“It is said that baccalaureate exercises are for older people — that’s me — to impart their wisdom to graduating scholars, but I think most young people are justifiably wondering about our wisdom,” Madeleine Albright told the 452 members of the Bowdoin College graduating class of 2013, their families and friends Friday.

“You are probably wondering why we can’t seem to get our act together in Washington, why we can’t pass a budget, why we can’t end the conflicts around the world, why we can’t do something about global warming and the health of the planet. I say to you, these are good things to wonder about. And now, get over it.”

Albright, the 64th U.S. secretary of state and the first female in that role, spoke at Bowdoin’s baccalaureate Friday, one day before Saturday’s commencement.

A quartet of students, including Rachel Furo Lopkin, Christina Sue Jin Jang, Timothy Locke and Vy Mai Nguyen, played the interlude by Eugene Bozza; and Linna Gao, Katarina Holmgren and Patrick Michael Martin led the baccalaureate in “America the Beautiful” and “Raise Songs to Bowdoin.”

Albright, 76, told students they should keep in mind that, at age 22, many of them hadn’t yet lived as long as the 27 years South Africa’s Nelson Mandela spent in captivity.

“He could have spent those 27 years growing bitter and planning revenge, but he didn’t,” she said. “Instead, he learned about those who imprisoned him, learned about the Afrikaners’ point of view, their fears, their beliefs. He got to know them so that he could not only talk to them, he could understand them … not to get them to do what he wanted, but to want what he wanted.

“Ultimately, amazingly, they did. And then he could lead them.”

She told students that no matter how difficult it seemed, it was important to learn that important lesson.

“We are all members of one community, all breathing the same air, all living on the same planet, all using up the same nonrenewable resources,” she said. “And we’re going to have to work together to solve all of our issues. That’s your burden, and your great responsibility. But it can also be your great achievement.”

The well-attended exercise ended with students, family and friends joining for a lobster dinner at the Field House.

Albright was honored at Bowdoin’s 208th commencement Saturday with an honorary Doctorate of Laws. Others recognized were Jean Arasanayagam, Doctor of Letters; David W. Blight, Doctor of Humane Letters; Rose Marie Bravo, Doctor of Humane Letters; Phillip Conkling, Doctor of Science; and C. Lee Herter, Doctor of Humane Letters.

The college conferred bachelor of arts degrees upon 452 students from 42 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and 14 foreign countries and territories.

In his address, college President Barry Mills told graduates to “leave their ego at the door.”

“At Bowdoin we understand that leadership requires empathy — at its best it requires a person who understands in their heart and head the issues and problems they seek to solve, and the situations they aim to improve,” Mills said, according to a transcript provided by the college. “A Bowdoin leader leaves their ego at the door — it is not the volume of your voice, but the power of your ideas.”

He beseeched the graduating class to do a lot of listening, “a muchunderrated element of leadership.”

Mills also reminded the students sitting before him to maintain their sense of humor. “As we seek to lead by tackling serious issues and problems, we must also leave room to not take ourselves too seriously. A sense of perspective and irony are essential,” he said.

State Sen. Stan J. Gerzofsky, DBrunswick, encouraged the students to engage in politics, saying they did not have the luxury not to.

“Your job, whether you choose a career in medicine, law, the arts or what have you, is to be part of (political) debates, because now, my friends, you are responsible for maintaining our prosperity and taking care of our most vulnerable,” Gerzofsky said. “The tasks my generation failed to solve now fall onto you. Your task is to move the ball down the road. Get it done.”