From funny to somber, here are some of this year's most memorable commencement speech quotes

Boston Globe

18 hours ago

Commencement speakers employed a mix of wisdom and humor to inspire and guide graduates through changing and challenging times.
'Just friggin' go for it'
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'When you find the thing that you want to do, I really want to highly recommend, just friggin' go for it,' said Coolidge, who graduated from Emerson's performing arts program. 'You really have to psych yourself up into believing absurd possibilities, and you have to believe that they are not absurd.'
'The decisions you will make in the future under pressure will say something about your character'
In a
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'Graduates, the decisions you will make in the future under pressure will say something about your character, while they also shape and transform you in unexpected ways,' Verghese, an immigrant from Ethiopia, said. 'Make your decisions worthy of the opportunities this great university opened up to you, as it works to preserve the value of what you accomplished here and the values it stands for.'
Cambridge, MA - 5/29/2025: Author, physician & professor at Stanford University, Abraham Verghese walks in the procession during Harvard University's 374th Commencement in Cambridge, MA on May 29, 2025. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)
Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff
'What I learned in that desert and in every moment since, is this: Hope is not naïve'
Hampshire College alum
'So, Hampshire graduates,' Castro said, 'if my journey from that desert to this podium feels improbable, remember this: Improbable things happen when people show up for each other.'
Louise Richardson, an Irish trailblazer who was the first woman to head Oxford University in England, and now the first female to lead the Carnegie Corporation of New York received an honorary degree from BC President William P. Leahy, S.J. on May 19.
David L. Ryan/Globe Staff
'You look rather like . . . superheroes with capes.'
Louise Richardson of the Carnegie Corporation issued a mighty challenge to thousands of proud Boston College 'Eagles.'
'Fly out of the gates of the college and save the world,' she urged the 4,512 graduates who filled the stadium for the university's 149th commencement on May 19.
'You look resplendent in your brightly-colored maroon and gold robes, rather like superheroes with capes,' the Irish-born scholar and philanthropist told the graduates seated
beneath bright skies, their gowns billowing behind them.
'You look resplendent in your brightly-colored maroon and gold robes, rather like superheroes with capes,' the Irish-born scholar and philanthropist told the graduates seated
beneath bright skies, their gowns billowing behind them.
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'This is not an idle comparison,' said Richardson, the first woman to lead the New York-based philanthropic foundation. '...As freshly-minted graduates, you are the new guardians of this galaxy.'
'Becoming isn't something you finish. It's something you commit to'
At the
'The real growth happened in the quiet. In the lonely. In the moments between the big wins — the ones no one claps for," she said.
'Something very special and strange is happening on this planet and it is you'
Hank Green, YouTuber and content creator known for his science-focused videos,
'Do. Not. Forget. How special and bizarre it is to get to live a human life,' he said. 'Something very special and strange is happening on this planet and it is you.'
The first recommendation Green gave graduates, though, is
MIT graduates tossed their caps at the end of the university's May 28 commencement ceremony.
Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff
'And what a mission.'
Sunita Williams, the Needham-raised NASA astronaut, addressed Merrimack College graduates on May 15, recounting her extended journey in space and urging them to realize how far they have traveled.
'Yes, we could have worried about getting home those nine months, but instead, we had time to look at the foliage,' Williams said
to graduates and their families assembled at Lawler Arena. 'And what a mission.'
'Sometimes, just stopping for a moment and looking around allows us to see what's happening right in front of us,' said Williams, 59. '[There are] unbelievable things, if you just stop for a moment and look out the window.'
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'The crisis of this moment, the challenge of this moment, also offers a huge opportunity'
Mass. Governor Maura Healey addressed more than 600 graduates at Mount Holyoke College May 25,
'It may feel as if you're graduating in the worst timeline. But the crisis of this moment, the challenge of this moment, also offers a huge opportunity,' Healey said. 'It's an opportunity to make choices that truly matter, not only to yourselves, but to the world. '
'Take it with a pound of salt'
At Northeastern University's
'Every time someone says 'No,' think about what they said,' Grainge said. 'Then take it with a pound of salt. If your gut says you're right, ignore them completely. If they are right? Cool, good for them. Learn from it. Pivot. And try again.'
'The people who change the world, in my experience, are rarely the ones who feel comfortable doing it'
Suffolk alumna, neuroscientist, and entrepreneur Dr. Frida Polli addressed Suffolk University's
'You are nowhere near done becoming who you are meant to be. So be bold. Be different. Be curious. Follow what fascinates you. And don't wait for permission, because where you go from here, excellence awaits you,' she said.
'A young woman would write her truth in your paper and find herself arrested and put in jail'
Tufts University garnered
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'I could never imagine 55 years later that a young woman would write her truth in your paper and find herself arrested and put in jail,' Hrabowski said. 'But let me tell you that all of America salutes your president and Tufts University for supporting that student.'
'Be mindful of those who say, 'You can't boil the ocean''
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'Be mindful of those who say, 'You can't boil the ocean.' They may be comfortable with the status quo. But you? You're here to lift people,' she said.
Emily Spatz can be reached at