MCI Chairman and CEO Michael D. Capellas Delivers Commencement Address to Alma Mater, Kent State University

Receives Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters

ASHBURN, VA May 16, 2003 - MCI Chairman and CEO Michael D. Capellas delivered the commencement address to members of Kent State University's Class of 2003 on Sunday, May 11, in Akron, Ohio. Capellas addressed graduates of the College of Business Administration and the College of Education. He also received an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters.

Capellas, a 1976 graduate of Kent State, provided members of the graduating class and commencement attendees with an overview of the Internet boom, prospects for economic recovery and job growth in the tech sector, and the immense possibilities that technology holds for the future.

Capellas highlighted the role the Internet and technology will continue to play in the future of business and education, "The Internet is a great transforming tool and virtually everyone has experienced it in some way. So what's next? The potential is actually quite staggering."

Capellas also shared with students a sampling of lessons learned during his thirty years of business and life experiences, encouraging graduates to "be passionate about what they do," and to "do the right thing because it is the right thing to do."

Capellas, a 27-year veteran of the information technology business, is the chairman and CEO of WorldCom and former president of Hewlett-Packard company. Prior to joining HP, he was chairman and CEO of Compaq. He joined the company in 1998 as chief information officer and also served as chief operating officer before being named CEO in July 1999.

During his career, Capellas gained a solid reputation among colleagues, analysts and customers alike as an executive with a rare balance of strategic insight, operational expertise, technology and financial skills, and sales and marketing savvy.

In addition to a customer-centric point of view, he brings to his work an intimate knowledge of information technology and its role in business success, as well as a compelling vision for the future of IT and how it can transform businesses, institutions and society at large. Capellas has established himself as an industry thought leader in areas ranging from information technology and homeland security to the next generation of consumer electronics.

The full text of Mr. Capellas' remarks follows below.

About WorldCom, Inc.
WorldCom, Inc. (WCOEQ, MCWEQ), which currently conducts business under the MCI brand name, is a leading global communications provider, delivering innovative, cost-effective, advanced communications connectivity to businesses, governments and consumers. With the industry's most expansive global IP backbone and wholly-owned data networks, WorldCom develops the converged communications products and services that are the foundation for commerce and communications in today's market. For more information, go to http://www.mci.com.

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Michael D. Capellas - MCI Chairman & CEO
Kent State University Commencement
May 11, 2003

Thank you very much Dr. Cartwright, faculty members and graduating students and families.

First and foremost, congratulations to all of the graduates and thank you for having me here today.

I am honored and I am humbled.

After graduating from Kent State 27 years ago, I am filled with a tremendous sense of pride to be back here this special Mother's Day.

More than 60 years ago, my mother was also a Golden Flash. Like many of you, she was a teacher and an educator. And in my mind, that makes her and those of you who teach and aspire to teach, true modern day heroes.

While I am here to recognize your achievements today, I'd also like to take a brief moment to remember my mom who has since passed away and to celebrate all mothers.

I am joined today by my wife of 24 years, Marie, who is originally from Youngstown, Ohio. She's the mother of our two grown daughters, Julie and Andrea, who are also here today along with my older brother George and his family who live in Cleveland. Yes -- my family roots run pretty deep in the buckeye state.

With that, I'd like to take a moment to recognize all our mothers for everything they do for us. Let's have round of applause for the moms!

I grew up in Warren, Ohio, the youngest of three children. My father emigrated here from Greece and worked his way from sweeping floors at Republic Steel to being in management.

I actually attended my first year of college at Wittenburg on a football scholarship. I started out as an English literature major with grand aspirations of becoming a writer.

I transferred to Kent my sophomore year and majored in accounting and computer science. Those years sparked my love for technology.

It all started with my first calculator. It was a Radio Shack and it was $150 with four functions. It was sweet - almost as cool as my Tablet PC and iPAQ handheld are today. I remember using that calculator for my accounting finals with Dr. Meonske. He was my favorite teacher and a really snappy dresser in those days.

My passion for computer programming also started here in the basement of the computer lab.

Back then, writing code was a little different than today where we now have supercomputers that can crack the code for the human genome.

In those days, it was all about ones and zeros and sorting a deck of punch cards. If you were clumsy and dropped your cards which I did, you had to re-run the entire program again.

I remember learning the wave language COBOL while listening to AM radio, WMMS hard rock out of Cleveland. I felt so cutting-edge.

With just a quick tour of the campus this morning, I am instantly reminded by the wonderful memories that I had as a student here. It does feel like I never left -- and some things haven't changed.

I will tell you what has changed though...

Somewhere in my basement, I found a picture taken from my graduation day in 1976. I must admit I looked a little different with a full head of hair and a waist line that you could actually make out.

Those were the days of theme parties, the Crazy Horse Bar and outdoor concerts on the grass. It is where I first heard James Taylor, the Beach Boys, and my favorite band to this day - Fleetwood Mac.

I spent many a late nights in Johnson Hall singing at the top of my lungs pretending to be Don Henley or attempting to play the guitar like Lindsay Buckingham.

Today, I am proud to say that I still can't sing and I have now progressed to the air guitar.

As the CEO of one of the world's largest telecommunications companies and after spending nearly 30 years in business management and information technology, I thought I would talk about two things today.

First, I wanted to talk a little about the future of technology.

Second, I'd like to share a few thoughts about the lessons in life that have served me well.

When many of you started college four years ago, the business world looked like a very different place.

In 1999, the NASDAQ was approaching 3000. It would hit 5000 roughly a year later in the midst of the largest technology boom ever.

The job market was hot and many of you were anxious to finish your degrees and get into the work place. They equated the dot com explosion to the California gold rush.

It was a time when we believed that the power of the Internet would transform business and lead to explosive growth and productivity.

This past Friday, the NASDAQ sat around 1500 - or at about half the value of four years ago.

We realized that the foundation of the Internet boom proved to be based on illogical business models and false expectations.

And to make matters worse, the business world would soon be shaken by a series of large scale companies linked with accounting irregularities and management's abuse of power.

The end result was a crisis of confidence in business leadership and the structure as a whole.

Around this time, I recall sitting at a newspaper editorial board meeting when the editor asked me whether I thought all CEOs were either criminals or clueless.

Thanks to my superior Kent State education, I immediately looked for the "none of the above" box before I gave him my answer.

The bad news is that we have now endured a very difficult three year period. For those of you still actively searching for a job, you may feel discouraged and even conclude that it's simply not fair.

So now, for some good news -- business always moves in cycles. And in the U.S., at the end of every down cycle is the start of a new and even stronger period of growth and prosperity.

When I graduated in 1976, we were at a similar trough. The economy was tough in the United States -- global productivity was declining -- jobs in core industries like steel and automobile were being moved to Japan - and we described ourselves as the first generation of Americans who would have a lower standard of living than our parents.

Just for the record, I believe the NASDAQ exchange was at about 100.

So what finally turned the economy around?

Well, we did.

We are people who have a great work ethic embedded in our cultural fabric. We also have a history for innovation that is second to none. Our unique freedom and democracy empowers individuals to make a difference in the world.

One person can change the world. Just ask Bill Gates, Steve Jobs or Michael Dell. They created great technology companies that changed the way we live and work.

The Internet is a great transforming tool and virtually everyone has experienced it in some way.

So what's next? The potential is actually quite staggering.

We will digitize content. Those of us who recall the days of doing research by "microfiche and dewey decimals" can now explore all the archives of the Library of Congress and all the paintings of the Vatican via the Internet because it's all digitized.

We can also look up our family ancestry on the Ellis Island website because every record from every family tree has been digitized.

To just show you what a geek I am, I often browse the great art galleries of the world and download my favorite rock-and-roll songs for 99 cents, while answering my email and watching the Cleveland Indians at three in the morning -- all from my home office. Not quite sure which one is the most exciting but needless to say, I am really good at multi-tasking.

So what can we expect from technology in the future? Here is one of my favorite examples:

For many years I have worked with The Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. I learned that if a missing child is not found within the first 48 hours the probability of recovery is dramatically reduced.

To increase their speed of communication and broaden their exposure, the Center decided to digitize the photos of the children and send emails to all law enforcement agencies as well as hundreds of computer labs within Boys and Girls Clubs across the country.

Using special software and the child's image, they also created a simulation model which could show the effects of aging over time.

With these technologies, they were able to improve the recovery rate for missing children from the high sixties to the low ninety percent.

Technology can make a difference.

But there are so many more frontiers to explore. In the coming years, we will use information technology to solve far greater problems.

We will be able to link medical research to drug prescriptions to a patient's medical history.

We will be able to teach doctors in small towns how to cure patients via audio streaming over the Internet.

We will be able to anticipate a person's medical ailment based on genetic history.

If computers can crack the code for the human genome, I am confident that they will find a cure for AIDS and SARS.

Technology will also completely reinvent education.

In my last meeting with Dr. Cartwright, I toured the computer-based learning centers and witnessed first-hand how technology could advance the progress of educating young children.

If we push technology as a vehicle for education, we must be responsible for ensuring that all students have the same access.

So much has been said about the Digital Divide but so little has been done.

In order to bridge the gap between haves and have-nots, we need to form alliances that transcend government, education and the private sector.

This new form of relationship is the only way we can reinvent technologies role in education. I am optimistic that it can be done.

In closing, I would like to share a few life lessons that I believe are fundamental to success. In observing successful people in all walks of life, I have come to conclude there are some common denominators.

These are the lessons that I practice every day. They help guide me in good times and bad and give me hope and comfort especially when times are tough.

The first lesson is to be passionate about what you do.

Every one of us has a passion for something.

Every successful person I know engages fully in a cause or a purpose that they really believe in.

The essence of good leadership is to get a group a people to share the same vision - the same passion -- for a common goal with common beliefs.

For example, think of a class that you really did well in. I will guess that the one you showed passion for resulted in pretty good grades and the ones with less passion -- well, we don't have to talk about those right now.

The second lesson is to learn something everyday.

As you all know, your education does not end today. What you learned on campus is only a fraction of the power of your entire Kent State education.

What you may not know is that you have now learned - how to learn.

Every night I still spend at least thirty minutes on the web reading technical white papers about XML or Internet Protocol. I fear losing touch and I want to keep learning.

Successful people are usually lifelong students.

The third is perhaps the most important, build personal relationships.

I have never met a successful executive who did not also have strong personal relationships throughout his or her career.

Most of you have developed life-long friendships from Kent State.
These relationships will serve you for a lifetime. Take good care of them.

I always say that you learn from those you know and those you trust.
It is important to become someone who others can trust.

When I look to promote a young executive, I assume he or she is capable and intelligent but the ones who rise to the top are usually the ones who can work with different types of people in different situations.

They have good relationships with their peers, employees, as well as their bosses. I call it manage up-and-down as well as side-to-side.

The fourth is dare to be different

My younger daughter when she was seven used to have this great poster in her bedroom. It was a Dalmatian with purple spots instead of black ones. The caption read: "Dare to be different." Robert Frost called it take "the road less traveled."

It is human nature to want to fit in - to be alike rather than different. If ever you get the opportunity to be different, you should embrace it with both hands and an open mind. People who succeed usually dare to be different. They are leaders not followers.

Five, do the right thing because it is the right thing to do

Every day you will be asked to make decisions between right and wrong. It sounds tough but it really isn't that difficult. We all know the difference between right and wrong.

I used to do this exercise when one of my employees was struggling with a decision. I'd ask them to write it on the board and read it back to themselves out loud. If they were too embarrassed to write it - much less read it out loud -- it was obviously not the right decision.

At my company, we also have what we call a zero tolerance policy, if you do something wrong, you no longer work for the company.

It sounds pretty harsh but sometimes being a leader means setting tone at the top for others to follow.

Last but not least, it is okay to have some fun.

Life is too short not to have fun every day!

At MCI, every day we recognize an employee who has shown an outrageous act of customer service or an outrageous sense of urgency.

We also play outrageous songs of the day - usually blaring in the halls or from my office -- to get people energized.

We celebrate achievements as a team. We have banners that say,
"We have a need for speed!"

As I always say, having fun every day sure beats the alternative.

So there you have it. Thirty years of business experience boiled down into 10 minutes.

I leave you with these final thoughts:

Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock of the Starship Enterprise did indeed have it right. After writing this speech, I've decided that hitting a keyboard is the dumbest thing in the world especially since I don't type all that well. I am counting on you to come up with some next generation voice recognition technology that will get rid of all keyboards for good.

Lastly, I remember when I played defensive back for this great school and above my locker hung a sign that read -- "48 minutes and no regrets!"

Life is just like a football game. You've got one shot to play your heart out.

For me, the past 30 years have really flown by and right now it feels more like 48 minutes.

Standing here today, I am pleased to say that when my number was called, I gave it my all and I have no regrets.

Finally, Kent State has given you some great gifts during your time here:
· You have learned a discipline
· You have learned how to learn
· And you have learned how to teach

Now I hope that you will use these gifts to the fullest.

And thirty years from now, may you reflect back on this day with also no regrets.

Congratulations and thank you again for this great honor.

I wish for each of you the very best that life can offer.

God Bless.