New York City Public Health Commissioner Thomas R. Frieden discussed his long and distinguished career in public health at the School of Public Health and Health Services graduation ceremony Saturday at Lisner Auditorium.

Frieden praised public health professionals as the people “who see the faces and lives behind the numbers,” and said his efforts in fighting the tuberculosis epidemics in New York and India are examples of how public health workers can have a dramatic impact.

“Only irrational optimism can lead to great success,” said Frieden of his work in India, where he helped implement a nationwide program that has treated 8 million people.

Frieden said that the American health system is decidely inefficient, despite the $2 trillion that is spent annually on it.

“It would be hard to spend this much money and do worse,” Frieden said.

Student speaker Elizabeth E. Deal encouraged her classmates to not let their diplomas “become another fancy piece of paper.” Shetold them to think of an object that symbolizes their goals in life and described how a hammer represented her own personal hopes.

“I want to break down the barriers that prevent people from receiving the most human right, the right to health,” said Deal, who will be joining the Peace Corps. “And then I want to help build a better system for everybody.”