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ACADEMY AWARD-WINNING ACTRESS GOLDIE HAWN ADDRESSES UNDERGRADUATES AT LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY'S 2004 COMMENCEMENT IN LOS ANGELES
Hawn Tells Graduates To Be Awake To The Mind and The Heart, That The Course Of Events Can Be Changed By Right Thinking And Right Action

May 8, 2004 - Nearly 1,300 undergraduates and a crowd of more than 20,000 friends and family gathered at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles today for an undergraduate ceremony featuring Academy and Emmy Award-winning actress Goldie Hawn as the keynote speaker.

LMU President Robert B. Lawton, SJ, introduced Hawn to the animated crowd by first noting her many humanitarian endeavors. "Goldie Hawn has dedicated herself to helping people, especially the nation's children, to develop their potential and become more fully alive. In doing so, she herself has been a person of warmth, generosity, humor, joy and intelligence."

Hawn accepted a degree of Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa from Lawton before stepping to the podium to a rousing welcome from the multitude. The actress opened her address by talking about life's changes.

"Life is made up of transitions and changes, and it's not always easy," said Hawn. "Don't worry about the endgame right now. There are many beginnings and endings in life, and that's a given. Let your passions rise without the pressures of those around you, and take time to find out who you are really going to be."

During her address Hawn also gave graduates some heartfelt career advice: "Society tells us that the perfect cocktail for life is a good job, becoming successful, making lots of money. But studies have proven this wrong. Perhaps we don't take enough time to assess what will really make us happy. Take time to find and nurture the joy in your hearts. Be awake to your mind and your heart. Learn to find peace, because you are the peacemakers of the future. Be vigilant to the laws of cause and effect. You can change the course of events with right thinking and right action."

As a humanitarian, Ms. Hawn has been honored by the Harvard Medical School Mind/Body Institute, the Tibetan Children's Village, Operation Smile, and Futures for Children. She was also presented with the Words Can Heal Foundation Ambassador of Healing Award. Of special concern to Ms. Hawn is her observation that our nation's children are not developing to their full potential and is focusing her considerable energies on developing her Bright Light Foundation. Believing that our strengths come from within and that we are responsible for our own happiness, she has made it her personal mission to reach out to our children and change the world one mind at a time.

A creative force behind the camera on projects that demonstrate a commitment to probing complex social issues, Hawn directed the 1997 television movie "Hope," the story of a young girl in the American South in the turbulent 1960s. She also was an executive producer on the film, as well as other projects, including the television movies "When Billie Beat Bobby" (2001) and "The Matthew Shepard Story" (2002).

Best known for a successful array of more than 30 feature films, Hawn first achieved recognition on the highly popular variety hour "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In," and subsequently has starred in a wide variety of successful dramatic and comedic films. She won both the Academy Award and the Golden Globe in 1971 for her first major film role in "Cactus Flower." In 1981, she received an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of a young society woman who enlists in the army in "Private Benjamin." Hawn has appeared in "Bird on a Wire" (1990), "Death Becomes Her" (1992), "The First Wives Club" (1996), "Town and Country" (2001) and "The Banger Sisters" (2002), among many other films. During the course of her career she has been nominated for the Golden Globe eight times and the Emmy Award three times.

In 2003, Hawn started Cosmic Entertainment with partner Kurt Russell and two of her three children, Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson.

Closing her speech to a swell of cheers, Hawn imparted a few final words of wisdom: "Play, laugh, love fully. Open your hearts and feel the joy of cultivating more compassion in your lives - that is the true cocktail for happiness. And when you lay your head on your pillow at night and run through the events of your day, first ask yourself the big question - 'How many times did I laugh today?' My wish for you is that you live fully and with joy, and that you never lose yourselves along the way."

Joseph G. Jabbra, LMU's academic vice president served as Master of Ceremonies for the 2004 commencement.

During the ceremony, professor Fred Kiesner was presented with the President's Fritz B. Burns Teaching Award, established in 1993 to encourage and recognize excellence in teaching, dedication to the University, and commitment to research. Kiesner joined LMU's College of Business Administration in 1974, and currently holds the Conrad N. Hilton Chair of Entrepreneurship in the Department of Management.


About Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles
Founded in 1911, Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles is the eighth largest of the nation's 28 Jesuit colleges and universities. With a strong base in the liberal arts, LMU serves more than 5,300 undergraduates and nearly 3,000 graduate students. LMU includes four colleges: the Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts, the College of Business Administration, the College of Communication and Fine Arts, and The Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering, as well as the School of Education, the School of Film and Television, the Graduate Division, LMU Extension, and Loyola Law School. For more information, visit the LMU website at www.lmu.edu.

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