On May 23, 2024, the 373rd Commencement Ceremony of Harvard University was held. Nearly 8,500 bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree students in the Class of 2024 join their families in celebrating life's important achievements at the Tricentennial Theatre.
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Harvard University President's 2024 Commencement Address
Find inspiration in each other
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In his speech at the Class of 2024, Alan Garber, interim president of Harvard University, encouraged graduates to find inspiration for success among each other and strive for greater brilliance in the rest of their lives.
Hello Harvard Class of 2024,
Everyone is welcome to gather in this majestic theater to cheer on the Class of 2024.
Class of 2024, today is your day, a day to celebrate and shine. Today, we gather in the heart of campus to join family, friends from across the country and around the world to recognize your achievements, celebrate the awarding of degrees, and listen to and learn from the presentations of our distinguished speakers.
What a long and strange journey it was. You've spent 1,349 days as an undergraduate at Harvard, and I've been with you for 140 days as interim president. Some may say that I am not in a position to give a parting message of sufficient wisdom at this meeting.
After all, I'm so late in your undergraduate journey. I was your focus before I began to disappear from your "rearview mirror". But you know that the object in the rearview mirror is closer than it actually looks.
As doctors, we like to come across rare cases, but, more often than not, those that seem rare, intellectually challenging, are actually common. As we said:
When you hear hoofbeats, think of horses, not zebras.
When you hear a horse's hooves, the first thing that comes to mind is the horse, not the zebra.
However, you are the real "zebra", the only "zebra" on this campus. Harvard has never had such a special group of undergraduates as you, and I have followed your progress at Harvard with great interest.
From the moment you receive your acceptance letter to Harvard, you have been hampered by the pandemic, deprived of many of the things that came after the triumph of high school life, and reached a bittersweet milestone. Subsequently, the death of George Floyd allowed you to experience a great change in society. All of this happened before you officially entered Harvard.
I'm curious, what kind of miracle will such a group of young people create when they walk into Harvard? The answer is "everything!" And even more! "Did you know that there is a zebra called "dazzle"? In the face of difficulties, you shine like stars, shining brighter than anyone could have imagined.
In the face of the challenges of the pandemic, you have not made Harvard University cold and alienated, but have shown strong cohesion and a spirit of mutual assistance. You are getting tested for the coronavirus, you are studying diligently, you are optimistic, and you can find connection and happiness in each other.
In the classroom, in the lab, at the workbench, and even on the sports field, you have won various awards, championships, and prizes for your outstanding performance. You have improved hundreds of student clubs and organizations, pursuing interests in art and music, drama and dance, public policy, public service, and even puppetry. And, even more impressively, you've built a fairytale ship out of giant pumpkins, bringing a whole new creative twist to the fundraiser.
In these and so many other ways, you have enriched life at Harvard. You challenge each other and the faculty and staff of Harvard by sharing different values and worldviews, and by sharing different perspectives on things. Your experiences and perspectives, your diversity are, and always will be, a part of a Harvard education as any exercise or thesis.
From the moment you arrive at the half-empty campus with a half-full attitude, you have done your best, the best for each other and yourself. Seeing you thrive in unpredictable and unfortunate circumstances is a constant source of energy and optimism for me. So, as you leave Harvard, if I could give you some words of wisdom, it would be:
Seek inspiration in one another.
Find inspiration in each other.
Of course, you can also look at a wider area, and by "more expansive places" I mean "almost any place". The stories of Harvardians are full of past and present, and the outstanding efforts and achievements of these people have rewritten the course of history and shaped the future.
In the years since I graduated, I found it extremely interesting and inspiring to watch my former classmates achieve extraordinary things. Their success, at times, even makes me feel unbelievable. After all, we have gone through the youthful years together and experienced the grinding of growth together.
Some people have big ambitions and dreams of conquering the world; There are also people who have been immersed in the joy of Tik Tok. But please believe that everyone's path is unique, including my current job, and perhaps it is also full of incredible things in the eyes of my classmates.
In the case of my Harvard Class of 1977, there are some familiar names in this group of extraordinary people -- Steve Ballmer, Bill Gates, Peggy Hanberg, John Roberts, and so on. It wasn't any one of them that inspired me, it was all of us.
The class reunion was full of various life paths shared by everyone. Some of my classmates have gone on to become artists, composers and musicians, educators and entrepreneurs, as well as globetrotters and trail runners. They've stepped onto TED podiums, given talks about the future of journalism, drawn cartoons for The Economist, written for the Los Angeles Times, created best-selling children's books, produced Broadway shows and climbed Mount Killimanhall. As backpackers, birdwatchers, gardeners, cyclists, and runners who enjoy the outdoors, they are committed to protecting the environment and the planet. They built homes, started families, raised children, and welcomed grandchildren and granddaughters.
Yet along with so many joyful experiences, they also shared turning points in their lives and careers, as well as major challenges and setbacks, disillusionments, disappointments and losses. After years of experience, we have a deeper reflection on the meaning of life, and there are three most important things in life: contentment, health and love.
These colorful life stories convey a truth that is as old as this ancient college - in the journey of life after graduation, whether it is success or failure, happiness or sadness, they are like sunshine and shadow, together form a complete picture of life. If I could give you one piece of advice, it would be to encourage and support each other on the road ahead, and to maintain a strong bond with the people who first came to know you, which will be the most valuable asset of your life.
Now, as you are about to leave the arms of Harvard, I would like to offer a parting challenge. This year, we have collectively witnessed incomprehensible death and destruction in the Middle East. We experience grief and anger, fear and worry, doubt and distrust, directly or indirectly. This conflict has left an indelible scar in each of us, but be assured that the scar is deep, but it is not irreparable.
Behind me, stands the Armistice Memorial Chapel, built in 1932, which bears witness to the bravery and sacrifice of Harvard's predecessors in World War I. Behind you is the Widener Library, which opened on Commencement Day in 1915 and was built in memory of a bereaved mother who lost her beloved son.
I hope that we can learn from the experience and lessons of our predecessors, draw strength from grief, turn grief into motivation to move forward, and create immortal energy. May the lives lost, the compassion and care lost, be a move forward rather than backward for all of us, shining brightly in the shadows and brighter in the darkness.
If there's one Harvard course that can light the way forward for our world, it's you. I am honored to be with you all at this moment. Bless you with contentment, health, love, and everything else you wish to do with your precious time.
May you remain zebras among horses—dazzling every step of the way！
May you still be a zebra among the horses, shining with light at every step along the way!
Article source: Ufu Undergraduate Application 2024-06-19 17:09 Beijing