Bobby Flay

In this episode of Commencement: Speeches for the Class of 2020, chef, restaurateur, and TV personality Bobby Flay encourages graduates to embrace the opportunites that are offered to them, and to look past disappointments into a brighter future.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Commencement Speeches for the Class of twenty is a production
of I Heart Radio. Class of Parents, Faculty, Rising graduates,
Welcome to commencement. You made it. This year is a

(00:22):
little different, a difficult time to graduate because the traditional
graduation day has been put on hold. So we're bringing
it to you wherever you are, because this is still
your day, your moment, and now put your hands together.
It's time to be inspired. This year's commencement speaker the
one and only Bobby Flay. Graduation. It's a word that

(00:55):
signifies accomplishment, the end of years of hard work, of
challenging moments, of victories big and small. It's the big,
deep breath you've been waiting for it to take since
your first class on the first day. Most of us
look at graduation day as the end of a chapter,
and it is. But in one blink of the eye,

(01:15):
the page is turned and the next chapter begins, with
the former ready in you for the future. Most graduation
days are replete with caps and gowns, rose and rows
of graduates, their families and closest friends hovering over them
with laughter and smiles of pride. After parties lined with
amazing food and craft cocktails await you and your guests

(01:36):
at some cool restaurant packed with other groups doing the
same things scattered around the room. Not this year. Those
dreams have been shattered, and there's no way to sugarcoat it.
But you won't let one day of mis celebrations spoil
all that you've accomplished. To put it in perspective, it's
one day, I promise you'll make up for it. I

(02:00):
also didn't have a graduation day, neither high school nor college.
My lack of graduation celebrations were self induced, not interrupted
by a global pandemic. I stopped attending school in the
first semester of tenth grade, and I went to work.
I traded the rest of high school and no chance
of college for a pair of tongs and a kitchen apron.

(02:23):
I was lucky to find a career that would help
shape my life. But as I said, I was lucky,
and frankly, I'm not proud of my lack of formal education.
I missed my proms, I missed having a high school
sweetheart or an amazing abroad program and fraternity parties in college,
and of course I missed my graduations. I didn't do
the work I wasn't invited. I have one child. Her

(02:48):
name is Sophie. As you can imagine from my less
than stellar educational career, I watched with pride as Sophie
easily surpassed me by graduating from public high school and
then made her bold move west to the un Versity
of Southern California. Her four years went quickly, and graduation
day was emotional. Not only was I obviously thrilled for

(03:08):
Sophie's accomplishments, but I remember walking through the campus weeping.
I knew I'd miss seeing my daughter in all her
USC swag, galloping from class to class, shaping herself into
a respectable, savvy, and worldly young woman, a leader, to
say the least, who has the confidence to feel that
anything is possible. Graduation day was what it is most years, crowded, loud,

(03:34):
and celebratory. This year's graduation classes special. You're one of
a kind, and you're singled out as the year of
the Pandemic graduates. It's a story that you'll be able
to tell for the rest of your lives. You'll tell
your children and your grandchildren of the story. You've done
the work in a classroom and virtually as well, yes,

(03:57):
your school work is done for now, but more importantly,
every one of you is getting a lesson of life
that will serve you well, not just now, but for
the rest of your lives. When I decided on my
own volition to quit school, I immediately had to learn
through the curved bowls that life through me, and now
so have each of you. You didn't quit, you adjusted

(04:18):
and persevered. Your teachers, instructors and professors all called audibles
at the line of scrimmage to get you all in
the end zone. Somehow, through the fear, it made you
more reasonable, more caring about the people around you, more
willing to do whatever you needed to complete your education.
Bottom line, it's made you tougher. You've got a little

(04:40):
more street cred than you had before all this went down.
You're more ready for life's trials and tribulations than you
were even three months ago. Education is mostly thought of
as being administered in a classroom, but you received an
unexpected bonus. Dealing with twist and turns of the unknown
and the unthinkable gave you an added degree of result. Allians,

(05:00):
it may not feel that way now, but I promise
your experience through this will ready you for the future
near and far in a way that a typical school
year wouldn't. Giving blanket advice to such a wide swath
of people can be daunting and can easily miss the mark.
So I'll just tell you what my father has told
me since I can remember, and what I've passed down

(05:22):
to my daughter through the years. Make choices that will
better you in the long run, that adds to the
foundation of who you are today and will be in
the future, as opposed to making decisions that only grant
you instant gratification. They're usually short lived and hollow. Roll
up your sleeves every day and try to make the world,

(05:42):
our world, a better place. There will be bad days
and there will be good ones. But as long as
we try, and I mean really try, knowing can ask
you for more and remember, opportunities are there to be taken,
and it's up to you to make it happen no
one else. Be proud of yourself and your entire class.

(06:02):
The future light will shine brighter with each passing day
as this smoke clears. Yes, there has been disappointments, and
there are for every class, but for the graduating class
of you are one for the history books, and no
one can ever take that away from you. Congratulations. You

(06:32):
can find aflection of incredible commencement addresses from all your
favorite speakers at the Commencement Podcast on I Heart Radio
or wherever you listen to podcasts.