Two voices called them from different corners – one at the start of a life full of promise and success, one in the midst of a mission discovered in the depths of despair. Two messages meant to move them to action. Two women who challenged the University of Maine at Farmington Class of 2008 to take chances and change the world.

“Many would ask: Why persist in trying to address issues that have defied resolution for hundreds of years?” said Sally Goodrich, a Vermont educator who delivered the keynote address for the school’s 155th commencement ceremony. “I answer because we must believe in things unseen. Or nothing good happens.”

Goodrich and her husband, Don, formed a foundation to help Afghanistan children in honor of their son, Peter, a 1989 Bates College graduate who died in the World Trade Center attacks. Her message to the 393 graduates participating in Saturday’s commencement resounded loud and clear through the packed auditorium – pick a place, choose an issue and maintain focus.

“Her personal story was inspiring. It’s pretty commonplace to get commencement speakers who tell graduates to go into the world and make a difference,” said UMF Provost Allen Berger. “She took what is often a commonplace message and delivered it with a meaning and personal example that illustrates that individuals truly can do meaningful and transformative things.”

For Goodrich and her family, commitment to a cause arose from the twisted steel remains of the 9/11 attacks like a phoenix from the ashes. She told the audience that the foundation aims not to remember her son the way most of the world remembers him and other victims of that fateful September morning – for the brutal and violent way in which they perished.

Instead, they look for the world to remember his “insatiable curiosity about life in all its various forms,” especially his embrace of immigrants and their cultures. This interest led to his study of various religions and sacred texts that formed and influenced lives – including the Quran.

Among its most notable work, the Peter M. Goodrich Memorial Foundation built a 26-room school and supports at orphanage in war-ravaged Afghanistan. Berger said Goodrich’s speech – which was met by a rousing standing ovation – moved not only the university’s senior class to action, but motivated school officials to open the door to possible partnership opportunities with the foundation.

Graduates were also reminded of childhood lessons taught by a favorite, funky school teacher whose classes often took “magical” trips on a big, yellow bus.

“At moments such as these where I’m stepping into the complete unknown, I refer to the indispensable advice of a teacher many of us grew up with,” said Jessica Longstreet of Georgetown in her senior commencement speech. “As Ms. Frizzle from the Magical School Bus would say, ‘Take chances, make mistakes, get messy.'”

Longstreet encouraged fellow graduates to take risks and not fear failure. She urged them to go after the dreams they believe to be unreachable, instead of playing life safe and always wondering “what if?”

For some graduates, such as Maria Koski and her husband, Shane, Longstreet’s message hit home – especially her reference to Ms. Frizzle’s challenge to take chances. The young couple – ages 21 and 22 respectively – got married last summer, graduated Saturday, packed a moving van Sunday morning and are settling into their new home and live in Lewiston today.

“It’s a new chapter,” Maria Koski said of graduating from college as she took a break from unpacking her new home Sunday evening. “Now we’ve finished college and we move onto full-time jobs. It’s a rite of passage.”