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Gov. Bev Perdue had a story for the more than 2,200 students assembled at the Greensboro Coliseum for UNCG’s graduation Friday.
 

It was a story about her own college days.
 

“Even two years ago, when I decided to run for governor, I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up,” Perdue told the graduates. “And I’m still not grown up now, I want you to know. But my daddy always knew what I was going to be.”
 

Perdue said that when she was in college, and taking her time about graduating and choosing her career path, she came home one day to find her father had placed a silver dollar, a Bible and a bottle of bourbon on the kitchen table.
 

He told her if she chose the silver dollar she’d probably become a banker. If she chose the Bible she’d become a preacher. If she chose the bottle, she would probably become a drunk.
 

“So I took the silver dollar and I put it in my pocket,” Perdue said. “I tucked the Bible under my arm and I took a shot of that bourbon, the way some of you do sometimes. My daddy said, 'Oh my god. She’s going to be a common politician.’”
 

Perdue became more than that: the state’s first female governor. She urged graduates, even those who feel they’re graduating into a poor economy with few options, to aim high as well.
 

“Sure the economy’s bad and sure you’ve got some debts to pay off,” Perdue said. “...but if I was you I would decide right now to set some tremendously high expectations for my life.”
 

Perdue, a former history teacher, evoked the Wright brothers, John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln — all historic figures who pushed through their early failures to make their mark on the world. She said each graduate had the same potential, if they show the same tenacity — whether they change the world or impact a single life.
 

“Will you be the one who figures out how to turn hog waste or wood chips into fuel?” Perdue asked the students. “Or will you be the one who comes into my room when I am old and in a hospital and ready to leave this world, will you be the one who reaches down and touches my hand?”
 

Perdue said she felt a connection with UNCG, which is why she chose it over the other four schools that asked her to speak at their commencement this year.
 

The state’s first female governor at North Carolina’s first state-supported school for women seemed like a natural fit, she said. She encouraged students to appreciate the history of the school, which began as the State Normal and Industrial School in 1892 and was known as the North Carolina College For Women and the Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina before it began admitting men in 1963. She also said they should find a way to give back.
 

“This fabulous institution has given you a fabulous education and a jump start,” Perdue said. “So when you’re rich and famous, write a check. Help the school to grow and continue.”

Contact Joe Killian at 373-7023 or joe.killian @news-record.com