Last night as I lay sleepless in the guest room, I flipped on television and found the CNN channel. They were broadcasting the commencement address that President Barack Obama made to the graduates of Arizona State University. One phrase that he continually used was in reference to having a "body of work."

Apparently there was some flak or criticism because normally when highly esteemed speakers are invited to give commencement speeches, they are often given honorary degrees from those universities. And from what I heard last night, it was deemed unnecessary because although Barack Obama ascended to the position of being the President of the United States, there were those from the university that thought that his "body of work" was not sufficient to pay him the honor of bestowing an honorary degree upon him.

Obama took this in good humor. He actually stated from the podium that Michelle (his wife) would agree with the ASU and that she has a long list of things that she still wants him to accomplish.

Now mind you, I was not taking notes nor did I record this television transmission.

I was spending time in the guest room because I currently have a sore throat and do not want to pass anything along to my husband. The television bothered no one so I listened to the entire speech and the comments made after the speech.

It was a good speech!

President Obama congratulated the students and their parents, cousins, uncles, and everyone else that had a part in getting the students to this point of graduation.

He said that the investment in their educations would pay but perhaps not in the same way as we have measured success in the past. Yes......they will statistically earn more than most people without university educations but he was encouraging them to measure success not in terms of possessions, but in acts of helping others.

President Obama said that graduates in good times are just encouraged to keep the good times going. But in bad times such as we have now, it is even more important that graduates use their skills to do what they can to improve conditions. They have the bigger challenge but also the greater satisfaction if they get it right.

He asked how many had graduated with nursing degrees? There was an audible response from the audience. He recommended thinking about using their nursing skills to work in community centers where the need was the greatest and genuinely needed.

Obama asked how many had degrees in education? Another groundswell of audible responses filled the microphones picking up the sounds. He asked those graduates to consider working in inner city schools where perhaps the students had not had the community support or maybe not even support in their own homes like these graduates had who were now starting their careers. The President said that their newly acquired skills could be best put to use in areas like these and the most good would be accomplished.

He asked the same question of engineering graduates. He suggested that they should put their skills to use in helping green technology advance among other things.

As most of us know, education never really ceases.

Only after our last breath can we say that it is finished.

President Obama literally told the Arizona State University graduates that the need for them to keep learning new and different things would continue throughout their lives. He warned them that many people at their young ages will undoubtedly have a number of jobs in their futures.

He also said that many of the people sitting there would actually change careers. The body of work that would comprise their future resumes would continually grow and evolve.

Keeping abreast of new developing knowledge and innovations in the way we live and conduct business will be a lifelong pursuit for not only the graduates of ASU but all of us.

I am old enough to think back to the days when a company would hire an employee and if that employee did good work, he could rise within the ranks and get promoted. After 40 years (or so) he could retire and be given a gold watch and his pension and even health benefits if the company was large enough to provide the latter in the first place.

That happened for older people in my extended family who are now enjoying pensions from working many years for one company.

Those days, unfortunately, are gone forever for the vast majority of people.

In thinking about President Obama's speech to those newly minted graduates in Tempe, Arizona, he was giving them sobering but good advice. He delivered his speech with his normal great style. He used humor appropriately...especially when he mentioned not getting the honorary degree from Arizona State University.

Obama said that his body of work as President of the United States is just beginning just as the ASU students' body of work are collectively just starting to grow.

Schooling, perhaps of a different sort, will continue for them and for all of us if we are smart and open to change.

This commencement speech by President Obama seemed to be well received. What he said was apolitical and he offered good advice. What he had said reverberated in my mind for a while and I thought that those who might have missed the speech might like my capsule paraphrased version of it.