ITHACA -- David Muir returned to his alma mater yesterday to share an inspirational message. Muir, a 1995 graduate of the Park School of Communications at Ithaca College, was invited to give the commencement address before more than 1,400 graduates and their guests.
According to the Ithaca Journal, Muir broke the ice with a joke about the Class of 2011 being scheduled to receive their diplomas the day after the well-publicized (but not-so-well-regarded -- and ultimately false) prediction that the world would end on Saturday.
On a more serious note, Muir went on to talk about how his assignments across the country and around the world have given him the opportunity to "give the voiceless a voice." But he told students they need not be a network anchor to have a voice -- they already have a voice, and he encouraged them to use it whenever possible to effect positive change.
Muir's professional broadcasting career started in Syracuse at CBS affiliate WTVH. From there, he went onto Boston's ABC affiliate before joining ABC News in New York. This past February, he was promoted from anchoring Sundays only to anchoring both weekend evenings. Muir also files reports for a number of ABC News programs and he often substitutes for Diane Sawyer on the weeknight version of World News.