When Col. Brenda Hollis attended Bowling Green State University in the 1960s, she didn’t have a clear
career path in mind. PHOTO
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Instead the 1968 graduate took the courses that interested her, and if there were courses that interested
her that she couldn’t fit into her schedule, she’d buy the books anyway to get at least some familiarity
with those subjects.
Speaking at the BGSU graduation ceremony for the College of Arts and Sciences and Firelands on Saturday,
Hollis urged graduates to remain flexible as they travel life’s path and let their "passions and
interests" guide them. "Take advantage of opportunities that present themselves to you and you
may find that this flexibility … leads you to the path of what you should be doing at each point in your
life."
For Hollis that meant turning down a job offer from the CIA when she graduated from BGSU and joining the
Peace Corps. (That detail was greeted by a burst of applause when Provost Rodney Rogers mentioned it in
his introduction of Hollis.)
That winding path led Hollis into a 20-year career in the Air Force and a leading role in the military
judicial system. It put her in a prominent place in the revival of the international justice system in
which she served as lead counsel at the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia, the Special
Court for Sierra Leone and the prosecution of Liberian leader Charles Taylor.
These experiences, Hollis told students, taught her a simple lesson: The most divisive and destructive
words in any language are "us" and "them."
"These words have been used by evil people to motivate others and justify genocide, war crimes and
crimes against humanity," she said.
These individuals assert those who look different, think differently or oppose their actions "are
not truly like us."
In reality, Hollis said, "there’s only us."
There are, she said, "those of us who are responsible for terrible crimes against other people,
those of us who are victims of those crimes, those of us who stand by as those crimes occur, and those
of us who stand against those crimes and the persons responsible for them. Until people understand
there’s only us, evil individuals will continue to manipulate some of us to commit crimes against others
of us, crimes that are truly terrible."
To combat this way of thinking, "we need not be actors in the international arena," Hollis
said.
"Indeed the strongest and most effective stances are taken on the local and national level,"
she said. "The conduct we accept or do not accept in our daily lives and local communities and our
countries reflects what we will not accept in our global community."
People who respect diversity and the dignity of others "will be able to resist those who would urge
us to commit crimes against humanity."
Hollis said regardless of what path the students take, "the life of honor, integrity, courage and
fairness is a life well lived."
The university bestowed on Hollis an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters.
The graduation ceremony was one of four scheduled throughout the weekend, including one on the Firelands
campus Saturday evening.
The Bowling Green ceremonies honored 2,260 graduates, receiving associates through doctoral degrees,
ranging in age from 18 through 79. President Mary Ellen Mazey said older students such as the
79-year-old Richard Larabee, of Waterville, who earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Studies, showed
"one is never too old to learn."