'73 Garden School Alumnus Addresses Graduates

Michael Klecheski, a graduate of the Garden School Class of 1973, and now a member of the National Security Council. was guest speaker at the school's 2007 graduation exercises.

"What I remember from my Garden days was standing on the corner of 37th Avenue and 82nd Street handing out pamphlets for presidential candidates. I might have dreamed of working in the White House one day, but I never thought I could have risen to advising the United States government on Russian policy," Michael Klecheski, Garden School Class of 1973, told the Class of 2007 at the school's graduation exercises. From that corner at the center of Jackson Heights, Klecheski moved on to graduate from Georgetown University and earn advanced degrees from Columbia University, served a stint at the Rand Corporation "think tank", held Foreign Service posts in the Philippines, Poland, and Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) and Moscow in the former Soviet Union, and is currently a member of the National Security Council.

"Whatever hopes or dreams you graduates hold, there are profound challenges- terrorism, global warming, pandemics such as avian flu, and the still growing problem of HIV/AIDS. Humankind has the ability to overcome those challenges, or at least to cope with them, just as my generation was faced with equally serious challenges," Klecheski told the graduates. "The best way to proceed is to do what interests you- it'll almost surely lead to opportunities to do the things one enjoys and you're more likely to succeed if you love what you are doing."

Klecheski had special praise for the intellectual commitment of Salutatorian Christina Dumitrescu, the breadth of experience in Valedictorian Jung-Sub Lee's address and the expression of Garden School's involvement in social causes as outlined in Student Council President David Wexler's recounting of the school's Save Darfur teach-in and raising more than $4,000 in relief funds.

Headmaster Richard Marotta welcomed Klecheski's return to his alma mater after 34 years. "Mr. Klecheski used his time at Garden to grow intellectually and cultivate his foundation in government service. We are very proud of his achievements and of his service to his country," he said.

Richard Grusky, chair of the History Department, remembered Klecheski as a dedicated history student who saw politics and government service as natural channels for facing the challenges of the world.

Garden School, an independent college preparatory school in Jackson Heights, graduated 34 in the Class of 2007. College acceptances this year included Cornell University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the CUNY Presidential Honors Program, New York University, Boston College, Adelphi University, Hofstra University, Rochester Institute of Technology, several SUNY campuses and others.