Latest news with #commencement
Forbes
a day ago
- Politics
- Forbes
Make Bravery The Norm—Advice To Graduates (& Leaders) From JB Pritzker
Galesburg, IL June 8, 2025 Gov. J.B. Pritzker delivers commencement address We're at the end of graduation season, with its outpouring of advice dispensed from podiums across the country. My heart was full of joy and hope for my eldest daughter as she graduated from Knox College, a small liberal arts college in rural Illinois. But I'll admit, I anticipated the graduation speech by Governor J.B. Pritzker with a mixture of curiosity and skepticism. For one thing, this is a tough world our kids are graduating into—with the unemployment rate for 20-24-year-olds at 8.2%—more than double the 3.4% unemployment rate for those 25 and over, significant economic uncertainty, and heightened geopolitical risk. What could anyone say to equip and encourage them on this occasion? And in any case, hasn't it all been said? I've heard my share of commencement addresses, and few of them have transcended the usual platitudes. In addition, I am naturally skeptical of very rich guys in positions of political leadership and I worried the Illinios governor and potential presidential hopeful might politicize the speech or make it more about his agenda than the graduates. But when he took the stage in front of these young people and their parents, the governor won me over as he offered some wisdom to the graduates that many of our leaders in business and government could also benefit from. As Gov. Pritzker warmed up, he started with some mild self-deprecation (appropriate, as he was standing where Abraham Lincoln took a stand against slavery in the Fifth Lincoln-Douglas Debate in 1858). He cracked a few jokes and offered some 'dad advice'—turn off the lights when you leave a room, put air in your tires, don't subscribe to too many streaming service subscriptions—very practical, and served up with a dose of humor. The crowd was with him. But then he moved into the heart of the address with three pieces of advice that should speak to us all: Show Up. A leader, grounded in values, shows up for people when it matters, and knows that in many cases what they say or do is less important than the support provided by just being there. The governor touted the importance of showing up for others—attending funerals and soccer games and award ceremonies. 'In a world where TikTok and Instagram tells you to be selfish with your schedule, I am telling you: Be generous with your time. Showing up is a unique and meaningful thing only you can do.' This advice may seem to contradict much advice (including my own) about setting boundaries. But Pritzker's advice is not fundamentally about time management. It is about presence—not about transactions or outcomes—and our commitment to the people in our lives. Doubt. In an increasingly complex world, we may feel the urge to cling to certainty, but certainty offers only a false security and is antithetical to innovation. Pritzker encouraged the graduates to cultivate doubt, because 'doubt makes us curious. Doubt keeps us humble. Doubt makes us seek when it would be so much easier to sit idle. Doubt prompts us to ask good questions. Questions like: am I looking at ALL the facts or just the ones I want to see?' As leaders, our experiences, mental models and the playbooks that we relied on in the past may not be equal to the task of scaling in a complex world. They require constant updating and iteration. Doubt invites leaders to be vigilant about confirmation and other biases, seek out divergent points of view, welcome challenges to assumptions, and be open to experiment. Be Brave. Finally, Gov. Pritzker exhorted the graduates to make courage the norm, not the exception. 'When we tell the stories of history, we often excuse the atrocities of our ancestors by suggesting that they were merely acting on what was popular at the time. Because we understand in our core, whether we want to admit it or not, how much easier it is to live a life that chases popularity rather than courage. Occasionally we are confronted with stories, like the founding of Knox College [established in 1837 by abolitionists committed to educating women and people of color]Pritzker urged the graduates to 'expect bravery' of themselves and their communities rather than accepting passivity that it rooted in fear. In this time of uncertainty and even chaos, it is tempting to double down on fear, to hesitate and wait to see which way the wind blows. Instead, it is not just our newly-minted graduates who we are called upon to show up with the curiosity and humility borne of doubt, and be brave. It is all of us.
Washington Post
4 days ago
- General
- Washington Post
A philosophy graduate has a message for the class of 2025
Clary Doyle was the undergraduate student speaker at Northwestern University's 2025 commencement. Her address to classmates has been edited lightly. Today, I receive a degree in philosophy. Which, as many of my relatives have pointed out, means it may be a long time before I pay off my loans. So, I am both literally and figuratively indebted to Northwestern because I got to spend the past four years trying to answer questions like: What is the meaning of life? How should I live? And what is the right thing to do?
The Standard
19-06-2025
- Politics
- The Standard
Trump faces uproar from MAGA base over possible Iran strike
U.S. President Donald Trump holds a 'Make America Great Again' (MAGA) hat as he attends the commencement ceremony at West Point Military Academy in West Point, New York, U.S., May 24, 2025. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo
CNN
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
Steve Carell turns Northwestern commencement address into a dance party
Leave it to Steve Carell to turn a commencement speech into a dance party. While speaking at Northwestern's 2025 commencement ceremony over the weekend, the 'Office' star asked everyone to rise before breaking into what he called 'the mid-commencement address dance break,' according to a clip of the moment posted to social media. Carell then began to dance with the Dean of the School of Communication and Annenberg University Professor E. Patrick Johnson, according to the Chicago Tribune, while 'That's Not My Name' by the Ting Tings played in the background. Carell then ran off the stage and into the sea of dancing graduates, running down the aisles showing off his dance moves and throwing up high-fives. 'That was as invigorating as it was disturbing,' he joked, breathlessly, once he got back up to the podium. 'Wow, am I out of shape.' Carell is not a Northwestern graduate but he does have Chicago roots, having performed with the city's famed Second City comedy troupe after he graduated from Denison University in Ohio. While Carell added plenty of levity to his address during the dance break, he also touched on the realities that students and graduates today are facing. 'It's difficult for me to process just how much you've all experienced in your young lives. I feel your anxiety and your fears about the world around you and it's heartbreaking to me,' Carell said, according to a clip of his speech provided to CNN by Northwestern University. 'You have already had to overcome a lifetime's worth of turmoil and uncertainty and it doesn't seem fair.' Carell went on to encourage the graduates to 'remember the little things, like being kind and that you're not alone.' 'Take care of one another,' he said. Carell currently stars in the Netflix reboot of 'The Four Seasons' and HBO's 'Mountainhead' series. (HBO, like CNN, is a property of Warner Bros. Discovery.)
CNN
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
Steve Carell turns Northwestern commencement address into a dance party
Leave it to Steve Carell to turn a commencement speech into a dance party. While speaking at Northwestern's 2025 commencement ceremony over the weekend, the 'Office' star asked everyone to rise before breaking into what he called 'the mid-commencement address dance break,' according to a clip of the moment posted to social media. Carell then began to dance with the Dean of the School of Communication and Annenberg University Professor E. Patrick Johnson, according to the Chicago Tribune, while 'That's Not My Name' by the Ting Tings played in the background. Carell then ran off the stage and into the sea of dancing graduates, running down the aisles showing off his dance moves and throwing up high-fives. 'That was as invigorating as it was disturbing,' he joked, breathlessly, once he got back up to the podium. 'Wow, am I out of shape.' Carell is not a Northwestern graduate but he does have Chicago roots, having performed with the city's famed Second City comedy troupe after he graduated from Denison University in Ohio. While Carell added plenty of levity to his address during the dance break, he also touched on the realities that students and graduates today are facing. 'It's difficult for me to process just how much you've all experienced in your young lives. I feel your anxiety and your fears about the world around you and it's heartbreaking to me,' Carell said, according to a clip of his speech provided to CNN by Northwestern University. 'You have already had to overcome a lifetime's worth of turmoil and uncertainty and it doesn't seem fair.' Carell went on to encourage the graduates to 'remember the little things, like being kind and that you're not alone.' 'Take care of one another,' he said. Carell currently stars in the Netflix reboot of 'The Four Seasons' and HBO's 'Mountainhead' series. (HBO, like CNN, is a property of Warner Bros. Discovery.)
