2022 Graduates – above all things, I wish you Courage

Today is Memorial Day in the Unites States, the annual remembrance of the men and women who paid the ultimate price for the freedom of others. As always, it falls in the same period as thousands of young graduates, many of the same age as the warriors we remember, leave college classrooms and university campuses to start professional careers and new lives of their own.

I know it is not lost on us that over the course of history, many people died so that we could live, and that their legacy is a world that we must devote ourselves to making better, as they intended. We do live in complex times, and across the globe, we cannot make a stronger case than ever before for more consequential leadership in the world. In truth, change does not only happen in war, and considerable responsibility falls on each of us to carry forward, from the work of those we memorialize, our best ideals for a better world. Without this commitment, we would be trampling on their sacrifices.

But the forces that seem lined up against a just, equitable and sustainable world are formidable, and we must rally to engage them with a deep sense of personal responsibility. I have met many 2022 graduates. I am heartened by their idealism and the contributions they hope to make to society. My biggest wish for them in their adult lives is that they be relentlessly courageous. There is not a tribute more fitting than this to our fallen heroes.

A few years ago, I was honored to be the President of African Leadership University and was fortunate to address three graduating cohorts of young leaders. I wished all three of them courage and it is the same wish that I have for all graduates today. I have excerpted, modified, and re-shared some of my past messages below:

“Graduates, this is not the finale of your accomplishments. Rather, it is the beginning of your lives of impact. You will always be a special generation. You are the cohort that was disrupted by the covid pandemic and social upheaval, but not diminished by it. You learned difficult lessons that change happens and that it is not always within our control, but how we manage through it is within our choice. One of the lessons I want you to take away from your college experience is not just that you must become adept and able to weather through change, but that you must forever embrace your role to create change yourself. If there is one thing that the last few years has taught us, it is that the world needs positive change. These past few years have equipped you to be agents who will define new possibilities for the world.

But in my own observations, to achieve the highest levels of impact and success in life, you need more than a world class education, or the ability to start a company, or to possess astute managerial or professional skills. I have seen far too many people fail even with these qualities. The virtue you need most of all is courage. I define courage as the ability to do what is right in service of others or an ideal, even if it comes at a personal cost to you - the courage to dream, to act, to be different, to be humble, to be alone, to be the only, to be fair, to be selfless, to be ethical, to speak truth to power, to be yourself, to be authentic – the courage to do all these things, and more, is what will ultimately pay off what you have started in college, and what your loved ones and communities have invested in you.

As individuals, each of your names represent the hope that your parents have in your potential. To this you now add the badge of college graduate - that represents wind to your sails of conviction and ambition. Now it is your turn to make claim to the courage that will allow you to unlock a life of consequence, with the wisdom that you have amassed during your college years.

None of this is easy, but none of this is beyond your capacity either - the same capacity that made you aspire to college a few years ago and allowed you to thrive through its rigor and persevere over the last 24 months. You have already weathered unprecedented times and as a generation you are well equipped to tackle an unprecedented future.

I looked forward to the leadership that you will provide our world, and the consequence that you will have through the diligent practice of your courage.

Congratulations – Class of 2022!”