You don't have to win to be part of something truly magical.
resilience wonder gratitude
John McEnroe
Stanford University Commencement, 2023
Whether you think the world is out to hurt you or help you — you're right.
empathy relationships wisdom
Mark Rober
MIT Commencement 2023, 2023
When you respect the law and the rights of all — because if you don't, who will? When your food is brought to you, when you thank the server — because if you don't, who will? When you pick up the litter that has missed the recycling bin — because if you don't, who will?
speech graduation responsibility
Tom Hanks
Harvard University Commencement 2023, 2023
Carry others deeply in your heart as you make your way in this world, and remember that you are being carried in others' hearts as well.
speech graduation love
Marie Lynn Miranda
University of Notre Dame Graduate School Commencement 2021, 2021
The eulogy virtues are the ones people will say about you when you're gone. Will they say you were a kind person? Did you love freely? Were you a loyal friend? Did you live a life of giving?
speech graduation legacy
Kathy Hochul
Syracuse University Commencement 2021, 2021
Allow that diploma you're receiving today to be a reminder of who you are and what you want. Let it be a guiding light that always brings you back to this day — when you were proud of yourself, when you were at the height of hope.
speech graduation purpose
Ava DuVernay
Compton College Commencement 2021, 2021
I have never known anybody who got to the age of 70 or so and had all of the people love him or her that they wanted to have in that position, that ever felt like anything but a success.
speech graduation love
Warren Buffett
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Commencement 2020, 2020
My father spent the equivalent of a year's salary on my plane ticket to the US so I could attend Stanford. It was my first time ever on a plane.
speech graduation sacrifice
Sundar Pichai
Dear Class of 2020 Virtual Commencement, 2020
Measure happiness not by what you do as work, but by what you give to others. It is the most important lesson and the deepest source of meaning I have found in life.
speech graduation purpose
Sonia Sotomayor
Manhattan College Commencement 2019, 2019
Dreams come true only if you work hard to make them come true, and they come true not just because of your own efforts but also because other people in your life help you succeed.
speech graduation perseverance
Sonia Sotomayor
Manhattan College Commencement 2019, 2019
When people show unhidden joy in their accomplishments and good fortune and blessings, witnessing it feels almost intimate, and that is why all graduations, for all the pomp and ceremony and brass bands, all of them are so personally moving every year.
speech graduation gratitude
Peggy Noonan
University of Notre Dame Commencement 2019, 2019
You always have a goddess of wisdom in your corner. It is your education. It is your experience. It is the incredible lessons you have learned right here.
speech graduation education
Christine Lagarde
Claremont McKenna College Commencement 2018, 2018