When you are 80 years old, and in a quiet moment of reflection narrating for only yourself the most personal version of your life story, the telling that will be most compact and meaningful will be the series of choices you have made. In the end, we are our choices. Build yourself a great story.
Please, class of 2023, make every day a good one. Make every day and everything you do. Be good. We need you as a nation to remember the mandate of this university: Princeton in the nation’s service and in the service of humanity.
In this moment, our sacred rule of law is under attack. Journalism is under attack. Universities are under attack. Freedom of speech is under attack.
Live a life that would make your younger self proud, your older self grateful, even if it confuses everyone in between.
Your life matters—to the people you love and to the broader world. Fifty years from now, you will want to be able to look in the mirror and know that you did what you thought was right, in every part of your life. At the end of the day, your integrity is all you have. Guard it carefully.
At the heart of Princeton’s undergraduate and graduate degree programs is a commitment to inculcate a fierce independence of mind.
We just wanted to get together and celebrate a little today. We introduced our iBook and everybody loved it and the show was amazing.
Curiosity, Creativity, and Self-Improvement: These are Penn values. They are your values. Use them often, keep them sharp, and they will serve you well, whatever shape the future takes.
When I say kindness, I’m not talking about “being nice.” I’m talking about being able to hold your own heartbreak, so we can go on living — go on resisting, go on building, go on healing.
When a university is at its best – when Stanford is at its best – the campus is an unparalleled place for freedom, truth, and enlightenment.
You can’t go the distance alone. Continue to surround yourself with people who will challenge you, support you, and make you laugh. Make sure you spend time with the people who matter to you.
It’s up to all of us, as citizens, to stand up for the values that we profess. If we want a country that believes in free speech and fair elections and rule of law, then we can’t just leave it to somebody else. We have to fight for those things, even when it’s hard.
Dame Jacinda Ardern urged Yale College seniors to embrace self-doubt and the humility that accompanies it (and took note of their playful headwear).
I ask that you keep MIT’s values and mission at the center of your efforts: to be bold and imaginative in tackling these big problems and to do so with compassion and generosity.
The greatest thing you build in your life will be yourself, and trust me on this you are not done yet, I know I’m not. But what you will be building is not just a toolkit. You will be building a person, and you will be doing it for people.
MIT President Sally Kornbluth urges graduates to become ambassadors for scientific thinking, discovery, and global community.
Abraham Verghese underscored the vital role of immigrants in the life of the nation at Harvard’s 374th Commencement Thursday at Tercentenary Theatre.
It’s the series of decisions you make when your values conflict: GPA or Family. Creativity or security. Loyalty or personal growth. Love or Money. Your path is guaranteed to be paved with these decisions.
My heart is full today, full of gratitude for the trust you have placed in me, full of love for our country, and full of resolve. The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for.
You are ready and able to do beautiful things in this world and after you walk through those doors today, you will only ever have two choices: love or fear. Choose love, and don’t ever let fear turn you against your playful heart.
