WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.210 --> 00:00:05.080 Congratulations to the graduating class of 2020. 2 00:00:05.080 --> 00:00:07.310 I don't have to tell you that you're graduating 3 00:00:07.310 --> 00:00:10.580 during an unprecedented moment in our history. 4 00:00:10.580 --> 00:00:12.830 This is my first-ever graduation speech 5 00:00:12.830 --> 00:00:15.340 and it's certainly not how I imagined it 6 00:00:15.340 --> 00:00:16.750 just as I'm sure it's not 7 00:00:16.750 --> 00:00:19.640 how you imagined receiving your degrees. 8 00:00:19.640 --> 00:00:22.130 I wanted to address the class of 2020 9 00:00:22.130 --> 00:00:24.240 because I feel for you right now. 10 00:00:24.240 --> 00:00:26.330 I know that this crisis has taken away 11 00:00:26.330 --> 00:00:29.720 from many of you your last couple of months in school 12 00:00:29.720 --> 00:00:32.520 and the important moments that you've looked forward to 13 00:00:32.520 --> 00:00:35.580 and worked hard toward over years. 14 00:00:35.580 --> 00:00:37.470 For that, I'm sorry. 15 00:00:37.470 --> 00:00:39.350 I truly am. 16 00:00:39.350 --> 00:00:42.890 No one saw this coming, but here we are. 17 00:00:42.890 --> 00:00:44.170 Together, 18 00:00:44.170 --> 00:00:45.410 apart. 19 00:00:45.410 --> 00:00:47.490 But given that what you've been challenged with 20 00:00:47.490 --> 00:00:51.220 is truly unprecedented and nothing you can compare it with 21 00:00:51.220 --> 00:00:53.240 to help plan for the future, 22 00:00:53.240 --> 00:00:56.870 you have to invent a new future for yourselves. 23 00:00:56.870 --> 00:01:00.680 When I graduated from the University of Michigan in 1983, 24 00:01:00.680 --> 00:01:02.450 the outlook was not bright. 25 00:01:02.450 --> 00:01:05.400 The U.S. was laid into a deep recession, 26 00:01:05.400 --> 00:01:08.210 the worst in fact since the Great Depression. 27 00:01:08.210 --> 00:01:10.550 On graduation day, only 10 people 28 00:01:10.550 --> 00:01:13.510 from my chemical engineering class had job offers. 29 00:01:13.510 --> 00:01:16.470 Just two years earlier, my fellow ChemE majors 30 00:01:16.470 --> 00:01:19.560 each had multiple offers to choose from. 31 00:01:19.560 --> 00:01:23.300 At the time, it felt as if the world had turned upside down. 32 00:01:23.300 --> 00:01:26.200 I was one of the lucky few to have an offer that year, 33 00:01:26.200 --> 00:01:27.680 but we felt like we were members 34 00:01:27.680 --> 00:01:29.700 of a lost generation just then, 35 00:01:29.700 --> 00:01:32.730 heading off into such an uncertain world. 36 00:01:32.730 --> 00:01:35.570 It would have been inconceivable at that time 37 00:01:35.570 --> 00:01:37.750 to imagine the progress that would occur 38 00:01:37.750 --> 00:01:41.170 in the 37 years since my graduation, 39 00:01:41.170 --> 00:01:43.040 increases in life expectancy, 40 00:01:43.040 --> 00:01:45.730 health and education around the world, 41 00:01:45.730 --> 00:01:48.910 creation of industries we would not have even imagined 42 00:01:48.910 --> 00:01:52.570 from biotechnology to renewable energy to social media 43 00:01:52.570 --> 00:01:55.550 and breakthroughs in science and technology 44 00:01:55.550 --> 00:01:57.030 that have improved lives 45 00:01:57.030 --> 00:02:00.023 and opened up so many new areas of opportunity. 46 00:02:00.940 --> 00:02:03.320 In the middle of an extremely dark moment, 47 00:02:03.320 --> 00:02:05.730 it's easy to lose sight of the human progress 48 00:02:05.730 --> 00:02:07.710 that's occurred and the opportunity 49 00:02:07.710 --> 00:02:10.390 to create a brighter future for ourselves, 50 00:02:10.390 --> 00:02:12.910 our families and our communities. 51 00:02:12.910 --> 00:02:16.690 I deeply believe that even in dark times the opportunities 52 00:02:16.690 --> 00:02:19.480 for talented, committed, ambitious people 53 00:02:19.480 --> 00:02:22.020 to make positive change are great. 54 00:02:22.020 --> 00:02:25.550 It may not feel that way for some of you at this moment, 55 00:02:25.550 --> 00:02:27.610 but examples across the world 56 00:02:27.610 --> 00:02:30.870 and across human history are many. 57 00:02:30.870 --> 00:02:32.960 You're facing a very different challenge 58 00:02:32.960 --> 00:02:36.470 from the one my generation faced in 1983. 59 00:02:36.470 --> 00:02:39.660 When we graduated, it felt like the world was stuck, 60 00:02:39.660 --> 00:02:41.790 maybe even moving backwards. 61 00:02:41.790 --> 00:02:44.340 Today, the world around us right now 62 00:02:44.340 --> 00:02:46.280 is changing at warp speed. 63 00:02:46.280 --> 00:02:48.590 Of course, we see that in the pandemic 64 00:02:48.590 --> 00:02:51.130 that spread so quickly around the world. 65 00:02:51.130 --> 00:02:53.640 But this faster rate of change was evident long 66 00:02:53.640 --> 00:02:57.550 before COVID-19 in the advance of digital technology, 67 00:02:57.550 --> 00:03:00.530 increasing connectivity, medical technologies 68 00:03:00.530 --> 00:03:02.210 and artificial intelligence, 69 00:03:02.210 --> 00:03:04.652 along with the increasing global interdependence 70 00:03:04.652 --> 00:03:08.100 we see in tackling the massive climate change challenge 71 00:03:08.100 --> 00:03:10.690 and creating a more sustainable planet 72 00:03:10.690 --> 00:03:13.830 for us and for generations to come. 73 00:03:13.830 --> 00:03:17.660 Your education has given you a foundation of deep knowledge, 74 00:03:17.660 --> 00:03:20.410 but knowledge will only get you so far. 75 00:03:20.410 --> 00:03:22.690 In fact, in our world today, 76 00:03:22.690 --> 00:03:26.380 how much you know will increasingly become table stakes 77 00:03:26.380 --> 00:03:28.930 in a world in which so much knowledge sits 78 00:03:28.930 --> 00:03:31.240 in the devices in our hands. 79 00:03:31.240 --> 00:03:33.660 How fast and effectively we can learn 80 00:03:33.660 --> 00:03:36.210 and how collaboratively we team with each other 81 00:03:36.210 --> 00:03:38.650 to solve problems and drive change 82 00:03:38.650 --> 00:03:40.720 will be the real differentiators 83 00:03:40.720 --> 00:03:42.450 to build a successful career 84 00:03:42.450 --> 00:03:45.580 and to make a difference in our communities. 85 00:03:45.580 --> 00:03:48.000 Embrace the power of the degree you've obtained 86 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:51.360 and use it as a doorway to future opportunities. 87 00:03:51.360 --> 00:03:53.100 But don't stop there. 88 00:03:53.100 --> 00:03:55.730 To capture opportunities that both fulfill you 89 00:03:55.730 --> 00:03:58.140 and drive impact, you have to keep looking 90 00:03:58.140 --> 00:04:00.370 for more doors, opening them 91 00:04:00.370 --> 00:04:03.000 and stepping into what comes next. 92 00:04:03.000 --> 00:04:04.740 You'll be amazed by what you can do 93 00:04:04.740 --> 00:04:06.930 if you keep two goals in mind. 94 00:04:06.930 --> 00:04:10.320 First, you have to maintain a personal growth mindset. 95 00:04:10.320 --> 00:04:13.480 In both big and small moments throughout your life, 96 00:04:13.480 --> 00:04:16.700 be open to change and growth within yourself. 97 00:04:16.700 --> 00:04:20.030 Your health, your relationships, your career 98 00:04:20.030 --> 00:04:22.720 and so much more depend on it. 99 00:04:22.720 --> 00:04:25.060 I'm over 35 years into my career 100 00:04:25.060 --> 00:04:26.830 and I find my own learning curve 101 00:04:26.830 --> 00:04:28.890 to be as steep as it has ever been 102 00:04:28.890 --> 00:04:30.860 sometimes in ways that are predictable, 103 00:04:30.860 --> 00:04:32.460 like trying to educate myself 104 00:04:32.460 --> 00:04:34.960 about the impact of artificial intelligence 105 00:04:34.960 --> 00:04:37.840 and sometimes in ways I would have never imagined 106 00:04:37.840 --> 00:04:41.460 like how to start an economy after a pandemic. 107 00:04:41.460 --> 00:04:43.560 Second, be persistent. 108 00:04:43.560 --> 00:04:46.890 Persistence is easy to talk about and hard to do. 109 00:04:46.890 --> 00:04:49.380 Think of it as requiring three elements, 110 00:04:49.380 --> 00:04:52.040 being ready, willing and able. 111 00:04:52.040 --> 00:04:53.910 And here's what I mean. 112 00:04:53.910 --> 00:04:56.110 Readiness is about aspiration. 113 00:04:56.110 --> 00:04:57.440 You have to maintain a vision 114 00:04:57.440 --> 00:05:00.050 that motivates, excites and renews you. 115 00:05:00.050 --> 00:05:02.910 And it's okay if that vision changes over time, 116 00:05:02.910 --> 00:05:04.430 but it has to be powerful enough 117 00:05:04.430 --> 00:05:07.650 to keep you going when times get tough. 118 00:05:07.650 --> 00:05:09.520 Willingness takes courage. 119 00:05:09.520 --> 00:05:12.800 Trust in yourself, even in uncertain, darker times, 120 00:05:12.800 --> 00:05:14.941 to carry on through the challenges and struggles 121 00:05:14.941 --> 00:05:17.900 that accompany all big ambitions. 122 00:05:17.900 --> 00:05:20.840 Often we're more courageous if we have others around us 123 00:05:20.840 --> 00:05:23.510 to discuss our fears and to support us. 124 00:05:23.510 --> 00:05:25.210 I've observed many times 125 00:05:25.210 --> 00:05:29.850 that teams built on trust are often braver and wiser 126 00:05:29.850 --> 00:05:33.490 to navigate adversity than individuals are alone. 127 00:05:33.490 --> 00:05:36.020 And being able, the third ingredient 128 00:05:36.020 --> 00:05:38.680 of persistence, requires resilience. 129 00:05:38.680 --> 00:05:40.730 Resilience is partly internal, 130 00:05:40.730 --> 00:05:42.950 our own intestinal fortitude, 131 00:05:42.950 --> 00:05:44.690 but it is also about thinking ahead 132 00:05:44.690 --> 00:05:46.410 to prepare for a rainy day 133 00:05:46.410 --> 00:05:48.661 and the support network we have around us 134 00:05:48.661 --> 00:05:52.470 in our family, our friends, and colleagues. 135 00:05:52.470 --> 00:05:54.900 In a world facing extreme challenge, 136 00:05:54.900 --> 00:05:57.090 it's so important not to lose sight 137 00:05:57.090 --> 00:05:58.590 of what you want to build. 138 00:05:58.590 --> 00:06:02.730 That persistence will serve you for the rest of your life. 139 00:06:02.730 --> 00:06:04.680 A year ago, I went to Ann Arbor 140 00:06:04.680 --> 00:06:07.670 to see my son graduate from my alma mater. 141 00:06:07.670 --> 00:06:09.730 Michigan Governor, Gretchen Whitmer, 142 00:06:09.730 --> 00:06:13.230 spoke to the class of 2019 about the amazing things 143 00:06:13.230 --> 00:06:15.860 she had already seen from your generation, 144 00:06:15.860 --> 00:06:19.360 strong, creative, independent thinkers determined 145 00:06:19.360 --> 00:06:22.210 to do something whether about climate change, 146 00:06:22.210 --> 00:06:25.827 gun control or the inequities that exist in the world. 147 00:06:25.827 --> 00:06:28.870 "Where do you want to go?" she asked that class, 148 00:06:28.870 --> 00:06:31.501 expressing the faith she had in their ability 149 00:06:31.501 --> 00:06:35.950 to go anywhere, do anything and improve the world. 150 00:06:35.950 --> 00:06:37.890 Governor Whitmer's words were spoken 151 00:06:37.890 --> 00:06:40.960 in a very different context from where we are today 152 00:06:40.960 --> 00:06:43.610 with the stresses we all feel around health, 153 00:06:43.610 --> 00:06:46.400 employment and an uncertain economy. 154 00:06:46.400 --> 00:06:49.990 But what she said could not be more relevant today. 155 00:06:49.990 --> 00:06:52.250 It might not feel like it at the moment, 156 00:06:52.250 --> 00:06:55.020 but you can find opportunity and hope 157 00:06:55.020 --> 00:06:56.960 through these difficult times. 158 00:06:56.960 --> 00:06:59.130 Keep opening doors for yourselves. 159 00:06:59.130 --> 00:07:01.210 Keep walking through them. 160 00:07:01.210 --> 00:07:05.140 With a willingness to let yourselves grow, change and learn, 161 00:07:05.140 --> 00:07:10.140 not just now but always and with persistence driving you, 162 00:07:10.190 --> 00:07:13.490 the opportunities are limitless for you to make a difference 163 00:07:13.490 --> 00:07:16.710 and create a sense of fulfillment in your own lives. 164 00:07:16.710 --> 00:07:19.610 Again, I wish you all my sincerest congratulations 165 00:07:19.610 --> 00:07:21.990 and hopes for bright futures. 166 00:07:21.990 --> 00:07:25.313 The world needs you and you can move the world.