Class of 2018, doing the right thing is your job
Nikki Haley, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Clemson University: “As a country, we are experiencing something of a gratitude crisis today. Be thankful to be alive in America in 2018. Every day at the United Nations, I deal with nations where people are not free. It is not that the United States is perfect. We’re not. But we have been given a great set of tools — freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights — with which we can create a more perfect union.”
Rex Tillerson, former secretary of State, Virginia Military Institute: “A responsibility of every American citizen to each other is to preserve and protect our freedom by recognizing what truth is and is not, what a fact is and is not, and begin by holding ourselves accountable to truthfulness and demand that our pursuit of America’s future be fact-based. ... If you truly want to build a brighter future for the world, you must make the decision to live a life of integrity. … Choosing a life of integrity brings a wealth of blessings and benefits.”
Margot Lee Shetterly, author of Hidden Figures, Worcester Polytechnic Institute: “It’s now your turn to decide what the world ‘ should be.’ And even quiet or unseen decisions that you make about what should be have the potential to echo through the years of history. (Henry J.E. Reid, director of the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory) didn’t sign up for social engineering. The first impact of his decision to hire these hidden figures (black women) at the laboratory was to supplement the brainpower America needed to win World War II, and best the Russians in the space race. But I like to think that Reid also knew this was the right thing, the fair thing, a decision that nudged the world that was toward what it should be, where equality is not just a mathematical concept, but the ethical equality of the Declaration of Independence. ... People may try to tell you that you have to choose between doing your job and doing the right thing, but it’s a false choice. Doing the right thing is your job.”
Abby Wambach, retired soccer star, Barnard College: “Imagine this — you’ve scored more goals than any human being on the planet — female or male. You’ve co-captained and led Team USA in almost every category for the past decade. And you and your coach sit down and decide together that you won’t be a starter in your last World Cup for Team USA. So that sucked. ... You are allowed to be disappointed when it feels like life’s benched you. What you aren’t allowed to do is miss your opportunity to lead from the bench. ... If you’re not a leader on the bench, don’t call yourself a leader on the field. You’re either a leader everywhere or nowhere.”
Chance the Rapper (Chancelor Jonathan Bennett), Grammy winner, Dillard University: “Some people might find this kind of talk disrespectful, but it’s exactly the opposite. The highest form of respect that we can pay to the people who came before us, the people who sacrificed for us and gave us everything, is to be better than them. Our parents, grandparents, ancestors sacrificed, not so that we can keep doing the same thing that they were doing but so that we can be better. To simply copy them would be almost an insult to their sacrifice.”
President Trump, Naval Academy: “Wherever you go, wherever you serve, wherever your mission takes you, you only have one word in mind, and that’s victory. That is why you are here. Victory. A very important word. You are now leaders in the most powerful and righteous force on the face of the planet. The United States military. And we are respected again, I can tell you that. ... We know the truth, will speak the truth, and defend that truth. America is the greatest fighting force for peace, justice, and freedom in the history of the world. And in case you have not noticed, we have become a lot stronger lately. A lot. We are not going to apologize for America. We are going to stand up for America. No more apologies. We are going to stand up for our citizens. We are going to stand up for our values. And we are going to stand up for our men and women in uniform. ... We know that glory will be yours because you are winners.”
Maria Cardona, Latinovations founder, University of California-Merced: “No matter your ethnic, cultural, racial or economic backgrounds, you have stepped up, and you are exhibiting that singular American quality. You are America. People will refuse to acknowledge you as such, in fact they have and will continue to do so, calling you, calling us, different or even un-American. But it is our obligation not to play into fear of the ‘different.’ It is our obligation not to perpetuate it, but to blunt it. ... Dearest graduates, that is why today is a great day for the country. Because you are the medicine. ... You can run for city councils, but you can also run companies, corporations, and one day you can even run this great country!”
Ronan Farrow, New Yorker contributor and Pulitzer Prize winner, Loyola Marymount University: “My career was on the rocks. ... I found out another news outlet was racing to scoop me on the (Harvey) Weinstein story, and I knew I was falling behind. I did not know if I’d ever be able to report that story, or if a year of work would amount to anything. I did not know if I would let down woman after brave woman who had put their trust in me. ... You will face a moment in your career where you have absolutely no idea what to do. Where it will be totally unclear to you what the right thing is for you, for your family, for your community. I hope in that moment, you’ll be generous to yourself, and trust that inner voice. Because more than ever we need people to be guided by their own senses of principle — and not the whims of a culture that prizes ambition, and sensationalism, and celebrity, and vulgarity, and doing whatever it takes to win. ... No pressure or anything. Congratulations, Class of 2018.”