Nanjiani closed his speech by returning to what Iowa had taught him. He'd arrived as a shy kid from Pakistan who felt trapped — the metal bars of his bunk bed looked like prison bars. But as he met people from every background imaginable — white, black, queer, gender-fluid, every religion, no religion — those bars looked less and less like jail. This tiny liberal arts college in the middle of cornfields changed how he saw the entire world. The community welcomed him, engaged with him, was curious about where he was from. 'Before America was my home, Iowa was my home,' he said. 'And before Iowa was my home, Grinnell was my home.' His parting message: engage, care, be passionate — because each other is all we have.