ACU is preparing students to meet the future presented by President Obama in his State of the Union Address.

The president set goals only achievable through the hard work and dedication of a new generation of workers, workers whom ACU already has begun training and educating along a path parallel to Obama’s Tuesday-night projection for success.

At the heart of those plans is the word “innovation,” a word seen and heard nearly everyday on campus. Even through ACU’s tagline, “exceptional, innovative, real,” innovation is a concept we have been urged to face as a personal challenge, one that came first from our university and now from our President.

Yet even a buzzword so frequently used is meaningless without action to back it up. We are at a crossroads where our actions can carry us to greatness. And failure will be the result of apathy, not unsuccessful attempts.

President Obama likened our present state to two specific times in our nation’s history: First, our national roots in the industrial revolution; and second, the beginning of the space race, when the Russians launched Sputnik into continuous orbit.

During both of those periods, the nation had to rise up, refocus on education and industry and advance against global competition.

United, Americans were able to span vast distances with intercontinental railroads and further commerce with the interstate highway system. And Americans were responsible for putting the first man on the moon.

Imagine what we can launch tomorrow with such lofty achievements already in place.

Today, Americans need to  accept the challenge of creating the next big idea. But it’s a personal challenge.

Dream-driven innovations will look different, depending on each person’s unique skill set and dreams. The American dream commissions citizens to pull ourselves up “by our bootstraps” and prosper regardless of circumstance. But each person’s boots will vary in size, shape and laces.

Each of us is responsible for our own success. And in the shadow of our struggling national economy, President Obama is calling us not only to personal success, but also to global greatness as a nation.

The need to progress in higher education, to become more globally and technologically connected and form lasting alliances with our peers both at home and abroad were points made in the President’s address – the same exhortations made daily on ACU’s campus.

The predictions ACU made when launching its global initiative match closely  with Obama’s vision. The lectures we attend and the curriculum we study are offering us the tools to succeed and excel in that vision.

President Obama painted a hopeful picture of our nation’s future should we accept his commission to embrace innovation. And with ACU’s forward-thinking emphasis, graduating Wildcats should be prepared to tackle the challenge.