Smith's fifth and final rule was about the responsibility to liberate others. He told graduates that they shouldn't just want to be on the bus — they should want to own it, drive it, and 'pick up as many people along the way as you can.' This Bus Number 13 metaphor threaded through his entire speech. As a child in Denver during forced desegregation, Smith had been among a small number of Black kids bused across town to a high-performing school. Almost every student on Bus Number 13 went on to become a professional. But the kids who didn't get a spot had far lower success rates — 'and the connection is inescapable.' This personal history made his call to lift others deeply authentic, and it culminated in the speech's historic moment: announcing his family would pay off all student loans for the entire graduating class.