t e r i ze Dr. Mitchell 's e v e r y d a y ac t s of g rea tnes s . Oh.. .and as a d isc losure , as all good r e s e a r c h e r s m u s t m a k e them, Jill Mitchell w a s m y r o o m m a t e a t IMSA.

3) T h i n k o u t s i d e t h e box . R o w a n Lockwood, also o n e of m y fo rmer r o o m m a t e s , p e r f o r m e d a small p ro jec t a t IMSA t h a t n o n e of us k n e w w o u l d c h a n g e h e r life. She w o n d e r e d a b o u t t h e e n e r g y n e c e s s a r y for a p t e r o s a u r to l aunch itself in to flight from a s t a n d i n g pos i t ion; th i s p ro jec t w o n h e r a pr ize a t W e s t i n g h o u s e a n d s t a r t ed a n i n t e r e s t in pa leonto logy . She is q u o t e d as say ing "I s t a r t e d o u t b y t ak ing a n e w a p p r o a c h to an old p r o b l e m . . ! s t a r t e d wi th a poss ib le a n s w e r a n d w o r k e d m y w a y t o w a r d s t h e ques t ion ." She cu r r en t l y has a BA from Yale, a Mas t e r s of Science from t h e Univers i ty of Bristol, a n d PhD from Univers i ty of Chicago. As an Associa te Professor of Geology a t t h e College of Will iam a n d Mary, she cu r r en t l y s tud ies h o w ex t inc t ion a n d e n v i r o n m e n t a l change influence t h e evo lu t ion a n d et iology of fossil m a r i n e i n v e r t e b r a t e s . Like t h e s e inve r t eb ra t e s , ins t i tu t ions and individuals m u s t a d a p t as t h e e n v i r o n m e n t a n d cu l tu re changes or face ext inct ion. The viabil i ty a n d success of IMSA after 25 y e a r s is a t r i b u t e to its l e a d e r s h i p w h o a r e t ru ly v i s ionar ies w h o h a v e a lways t h o u g h t ou t s ide t h e box, which has a l lowed IMSA a l lowed to c o n t i n u e evolve a n d g row.

4) D o n o t b e afra id t o e x p r e s s y o u r indiv idual i ty . James Cooper , an Amer ican novel is t , s t a t ed : "All g r e a t n e s s of c h a r a c t e r is d e p e n d e n t on individuali ty." My th i rd IMSA r o o m m a t e w a s Denise Chatfield, n o w Denise Mor. She w e n t to t h e Naval A c a d e m y a n d n o w lives in Skagit County, Wash ing ton , w h e r e she cu r r en t l y ra i ses sheep , s o u r c e s r a w wool locally a n d p r o c e s s e s wool from fleece to f inished object. She has h e r o w n wool b log w h e r e s h e s h a r e s h e r sp inn ing a n d kn i t t ing a d v e n t u r e s w i t h o t h e r wool - loving folk. On h e r blog, she r ecen t ly s h a r e d s o m e p i c tu re s of h e r s h e e p - all of t h e m a r e s t a n d i n g in a c o r n e r excep t for o n e w h o a p p e a r s perfect ly c o n t e n t to b e by itself! Whi le ra i s ing s h e e p is no t a conven t iona l pa th in life, Denise h a s h a d p e r h a p s t h e g r e a t e s t a c c o m p l i s h m e n t of all four r o o m m a t e s - h o w m a n y p e o p l e can say t h a t t h e y have fol lowed the i r p a s s i o n s a n d t h a t t h e y a r e perfect ly c o n t e n t w h e r e t h e y s t and today, w h e t h e r it is in t h e midd le of a flock o r all a lone?

5) Have n o fear t h a t a p r o b l e m i s t o o b ig or t o o c h a l l e n g i n g if y o u a r e p a s s i o n a t e a b o u t it. Benjamin Disreali w a s a Bri t ish P r i m e Minister , a n d h e said "Man is only t ru ly g r e a t w h e n h e ac ts from t h e pass ions ." Lady Gaga said "I w a n t p e o p l e to wa lk a r o u n d de lus iona l a b o u t h o w g r e a t t h e y can b e - a n d t h e n to fight so

h a r d for it eve ry day t h a t t h e lie b e c o m e s a t ru th ." W h e n ou r class w a s apply ing to college, one of m y c l a s sma tes (and a p r io r convoca t ion speake r ) , Dave Kung, w r o t e an essay in apply ing to college - t h e top ic w a s to desc r ibe a p r o b l e m t h a t socie ty w a s facing a n d to desc r ibe h o w he w o u l d a t t ack it. He w r o t e an essay a b o u t h o w to get to t h e cen t e r of a Toots ie Roll Pop - he pos tu l a t ed t h a t o n e could lick tangent ia l ly to t he p o p an infinite n u m b e r of t i m e s or t h a t one could p u t t h e lol l ipops in a par t ic le acce le ra to r a n d s m a s h t h e m aga ins t each o ther . Or t h a t u l t imately , t he be s t w a y to get to t h e c e n t e r of t h e Toots ie Roll Pop, like a n y o t h e r p rob lem, w a s s imply to t ake a bi te ou t of it. So, go a h e a d a n d t ake a b i te ou t of an i m p o r t a n t p rob l em; you might find t h a t it is eas ie r to c h e w t h a n you though t ! Oh, and by t h e way, Dave got in to MIT.

6) Learn f rom y o u r fa i lures a s w e l l a s y o u r s u c c e s s e s . Richard Nixon said, "The g r e a t n e s s comes n o t w h e n th ings go a lways good for you (and he shou ld know) . But t he g r e a t n e s s comes w h e n you ' r e real ly tes ted , w h e n you t ake s o m e knocks , s o m e d i s a p p o i n t m e n t s , w h e n s a d n e s s comes . Because only if you 've b e e n in t h e d e e p e s t valley can you eve r k n o w h o w magnif icent it is to b e on t h e h ighes t mounta in . " A few y e a r s ago, I h a d t h e pr ivi lege of co-chai r ing a cou r se to in sp i r e s u r g e r y r e s i d e n t s to b e c o m e surgical scient is ts . The k e y n o t e s p e a k e r w a s Dr. John Bi rkmeyer , a p i o n e e r in surgical hea l th serv ices r e sea rch . He told t h e s to ry of h o w h e did n o t ma tch into a surgical r e s idency a n d a lmos t gave u p on be ing a su rgeon . He e n d e d up at D a r t m o u t h as a p r e l i m i n a r y res iden t , w h e r e t w o th ings occur red : (1) he m e t t h e Cha i rman ' s d a u g h t e r w h o b e c a m e his wife and p a r t n e r in r e s e a r c h and (2) he w a s in t roduced to t h e D a r t m o u t h Atlas, wh ich examines va r i a t ions in hea l t hca r e and costs. Now, he is r e g a r d e d as t he s u r g e o n w h o first e s tab l i shed a r e l a t ionsh ip b e t w e e n vo lume a n d o u t c o m e in care, wh ich has changed referra l p a t t e r n s for high r isk surger ies .

7) Do n o t b e afraid of h a r d w o r k . Will iam S h a k e s p e a r e said "Be n o t afraid of g rea tness . Some a r e b o r n great , s o m e achieve g rea tness , a n d o t h e r s have g r e a t n e s s t h r u s t u p o n them." As an Asian child, I w a s h u m b l y r e m i n d e d as a child t h a t I w a s n o t b o r n g rea t a n d t h a t I h a d to w o r k h a r d to achieve g rea tness . Recently, I r ead t he book, "Battle Hymn of t h e Tiger Mother" a n d I s en t a copy to m y m o t h e r as well. For t h o s e of you w h o a r e n o t a w a r e of w h a t a t iger m o t h e r is, it is a t e r m used to desc r ibe t h e s t r ic t p a r e n t i n g s tyle t h a t is employed to ra i se ch i ldren to the i r fullest potent ia l . Suffice it t o say t h a t I w o u l d n o t b e h e r e t o d a y w i t h o u t m y Tiger p a r e n t s and t h e w o r k e thic t h e y insti l led in me, so do n o t u n d e r e s t i m a t e t h e p o w e r of h a r d work .

8) B e l i e v e in yourse l f . To q u o t e one of m y favori te movies , Kung Fu Panda , Mr. Ping finally revea ls to his son Po t h e sec re t to his s ec re t i ng red ien t soup n e a r t h e end of t h e movie : "The sec re t i ng red i en t is ... no th ing! ...To m a k e s o m e t h i n g special you jus t have to bel ieve it 's special." So, on t h a t note , I w o u l d like to t h a n k all of t h e original IMSA faculty a n d a d m i n i s t r a t o r s w h o bel ieved t h a t I, m y c lassmates , a n d s u b s e q u e n t IMSA classes w e r e and a r e special . And I w o u l d h o p e t h a t I have p r o v e n m y original h y p o t h e s i s t h a t w i th t h e r ight e n v i r o n m e n t , e x t r a o r d i n a r y individuals

like you can a n d will ach ieve g rea tness . You jus t n e e d to bel ieve. As a rule, "Surgeons a r e n e v e r in doubt , b u t s o m e t i m e s wrong ." In th i s case, I a m n e i t h e r in d o u b t n o r w r o n g . I be l ieve t h a t each a n d eve ry o n e of you will ach ieve g rea tnes s , a n d I w o u l d chal lenge you to go a h e a d a n d p r o v e m e right!

T h a n k you a n d congra tu la t ions !

Lillian Kao

IMSA Class o f ' 8 9