PORT ANGELES — Congressman Derek Kilmer, a native son of Port Angeles, challenged some 400 graduating students at Peninsula College’s commencement ceremony to make the world better with the skills they’ve learned.

“Use what you’ve learned here to go into the world and do something rather than be something,” Kilmer said Saturday in a prepared speech provided before the event.

Kilmer, keynote speaker for the commencement ceremonies on the college’s Port Angeles campus, also told the graduates to take risks in life.

“You can accomplish big things when you try big things,” he said.

“Life has too many exciting challenges to tackle to spend time being timid.”

Kilmer also praised Peninsula College and Port Angeles as being a college and community that value education.

Kilmer was born in Port Angeles and raised by parents who were teachers.

“No matter what degree or certification you are getting tonight, it’s not an exaggeration to say that the investment you have made in your education will change the trajectory of your life,” he said.

Kilmer, a Democrat living in Gig Harbor, represents the 6th Congressional District, which includes the North Olympic Peninsula.

The college conferred 34 bachelor’s degrees, 221 associate degrees and 177 professional or technical certifications during its 52nd commencement ceremony Saturday.

Student speech

Graduating Peninsula College student Grace Tulsi Marshall, 34, delivered the student speech.

Marshall, whose 18-year-old daughter, Saphfire Brown, delivered one of three commencement speeches at Port Angeles High School’s graduation ceremony Friday night, received an Associate of Arts with a 4.0 grade-point average.

Marshall plans to major in engineering and minor in environmental science at the University of Washington after taking a few more classes at Peninsula College to get her Associate of Science before transferring.

Kilmer was elected to the 6th Congressional District seat in November 2012 and is seeking re-election this year against three opponents.

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Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.