CANTON, NY -- With a warm round of applause, St. Lawrence University welcomed NBC's Tom Brokaw. Brokaw spoke to the campus community about the role each person plays in this changing society.
"Historians will look back on this time as truly transformational. However, the test of our voice in this time is not yet complete. Life is not a virtual experience. If we develop capacity and leave out compassion, what is the reward?" he asked.
Brokaw has a special relationship with St. Lawrence University. The school's vice president for administrative operations Tom Coakley and his wife Nellie were featured in Brokaw's most recent book "Boom! Voices of the Sixties."
Brokaw took time to answer questions from the audience, and also left students with some inspirational words for their generation.
"The political process is ours, not someone else's. It's our responsibility and our duty on a daily basis. That's part of the privilege of living here. And it's part of the obligation that we have not just to our grandchildren, but to our past as well," he said.
There was a large crowd at St. Lawrence University Wednesday, as students, faculty and community members gathered to see legendary journalist Tom Brokaw. Our Katie Morse was there, and has more on Brokaw's latest book, as well as the words of wisdom he offered his audience.
"I think his final conclusion about what our job is in the next decades to come, with this next presidential election, and kind of enlisting back into U.S. citizenship, I think that entire idea is kind of more reinstated for me," said Alex Reinman, a St. Lawrence University freshman.
Brokaw encouraged listeners to put aside their differences, and strive to make a difference in the world.
Brokaw still serves as a special correspondent for NBC News. He stepped down from his position as anchor and managing editor in 2004 after 21 years.