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
Cultivate your circle offline — not 500 Facebook friends, but the five people you would invite to dinner. That is so important.
speech graduation relationships
Josh Groban
High Point University Commencement 2018, 2018
It starts with your neighbor, the person right next to you, the person sitting next to you in class, the kid down the block in your neighborhood. You just do whatever you can to help in any way that you can.
speech graduation empathy
Rihanna
Harvard University Humanitarian of the Year Award 2017, 2017
My grandmother always used to say, if you've got a dollar, there's plenty to share.
speech graduation empathy
Rihanna
Harvard University Humanitarian of the Year Award 2017, 2017
Having a closet full of shoes doesn't fill up your life. Living a life of substance can — substance through your service.
speech graduation purpose
Oprah Winfrey
Agnes Scott College Commencement 2017, 2017
The way we spend our days is the way we spend our lives.
speech graduation discipline
Ari Weinzweig
University of Michigan Commencement 2015, 2015
Generosity leads to joy. It's simple and it's guaranteed.
speech graduation gratitude
Paul Saginaw
University of Michigan Commencement 2015, 2015
To see clearly is poetry, prophecy and possibility — all in one.
speech graduation wisdom
John Seely Brown
Arizona State University Commencement 2015, 2015
In this text, tweet, twerk world that you've grown up in, remember that just because you're doing a lot more doesn't mean you're getting a lot more done. Don't confuse movement with progress.
speech graduation discipline
Denzel Washington
Dillard University Commencement 2015, 2015
Don't assume that exclusive always and everywhere means better. It may only mean lonelier. There will always be folks hard selling you the life of the few: the private schools, private planes, private islands, private life. They are trying to convince you that hell is other people. Don't believe it. We are far more frequently each other's shelter and correction, the antidote to solipsism, and so many windows on this world.
speech graduation relationships
Zadie Smith
New School University Commencement 2014, 2014
Celebrate idleness. Yes, idleness! Our greatest insights and discoveries have come not when we are doubling down staring at a computer screen, but when we sit back, rub our eyes, go for a walk, read a book or give our children a bath. Isaac Newton did not discover gravity in a laboratory. He was sitting under a tree.
speech graduation creativity
Anne-Marie Slaughter
Tufts University Commencement 2014, 2014
Focus on signal over noise. A lot of companies get confused — they spend money on things that don't actually make the product better.
speech graduation innovation
Elon Musk
USC Commencement 2014, 2014