HEIDELBERG, Germany — The 224 University of Maryland University College graduates at Saturday’s commencement ceremony received eight pieces of advice during the event’s keynote address.

Norman Augustine, retired chairman and chief executive officer of Lockheed Martin Corp., gave his insights during a witty speech to graduates, family members and guests gathered at the Patrick Henry Village Pavilion. Augustine said he’d never looked forward to giving a graduation address more than Saturday’s.

"You’ve earned your degrees the hard way — deploying downrange, holding part-time jobs, raising families, volunteering and serving in communities and, above all, serving your country," said Augustine, who is also a former undersecretary of the Army. "In short, you’re my kind of people."

Of the eight pieces of advice Augustine gave the graduates, he stressed maintaining high personal ethics, focusing on present responsibilities and continuing to learn throughout life.

"The alternative is to become professionally middle-aged within 10 years," he said. "Some have even suggested, certainly not I, but some have suggested that graduation diplomas should have expiration dates printed on them."

The commencement ceremony took place to honor the 1,100 students from across Europe, Africa and the Middle East who earned their associate, bachelor’s or master’s degrees this year with UMUC or its partner institution, Bowie State University. Nearly 50 of the graduates are serving in such places as Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait and Kosovo and were unable to attend Saturday’s ceremony.

To close his speech, Augustine cited a Winston Churchill quote in which the former prime minister of England said, "You can always count on the Americans to do the right thing after they’ve tried everything else."

"My wish for you is, at least at the important things in life, you all get it right the first time," Augustine said.

Ronald Toland Jr. received a bachelor’s degree Saturday after starting college courses almost 22 years ago.

"It’s beyond words — phenomenal," he said. "I’m shaking. How about that? I’m shaking. I got butterflies in my stomach. I can’t believe it."

Gen. Carter Ham, commander of U.S. Army Europe and 7th Army, told the graduates that the measure of their education is what they do with the degrees they have earned and the knowledge they gained through their studies.

"Your degree conferred today will be defined by your actions and how you bring to bear the skill sets that you’ve developed and the experiences that you have had in the process," Ham said.

Bowie State and UMUC have awarded more than 60,000 degrees in Europe since 1949, according to a UMUC press release.