“I’m…asking you to keep being you, to keep doing what you’re doing. Just take it global,” First Lady Michelle Obama advised George Washington University’s graduating class of 2010 during her commencement address this past Sunday:

“Yes, that can mean serving in the world’s most broken places. Or it can simply mean surfing foreign news sources to get an idea of how other young people see things in other parts of the world.

“It can mean continuing your own personal and professional growth by traveling far and wide. Or it can mean reaching back to convince the students behind you to try study abroad programs, especially students from communities and backgrounds who might not normally consider it.

“It can mean seizing that overseas opportunity with a company. Or it can mean staying here and fixing the world by doing business with the world, and, at the same time, creating opportunity in your own community.”

Mrs. Obama noted that it is in the “nation’s best interest that your generation get out there, because it’s going to strengthen all of us,” and named some of the ways in which the President is working to expand opportunities for young people to be globally engaged, including expanding exchange programs:

“For example, my husband is committed to substantially increasing the number of volunteer opportunities within the Peace Corps. And, by the way, joining the Peace Corps only requires that you be young at heart, because the oldest active member is 85 years old! (Applause.)

“We’re also expanding exchange programs, study abroad opportunities; and encouraging universities like GW to create their own, because as those of you who have already participated in study abroad know, the most lasting lessons sometimes don’t always come from books.”

Mrs. Obama also noted that serving abroad not only helps to strengthen America, but also makes for a valuable career asset:

“But just know that when you serve others abroad, you’re serving our country, too. You’re showing the world the true face of America –- our generosity, our strength, the enduring power of our ideals, the infinite reservoir of our hope.

“And yes, serving abroad will make you stronger, more competitive, a more valuable asset for a career in the public or private sectors. Just talk to any of your colleagues who have spent some time abroad. And one of the first things they’ll tell you, for example, is that you’ll never learn a language or develop self-reliance as quickly as you will when you’re on your own in a foreign country!

“But they may also tell you that making a difference abroad might just be the thing that inspires you to come back and make a difference here at home. They might tell you that engaging with the world doesn’t just change the course of other people’s lives -– it may change the course of yours, too. You may just find that pivot point that you’ve been looking for, or maybe one that you didn’t even expect at all.”