Spencer shared a deeply personal lesson about learning to say no. After winning acclaim for playing the maid in The Help, she was flooded with offers to play more maids and nurses. She had to start declining roles that didn't attempt to highlight new perspectives. That willingness to say no is what led her to Hidden Figures, where she portrayed a NASA scientist, and to The Shack, where she played God. The lesson was clear: saying yes opens doors early in your career, but knowing when to say no is essential to maintaining your values and self-worth. 'By starting to say no to some of the doors that were opening for me, I've been able to say yes to even bigger opportunities,' she told the graduates. The power to define what you're worth belongs to you alone.