Graduation Speeches Everyone Needs to Hear—Not Just New Grads

A couple of commencement speeches, viewed by millions, stand out from the rest.

Biba Kayewich

Commencement speeches run the gamut from instantly forgotten to landmark addresses. Many of us long ago let slip from memory the words spoken from the podium at our high school or college graduation.

Other commencement speeches may deeply connect with graduates and their loved ones and friends but have little impact outside the doors of the auditoriums or gymnasiums where they were delivered.

In many cases, colleges and universities select a well-known public figure to deliver the graduation address, which often garners more attention from a wider public. On June 9, 2024, for instance, tennis great Roger Federer spoke to the graduates of Dartmouth College. Mr. Federer illuminated his message with examples from the tennis court, but what was most striking about his talk was the sense of joy he conveyed. Clearly delighted to be on the speaker’s platform, Mr. Federer brought wit and humor to his remarks, complimented the students and their school, and even offered a brief tennis lesson as part of his speech. Best of all was his enthusiasm about their future.

“Whatever game you choose,” he said in conclusion, “give it your best. Go for your shots. Play free. Try everything. And most of all, be kind to one another—and have fun out there.”

And then there are those rare occasions when a commencement speaker not only touches the hearts of the graduates, but also captivates millions of others looking for inspiration and guidance.

As graduates get ready to enter the real world, commencement speakers are invited to provide sound advice for their journeys ahead. H. Armstrong Roberts/Retrofile RF/Getty Images

Harry Potter at Harvard

On June 5, 2008, J.K. Rowling spoke to the graduating class at Harvard University. Her worldwide fame as the creator of the Harry Potter series guaranteed Ms. Rowling attention from the media, but it was her message, delivered with a mixture of humor and gravitas, that resonated with millions of fans and non-fans alike.

Author J.K. Rowling delivers her commencement address at Harvard University on June 5, 2008. Her speech has since been viewed by millions. Robert Spencer/Getty Images

At the beginning of her speech, she said, “I have wracked my mind and heart for what I ought to say to you today.” Ms. Rowling wisely restricted herself to two principal themes: the benefits of failure and the power of the imagination. For the former, she looked back at her life following her departure from college, saying: “A mere seven years after my graduation day, I had failed on an epic scale. An exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded, and I was jobless, a lone parent, and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless.”

Oddly enough, that cascade of failures freed her to follow her childhood ambition and write novels.

“My greatest fear had been realized, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea,“ she said. ”And so, rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.” The knowledge that she could fail, grow stronger, and gain self-confidence made her secure in her ability to survive and to move forward.

The meaning of Ms. Rowling’s second theme, the power of the imagination, extended far beyond her ability to tell stories beloved by millions. Of imagination, she said that “in its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the power that enables us to empathize with humans whose experiences we have never shared.” Ms. Rowling found her own powers of imagination and empathy woven together during her time working for Amnesty International in London, where she encountered horror stories of oppression and torture in other lands.

Millions of online viewers have since watched her commencement address.

Harvard University Law School students stand and cheer during the 2008 graduation ceremony where J.K. Rowling was the commencement speaker. Robert Spencer/Getty Images

‘Up to Your Neck in Mud’

In his May 19, 2014, commencement address at the University of Texas, alumnus Adm. William H. McRaven used examples from his Navy SEAL training to offer the graduates a few suggestions that might help them on their way “to a better world.” He began with the most famous takeaway from his speech: “Make your bed.” Every morning during his six months of SEAL training, instructors conducted an inspection of the candidates’ beds. A poorly made bed brought consequences. Adm. McRaven explained that making your bed starts your day with an accomplishment.

“If you can’t do the little things right, you’ll never be able to do the big things right,” he said.

U.S. Navy Admiral William H. "Bill" McRaven. His 2014 commencement speech at the University of Texas contained many quotable words of wisdom. Public Domain

In the rest of the speech, he covered nine more points illustrated by examples from his SEAL training. Comparing the skills of the bigger men with the smaller, he underscored the superior abilities of the “munchkin crew” who “outpaddled, outran, and outswam all the other boat crews.” The lesson?

“SEAL training was a great equalizer,“ he said. ”Nothing mattered but your will to succeed. Not your color, not your ethnic background, not your education, not your social status. If you want to change the world, measure a person by the size of their heart, not the size of their flippers.”

Failure to meet standards, Adm. McRaven told his audience, meant a “circus” for the offender, two hours of grueling physical exercise at the end of the already arduous day, but “the pain of the circuses built inner strength and physical resiliency.” Such circuses occur frequently in life, the admiral told his audience, and you can build your own store of courage and strength by facing up to them even “when you’re up to your neck in mud.”

Since then, Adm. McRaven’s speech has been viewed more than 19 million times.

Good Lives

The advice imparted by Ms. Rowling and Adm. McRaven struck a chord with so many people in part because of their skills at organizing and delivering a speech. Both made their intentions clear. Both used personal stories that resonated with the audience to illustrate and underline those themes. Like most graduation speakers, the writer and the admiral both sought to inspire the graduates to make a difference in the world, no matter their chosen work or profession.

Most important of all, however, their message touched hearts and minds. Learn from failure. Never give up. Take risks. Show empathy. Aim high, work hard, and do your best.

We humans need to hear these old verities again and again, yet this workaday wisdom is so familiar that it might fall on deaf ears, inspiring boredom rather than enthusiasm. These two speakers gave their listeners a renewed appreciation of virtue, ambition, and effort.

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J.K. Rowling concluded by returning to one of these old ideas:

“Even if you remember not a single word of mine, you remember those of Seneca, another of those old Romans I met when I fled down the Classics corridor, in retreat from career ladders, in search of ancient wisdom:

“‘As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.’

“I wish you all very good lives.”

A final note: Many of you readers have a child, a grandchild, or a young friend who graduated from high school or college this spring. Consider sharing the remarks of Ms. Rowling and Adm. McRaven with them. Better yet, give those young people your own graduation talk. What wisdom can you share with your 22-year-old daughter to ease her path into the broader world? What advice can help your 17-year-old grandson make his way into the future?

Speak to them. Who knows? Your words might change the world for the better.