For our 2025 Commencement celebrations, Williston Northampton welcomed back to campus Michael George ’98 to give the keynote address. Below are his remarks in full. You can watch the speech on our YouTube page. See pictures from the event on our Flickr gallery.
Thank you, Bob. Good Morning. I’m thankful and humbled to be back here to share in this experience congratulating you and to share my story.
Like you, my journey started here at Williston. Where I made life-long friends, grew academically and athletically, where the Mission & the Core Values built a foundation that has been part of my life and career. Living with (1) purpose, (2) passion, and (3) integrity. A focus on Responsibility, Community, and Collaboration, These are not empty words. These are core elements of who I am and of my professional journey and success. So, How did I come to run the Nation’s Continuity Programs? Through happenstance, relationships, and dedication. After undergrad, I moved to Washington, DC. I had no job and found roommates on Craigslist. Strangers. Every day I would get up, put on a suit, go around the city to law firms and nonprofits handing out my thin resume. On one particular morning, my roommate—a Senate staffer—mentioned that Senator Ted Kennedy, of MA, was looking for a Special Assistant and offered to walk a copy of my resume over to the Senator’s office. The same day, I got a call from Kennedy’s office. There were seven interviews and my second to last interview was with AMB Victoria Reggie Kennedy, the Senator’s wife. Whose brother had also gone to Williston and their father had served on the board. You better believe I worked our Williston connection into the conversation and it made the difference. I was hired.
Working for Senator Kennedy was incredible. It was also extremely intimidating and demanding. His staff was comprised of the best in their respective fields and I didn’t know anything or at least felt that way. The Senator had very high expectations regardless of your position. The amount of memos, letters, draft policy papers that came back redlined, with Redo or See Me written at the top was often frustrating. He demanded the best of us. He also inspired us to be better, to grow, and made a deliberate point to ensure each member of the team knew exactly why they were performing an assignment and how it fit into a larger strategy. The Senator always said “the details matter,” and if you arrived to a briefing – not having done your homework, not knowing an answer, he would send you away and say to come back when you are ready. This may seem a bit much but being prepared matters, details matter, quality matters, and it made all of us better better writers, communicators and critical thinkers. I carry on that practice with my own staff today.
As Special Assistant, I did everything. My day began at his home in the early morning. I briefed him on the events of the day, any pressing matters, had the news clips prepared, and his relevant materials. Then we were off. Constituent meetings, policy sessions, lunch with members, calls, union meetings, votes, an evening speaking event or fundraiser. Back to the house for dinner and evenings in his library reviewing memos and making calls. I got home late, prepared for the next day and did it all over again. When I first started, I made a lot of mistakes, I didn’t know the answers to his questions, forgot things so he would get frustrated. On one particular day, we arrived at the Senate for a hearing with then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. I forgot his notes at the house. Not off to a good start. As he walked to the Senate building, I received two phone calls for the Senator. Minor things. I got out of the car and ran over to the Senator to let him know and saw he was looking over my shoulder and I said do you hear me and he responded “Oh, yes, I hear you—but you better go take care of that.” Gesturing behind me. I turned around to see the car we arrived in rolling through the parking lot—hitting every parked car along the way. In my haste, I hadn’t put it in park. To say it was not great would be an incredible understatement.
Every career, no matter how carefully built, includes moments when things don’t go as planned. However, it is not the mistakes that define you — it is how you respond to them.
I didn’t get fired that day or the next and I paid for the damages. A week later, the Senator told me a story that his father told him. “That he could have a serious life with purpose or a life that simply goes along but that he needed to choose.” The Senator said to me, “Michael – I need to rely on you – and if this isn’t for you we will find you something else, but you need to decide. You have to choose what type of life you want.” Even just starting out, that was a tough moment. I felt like I let the Senator, my family, and myself down.
I thought it through and made my choice. I gave all of myself to the role and made myself indispensable. We became very close and to this day I remain close with the family. In what little free time I had I spent it learning. Taking courses on the federal budget process, appropriations law, parliamentary procedure, acquisitions, grants etc. I went on to become Advisor and then Deputy Director for economic development. And yes, I made mistakes along the way but always adjusted and learned from them.
I could fill days with Kennedy stories about campaigning, bipartisan dinner parties at his home or being a small part of the push for the affordable care act, the patient bill of rights; prescription drugs; immigration reform; support for unions; military body armor. Beyond everything I learned on policy development and coalition building, what stays with me are the conversations, lectures, and lessons on taking the long view, the importance of compromise, relationships, being prepared, and the value and weight of giving and keeping your word. During challenging moments, he would pull the team together and say, this is why we are here, to do the hard things, we do them because they are right, because they are hard.
When the Senator passed away, I had another choice to make. I needed a change and I wanted a new sense of purpose.
After several months off, I received a call from a former colleague who recommended I go meet with the new Administrator of FEMA. The agency did not have a great reputation at the time. However, I heard good things about the Administrator, Craig Fugate and that he was driving change. So we met. Craig looked like he walked out of the back warehouse at home depot and there I was looking like a typical D.C. bureaucrat. We sat across from each other in awkward silence for 1min until I asked, How may I be of help? He responded with, why do you want to work here? You don’t know anything about emergency management. I said, you’re right, I don’t, but I can learn and you need help navigating D.C., congress and the WH and I can help with that. I also said, I want to be of service, I want to be somewhere that can make a difference. We chatted for a bit and the more we spoke I knew I had to work for this person. I had never met anyone like Craig. So we struck a deal that day and within the first two weeks on the job I was off to school at the Emergency Management Institute in MD, learning the incident command system and crisis management. He took great pleasure in what he called the great re-education of Mr. George. Ensuring I knew response operations, risk modeling, diverse multi-mode communications systems, and supply chain management.
At FEMA, first as Advisor and years later as Deputy Chief of Staff, we pushed hard to reform every aspect of the agency. Transforming programs, and changing the culture. Fugate’s commitment to the mission and the team were key components of his leadership and embodied many of the things that I hoped to embody in my service:
Empathy and compassion for those we serve and those whom we serve with; Integrity and Forthrightness to do the right thing and to ensure that the right thing is done to completion; Accountability; and the humility and self-sacrifice to know that the mission and the people we serve are at the end-of-the day, the most important thing.
I cannot count the number of times Craig counseled and advised me on the principles above. I learned more from those talks than any book or training on leadership.
We were in Joplin, Missouri in 2011, for the response to the EF5 tornado. The devastation was unreal. Everything was leveled. I had never seen destruction like that. As we stood in the debris field, overwhelmed, I said, where do we even start, and Craig replied, “Michael, for these people their whole world right now is as far as they can see and as far as they can walk. Our job is to help them pick up the pieces and take their first step to what will be a long recovery. We start with compassion.” With FEMA, I traveled to 46 states and the territories. Criss crossing the country, meeting with local officials, community members, public safety personnel, Governors and other state leadership, – listening, surveying, identifying problems, developing solutions with the community that fit the community. The Oso, Washington Mudslide, Moore OK tornados, superstorm Sandy, hurricanes and flooding year after year, the Boston marathon bombing, the Fukushima nuclear incident after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
In these moments where things can be chaotic, Craig would say to me and the team, “we are not the ones in crisis, stop, breathe, and work the problem.” These experiences changed my life. We were in the White House Situation Room late one night receiving an intelligence briefing on the Fukushima melt down. The room was filled with department heads, the National Security Advisor, and subject matter experts. I watched as the technical information being presented was lost on the intended audience. The Administrator leaned in and explained to the President and all of those in the room in plain and clear language the problem, the implications, and what it meant for our support to Japan and impacts to the United States. It blew me away. Later I asked, how do you know so much about power plants and radiation? Craig responded, “Michael, I make it my business to know. It is my job to understand the risks and impacts from all types of threats and hazards and it is critical to shaping how we respond.” Do your homework. Be prepared. Know your audience. Communicate clearly.
I never walk into a meeting now without knowing the subject matter, the intended audience, and asking what are we missing.
In 2021, I had the honor of being appointed to the position of Associate Administrator for the Office of National Continuity Programs. An office charged with ensuring the preservation of government and its leaders. Often working behind the scenes. Doing all that conspiracy shadow gov’t stuff. I’m kidding. Not really. My career to that point had been to provide support to others. Stepping out front into the leadership role was daunting. Everyone is now looking to you. What if I fail? What if I let everyone down? Putting ourselves into new situations is how you learn and discover new things about yourself, and I knew inside; and you will too when you are ready, even if it could be anxiety inducing. Taking what I learned from two dynamic leaders, other mentors, and drawing on my experience I moved forward. (Now I can’t talk a lot about what I do, But it is a team of dedicated professionals.)
When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, it was a tense time. Days were filled with intelligence briefings, meetings with the National Security Council and Department of Defense. There was tremendous concern in the early weeks and months of the invasion. Would NATO engage? What was the possibility of European nations, particularly Eastern Europe joining the conflict? Would the United States? Would involvement, directly or even indirectly escalate the conflict. Our role was to rapidly prepare elements of the government and critical assets in the event Russia retaliated, whether with cyber-attacks or something more conventional. When the pressure would build, I would go for walks outside or visit with the team, making small talk. I found it grounding and a helpful distraction. I would then remember what Craig taught me, to pause, breathe, and work the problem; and when people turn to you, all you can do is trust your team and yourself; give the best advice or direction in that moment with the information you have and nothing more, and keep moving forward. Which is what the office and my team continue to do today.
I leave you with some final thoughts on service to reflect on. When President Jimmy Carter created FEMA in 1979, he established an agency founded on the principles of service and responsibility. Service is about more than just fulfilling a job—it is a profound sense of duty and dedication to helping those in need. It is about putting the public first, ensuring that every action we take is centered on the well-being, and resilience of our government structures and the communities we serve.
This sentiment captures the alignment of mission and values. As you move into this next phase of your academic journey and eventually into your professional lives, regardless of what that may be, you will be entrusted with responsibilities, often great responsibilities, and it is our duty—your duty—to carry those out faithfully, with dedication. Remembering always to align your values around purpose and passion and integrity.
I wish you all the best and have no doubt that you will achieve even greater successes in the future.
Thank you.