President Barack Obama told the 9,000 members of the Class of 2009 that their contributions over the next few years will determine the country’s ability to recover from a disastrous financial meltdown in his commencement address at Sun Devil Stadium Wednesday night.

“Many of our current challenges are unprecedented,” Obama said. “And class of 2009, that’s why we’re going to need your help. We need young people like you to step up. We need your daring, we need your energy, [and] we need your enthusiasm.”

Obama asked graduates to look at the current economic situation as an opportunity to prove their mettle, rather than as an obstacle.

“It is moments like these that force us to try harder, to dig deeper, to discover gifts we never knew we had — to find the greatness that lies within each of us,” he said.

Obama said the downturn was caused by a series of events he called a “ripple effect,” which was brought on by selfishness and complacency in the financial world. Young people entering the workforce can learn from the last generation’s mistakes and reverse it if they have a different attitude, he said.

“Acts of sacrifice and decency without regard to what’s in it for you — those also create ripple effects — ones that lift up families and communities, that spread opportunity and boost our economy,” he said.

Obama’s speech came on the heels of the University’s controversial decision not to award him with an honorary degree because, according to University officials, his body of work is not yet complete.

Instead, the University re-named its presidential scholarship after Obama, calling it the President Barack Obama Scholars Program, and expanded its scope from 500 students in 2008 to 1,600 students this year.

University spokeswoman Julie Newberg said the scholarship would be more significant to the president because it is in line with his mission to provide accessibility in education at all levels.

“I actually think [the scholarship] is more of an honor because so many students are going to benefit from the program,” Newberg said.

Lisa Fernandez, who is graduating with a degree in political science, said she was thankful for the opportunity to see Obama speak at her commencement, thought the scholarship program was an effort by the University to quell controversy.

“It was a consolation prize,” Fernandez said. “Anytime a president speaks at your university, he deserves an honorary degree.”

Obama also downplayed the significance of the controversy, saying it was “much ado about nothing,” and said the scholarship is in line with his vision of affordable, accessible education.

“That notion of opening the doors of opportunity to everybody, that is the core mission of this school, [it is] the core mission of my presidency, and I hope this program will serve as a model for universities across the country,” Obama said.

He did not, however, shy away from the University’s assertion that his body of work is not complete, making it a central theme of his speech. A person’s body of work is never complete, Obama told the near-capacity crowd at Sun Devil Stadium, no matter how much that person has achieved.

“Despite having achieved such a milestone … you cannot rest on your laurels,” Obama said. “Your body of work is yet to come.”

Reach the reporter at derek.quizon@asu.edu