Carville closed with a story about his friend Mike Hurley, a retired CIA agent, who told him about attending a reception at the French Embassy in 1989 during the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution. President George H.W. Bush was there, and when he announced he was leaving for the Netherlands, everyone was baffled — why Holland? Bush explained that Holland was the first country to recognize the United States, and the house of John Adams, America's first ambassador, still stands in Amsterdam. No president had ever visited, so Bush decided to 'just go by and thank him.' Carville urged graduates to identify the 'Holland' in their own lives — the teachers, coaches, neighbors, or mentors who helped shape them — and make the effort to go back and say thank you.