Adm. Daryl Caudle

Raleigh, N.C.

Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command

03 May 2025

• Thank you, Russ, for that introduction and for our friendship over the years. It’s truly special to know that no matter where I ship off to, I always have a home and support network right here in Raleigh.
• I’d like to extend a special thank you to Dr Jim Pfaendtner and Dr Sindee Simon for their role in producing this incredible group of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineers before me today.
• Alright, let’s get down to business!
• Congratulations Class Of 2025!!
• In a few short moments, you will be conferred the prestigious honor that accompanies the degree of Chemical Engineer – world class problem solvers trained to think critically and creatively with an elegant combination of theory, estimation, and correlation.
• Before I get too far though, I know that there is no one in the room that got here all by themselves. I’d like to recognize all of your support groups that never faltered, always there to set you on the right course and keep you on the path.
• Let’s hear it for the parents, professors, friends, spouses, and everyone who helped you on your journey to this remarkable and well-earned accomplishment!
• Okay, so I am absolutely thrilled to be here to share this day with you. It was in fact 40 years ago that I graduated with a Chemical Engineering degree from this fine institution as well.
• I started NC State in 1981 as an ill-advised Chemistry major with my roommate majoring in Chemical Engineering. 
• The way he talked about the differences between a Chemistry major and Chemical Engineering was so compelling that I was filled with envy! – How could my high school guidance counselor lead me astray like this!
• So, I transferred into the Chemical Engineering Department at the start of the spring semester of my freshman year and never looked back.
• It was the second-best decision I ever made in my educational journey. My best decision rests firmly in deciding to join the Wolfpack in the first place!
• In my 40 years after graduating from the Department of Chemical Engineering, I have never forgotten my professors, especially education giants like Dr. Rich Felder, Professor Emeritus, whose style, teaching methods, and delivery synergistically combined to bring Chemical Engineering to life for me!
• There is no doubt that staff here were critical in sparking and molding my initial love for Engineering, the elegance of critical problem solving, and the importance of remaining a lifelong learner that continues to this day.
• The staff here continues to produce the best and brightest – some of you will go on to work as teachers, doctors, engineers, entrepreneurs, even military officers … it doesn’t matter the destination…because you have gone through and been part of one of the most rigorous education processes in the world…an integral part of our truly special Wolfpack culture!
• So, to all the faculty and staff that helped mold and produce this wonderful assembly of graduates here before me today, I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude! Thank you for continuing to be leaders in your field!
• This school and its legendary athletics…its world class research…and its renowned faculty placed me on a lifelong path of continuing education and growth.
• It’s difficult for me to convey how special this campus, its students, its alumni, and most important, its legacy are toward the idea of building a strong foundation for the rest of your lives.
• There is no finer environment in the world that could have prepared me for Naval Service and developed my passion for truly understanding the why behind complex problems any better.
• Learning and growing at this institution led me to choose a life of service, to wear the cloth of our nation, to serve with honor, courage and commitment…NC State has a way of doing that.
• In my day job, I am charged with organizing, training, and equipping a force of over 125,000 Sailors and Civilians with hundreds of ships, submarines, aircraft, and support facilities that can ultimately prevail in a high-end conflict.
• Your Navy dominates around the globe including the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, the Arabian Gulf and even in the packed ice of the Arctic.
• In short, my team protects America and our homeland from attack and is always ready to go forward to defend our interests around the world - and if needed - to fight and win.
• That grit, that tenacity, that strong will – those traits that my team brings to bear every day were learned right here – on this campus – during those pivotal formative years.
• You may not realize yet, but these same skills have been ingrained into you too, Class of 2025!
• A degree in Engineering is great start, but we all know, even if it goes unsaid around campus, that the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering is the best, most challenging, and most relevant field of study at State, really in the world.
• This degree has armed you with unlimited potential to take on any challenge. You will have no limits in the opportunities that lie ahead.
• I will assure you that as you pursue your career, start your company, or pursue advanced degrees, the reputation of your experiences at NC State will continue to communicate the type of person you are, one who is committed to solving the world’s toughest problems.
• You will shape the world we live in and create the world we need to live in. The world will be improved by your collective innovation, critical self-assessments, meaningful analytics, and the service you will deliver from your choices. Choose bold … choose to go big … choose to make a difference.  Be “all in – all the time.”
• I urge you to be lifelong learners. Choose to continue to learn…you will need to just to keep up with your colleagues, the pace of change, and problems that only grow larger each day!
• If you are comfortable at doing something… then push yourself to do it better.
• Look also for what makes you uncomfortable and run towards it. By searching for new experiences, trying new approaches at work, meeting a new person or broadening your horizons, you will become a more impactful player. Choose to know yourself and build on your strengths.
• Quite frankly, Chemical Engineers, especially those from NC State, are capable of anything and can do anything. You are the problem solvers. But in today’s world, it’s not enough to be good as an individual.
• Our world needs teams…teams that are the best that they can be… teams of operators, teams of engineering companies, teams of friends and colleagues, teams that attack problems as a single entity and leverage each other’s strengths to find enduring solutions.
• As part of these teams, understand that you are an extension of the culture of your team.
• Culture requires a foundation of trust and transparency – this means you will need to communicate well with others with candor on barriers that you’ll face.
• You must be able to critically assess the problems you face with intellectual honesty and the moral courage to not take the “easy way out.”
• You must face the facts brutally with transparent embracing of problems, clear-eyed root cause analysis, hard work, and tough decisions.
• Condition yourself to have the moral courage to face inconvenient facts, and then relentlessly execute your way to victory!
• As you depart today with the revered title of NC State Chemical Engineer resting proudly on your shoulders, know that the knowledge you have gained is not enough - by itself - to make a difference.
• You must use that knowledge to assess critically, to innovate new solutions, and execute your vision with ruthless action.
• From my personal life, I can say that my degree in Chemical Engineering has allowed me to open doors I never knew existed. To approach problems in ways I never knew I could. To do things faster and more efficiently than I thought possible. To build a body of experiences that were previously unavailable to me.
• I encourage you to open those new and unexpected doors – seek to make a difference.
• You are the masters of the helm to reach out to the horizon, navigate the storms, and shape our future.
• I know you will make the right choices to make a difference and build your own legacy because in a few short minutes, you will be an NC State Chemical Engineering Graduate!
• I applaud your skills and welcome you into a world that needs your talents… your imagination…and it’s never been required more than it is now.
• Always remember what Stphen King once said, “Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.”
• Therefore, to make a difference, requires hard work. I urge you pursue your goals aggressively in your professional life, your personal life, and your role as alumnus of NC State.
• That title - alumnus - comes with certain obligations.
• You are now an ambassador for this institution, and everything you do will reflect on it.
• So, it’s important to honor that obligation by giving back. Give back with your talents. Give back with your future accomplishments and give back with the change you will create in the world using the skills and mastery you learned right here on this campus.
• We have applauded those who have supported you… let us now applaud you for the choices you will make, for your strengths, your future actions, and for the difference you will make and for your hard work these past years.
• For what you have done – and more excitedly, for what you will do. Congratulations Class of 2025!  Go Wolfpack!