毕业演讲

My brilliantly promising Princetonians, pay attention. I can promise you this: pay attention, and attention will pay you back.

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.

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.

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.

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.

You are future record-breakers and world travelers… future volunteers and philanthropists… future winners and future leaders. I’m here to tell you… from the other side of graduation… that leaving a familiar world behind and finding new ones is incredibly, deeply, wonderfully exciting.