May 15, 2020 • 16 mins
In every role she has ever held -- as an advocate for women and kids, as an attorney, as First Lady, as Senator, as Secretary of State, and as the first woman in U.S. history to earn a major party's presidential nomination -- Hillary Rodham Clinton has defied convention and stood up for what she believes. She knows more than most about setbacks -- and comebacks. She has a fierce sense of gratitude for the women who have come before her, and those who inspire her today. She is a mom and a proud grandma who is determined to make the world fairer and more equal for everyone.
In this episode of Commencement: Speeches for the Class of 2020, Hillary Rodham Clinton talks to graduates about why they could not be better suited to take on the world, even in these turbulent times.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Commencement Speeches for the Class of is a production of
I Heart Radio. Class of Parents, faculty, rising graduates, Welcome
to commencement. You made it. This year is a little different,
(00:23):
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 Hillary Clinton. Graduates, friends and families, and newly minted
(00:55):
zoom experts. Congratulations on this milestone in your life journey.
When I was first asked to offer these commencement remarks
in the midst of the global pandemic, I was hesitant.
In this unprecedented time, what can anyone say about the
future to the class of Then I thought back to
(01:18):
my own graduation in the midst of the Vietnam War,
the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And Senator
Robert Kennedy, riots in our streets, and an overall sense
of confusion and uncertainty. Every time and every graduating class
faces its own challenges and opportunities. My father graduated from
(01:41):
Penn state in the middle of the Great Depression, he
had to jump on a freight train from his home
in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to Chicago to find a job. So
what about all of you and where we are now.
I'll start with the obvious. This is not how any
(02:01):
of us expected to be celebrating the class of I've
had the privilege of speaking at a lot of college graduations,
and there is nothing more inspiring than looking out over
a crowd of students standing on the precipice of the
rest of their lives. And despite the fact that we
can't be together in person today, I'm no less inspired
(02:24):
by you. Wherever you are and whatever you're setting out
to do. I salute you while recording this from my
house in Chappaqua, New York, wearing full academic regalia, including
the hat. But let's be clear, you've had a tumultuous
four years. Most of you started college in the fall
(02:47):
of right before an election that would up end our country,
and now you're graduating in the midst of an unprecedented
global health and economic crisis. I'd be will to bet
that every single one of you has had to give
up something you worked long and hard for. A senior
spring with friends and classmates, your dream job, and of course,
(03:10):
the chance to walk across the stage and celebrate with
your loved ones. My heart goes out to all of you,
especially those who are the first in your family to graduate.
You deserve to celebrate all that went into this milestone,
and I hope you'll get to do that soon. Oh
I wish I had the perfect words of wisdom to
(03:31):
help you navigate an uncertain future. But the truth is
I don't have the answer, as hard as that is
to say, even for a recovering politician, but I do
believe that you, the class of have the answer. So today,
instead of following commencement tradition and giving you advice through
(03:52):
inspiring platitudes, I want to talk a little bit about
why you and your generation inspire me and why you
are better suited to chart your own path during this
crisis and to help build a better future for all
of us. Let's start with a little history. We don't
have to look much further than the last big economic
(04:14):
crisis in two thousand eight to understand that young people
just entering the workforce often pay the biggest price in
a recession. Even though the economy has grown over the
last several years. Millennials who graduated during the financial crisis
are still more likely to have credit card debt and
(04:35):
student debt. They're less likely to own homes or be
invested in the stock market, and more likely to have
part time jobs with fewer benefits. And no, it's not
because of all of that avocado toast, you know. One
study found that for every one percent rise in unemployment,
(04:56):
new graduates lose seven percent of their earnings at the
big getting of their careers. And not only does graduating
in a recession lead to lost income right out of
the gate, it can stick with you for decades. Many
of you or your friends and families are already feeling
the squeeze. More than half of people under forty five
(05:19):
have lost a job, lost hours, lost benefits, or been
put on leave because of the pandemic. Three college students
in Arizona were so fed up with the uncertainty that
they created a website called is my Internship Canceled dot com,
which compiles the latest information on hundreds of companies changing plans.
(05:42):
And imagine trying to explain that to someone who graduated
when your parents did. Now I'm not telling you all
this to give you even more anxiety about what's next.
I'm sure you have plenty of that already. I'm pointing
all this out because the needs of young people usually
don't get addressed or prioritize the way they should, and
(06:04):
this time has to be different. We simply cannot allow
your generation to fall through the cracks or carry the
scars of this crisis long into the future. And there's
a lot that leaders in government and business can and
should do that will help young people immediately, like providing
(06:25):
student loan forgiveness and rent relief, or fixing the clunky,
outdated systems that too many people have to navigate to
file for unemployment insurance. Or how about ensuring that all
young people have access to quality, affordable healthcare in the
midst of a global health catastrophe. Or how about seeing
(06:49):
young workers as assets to invest in for the future
rather than the first costs to cut when times get tough.
You know, investing in the new generation isn't just the
right thing to do, I know it's the smart thing
as well. Keeping people safe and healthy and rebuilding our
economy will require new skills, knowledge, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit,
(07:16):
all the things that the class of has shown you
have in abundance. The ability to communicate, innovate, and do
business online has never been more in demand than it
is right now, and there has never been a generation
better equipped to meet this moment than yours, the first
(07:37):
truly digitally native generation. You've never even known a world
where we weren't connected to one another through the Internet.
The same skills that our second nature to you are
the ones our world and our economy are depending on
like never before. Even before the pandemic, young people were
(07:59):
all using technology to learn, from watching YouTube videos to
pick up a new skill, to using apps to learn
a new language, and in recent years the number of
graduates studying STEM has increased by more than fifty As
we grapple with new medical, public health, and information needs,
we should be creating pathways into the workforce for new
(08:23):
graduates who are ready to lead right now. Helping this
generation gain a foothold in our economy will help pay
dividends for everyone in the decades to come. There was
a great piece in The Atlantic magazine last month by
a writer named demand A Mall about the impact of
the coronavirus on what has been called Generation C, the kids,
(08:48):
college students, and young people whose lives will be forever
shaped by this pandemic. She interviewed a medical anthropologist at
Johns Hopkins who pointed out that this generation is uniquely
suited to transform this country and lead to some very
necessary revolutionary change, not in spite of your experience right now,
(09:12):
but because of it. This pandemic has laid bare some
of the biggest social problems facing our country. Deep inequalities
that have plagued America since long before we even heard
of the coronavirus are becoming not only more clear, but
more dire by the day. For example, less than a
(09:34):
quarter of the counties across America are predominantly black, but
those same counties are home to nearly six of all
deaths from the virus. It's hard to find a clearer
example of the deadly consequences of systemic racism within our
health care system and society. We know that when economic
(09:56):
inequality worsens, so do health despair parties. Unsurprisingly, people who
are already struggling the most economically are more likely to
contract the virus and more likely to die from it.
But as daunting as these problems are. Your generation has
never been one to throw up your hands and give
(10:17):
up in despair. In fact, this generation is the most
diverse our country has ever seen and one of the
most politically engaged. Just look at the mid term elections
when voter participation among eighteen to twenty nine year olds
went up by nearly eighty percent. This is a generation
(10:38):
of voters, and believe me, there is nothing more powerful
than that. So yes, your generation will always be remembered
for graduating during a pandemic, but you'll also be remembered
for the way you responded to this crisis with resilience
and creativity. Across the country, college students start mutual aid networks,
(11:02):
shared financial support, hot meals, housing and other resources. At
the University of Pittsburgh, for example, more than two dozen
students have dropped everything to organize their campus network. At
Wesleyan University, students raise more than three d and twenty
thousand dollars for first generation low income students in need.
(11:23):
Student athletes at Lincoln University in Philadelphia are volunteering at
a food bank for seniors in their community. A senior
at Eastern Kentucky University is sewing face masks with a
clear window so those who are deaf or heart of
hearing can read lips, while to community college students in
San Diego have three D printed hundreds of ear savers
(11:47):
so healthcare workers at local hospitals can comfortably wear masks
for hours at a time. One young woman who works
for ME took time off to volunteer all day, every
day for organization serving meals to hungry New Yorkers. When
she started, they were serving a couple thousand meals a week.
Now a month later, they're up to one hundred thousand
(12:10):
meals across New York and New Jersey. Well, I am
very proud of her and of everyone else who is
out there helping. Your generation has always embodied the principle
that we can solve more problems together than we can't alone.
And this has to start with someone, and why not you?
(12:31):
After all? Is one of my favorite Americans. Eleanor Roosevelt said,
human rights begin in the small places close to home.
So does all the progress we want and need. But
I'm not going to mince words. This is not an
easy time to begin your careers. And if any of
you are feeling overwhelmed by what you'll be walking into Well,
(12:55):
I'm a little familiar with that feeling. My classmates and
I didn't us government authority, figures, or really anyone over thirty.
We were asking urgent questions about whether women, people of color,
religious minorities, immigrants would ever be treated with dignity and respect.
And we were protesting a president who thought he was
(13:17):
above the law. So, you know, a totally different world.
And to top it off, I'd been asked by my
classmates to speak at our graduation. I stayed up all
night writing and editing, trying to figure out what I
could possibly say to capture a time that was just
as hard to put into words as this one. When
(13:39):
I spoke at graduation, I shared a story of something
that happened to me the day before. I was talking
to a woman who said that she wouldn't want to
be me for anything in the world. She wouldn't want
to live today and look ahead to what it is
she sees because she's afraid. Well, fear is always with us,
(14:01):
but we just don't have time for it, not now.
And over the last fifty years, I've seen just about
every response to fear that a person can have, and
what I've learned over and over again. Is that we
all have a choice. Fear can paralyze us or spur
(14:22):
us on. So class of I'm almost done, but I
don't want you to go away empty handed, so I
will leave you with a few pieces of practical advice.
Good friends will get you through even the worst of times,
so stay in touch with them. Thank people for what
they do for you, and send thank you notes. Being
(14:42):
polite is not the same as being politically correct, so
treat others as you would want to be treated. Learn
how to sew on a button. Check the source of
everything you read or share. Vote in every single election,
not just the presidential ones. Believe in science, including vaccinations.
Wash your hands, and if all else fails, try meditation
(15:06):
or alternate nostril breathing. I did it before three debates
with Donald Trump, so trust me. It really is a
good technique for dealing with stress. Seriously google it. Hold
on to what you learned during this challenging period. Is
there something you're doing just because it brings you joy?
Are you painting or making sour dough, starter or gardening
or playing the piano? We'll keep doing it. Have you
(15:28):
been talking to your grandparents once a week? On face time.
Well keep that weekly date. When you go to the
grocery store, do you find yourself treating your neighbors, those
who are working there on the front lines, with a
little extra kindness, Keep reaching for that sense of compassion.
Has this crisis opened your eyes to bigger social problems
in our country, Well keep your eyes open, because we're
(15:51):
going to need your empathy, your energy, your activism more
than ever in the days and months and years ahead.
These are fright in times. But as Eleanor Roosevelt's husband said,
the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
We don't have the luxury of wringing our hands or
being daunted by the enormity of the task ahead of us.
(16:13):
This isn't a time just for words. It's a time
for action. So congratulations, graduates, good luck, and I can't
wait to see how you make your mark on our world.
Thank you all. You can find the collection of incredible
(16:38):
commencement addresses from all your favorite speakers at the Commencement
Podcast on I Heart Radio or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Commencement Speeches for the Class of is a production of
I Heart Radio. Class of Parents, faculty, rising graduates, Welcome
to commencement. You made it. This year is a little different,
(00:23):
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 Hillary Clinton. Graduates, friends and families, and newly minted
(00:55):
zoom experts. Congratulations on this milestone in your life journey.
When I was first asked to offer these commencement remarks
in the midst of the global pandemic, I was hesitant.
In this unprecedented time, what can anyone say about the
future to the class of Then I thought back to
(01:18):
my own graduation in the midst of the Vietnam War,
the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And Senator
Robert Kennedy, riots in our streets, and an overall sense
of confusion and uncertainty. Every time and every graduating class
faces its own challenges and opportunities. My father graduated from
(01:41):
Penn state in the middle of the Great Depression, he
had to jump on a freight train from his home
in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to Chicago to find a job. So
what about all of you and where we are now.
I'll start with the obvious. This is not how any
(02:01):
of us expected to be celebrating the class of I've
had the privilege of speaking at a lot of college graduations,
and there is nothing more inspiring than looking out over
a crowd of students standing on the precipice of the
rest of their lives. And despite the fact that we
can't be together in person today, I'm no less inspired
(02:24):
by you. Wherever you are and whatever you're setting out
to do. I salute you while recording this from my
house in Chappaqua, New York, wearing full academic regalia, including
the hat. But let's be clear, you've had a tumultuous
four years. Most of you started college in the fall
(02:47):
of right before an election that would up end our country,
and now you're graduating in the midst of an unprecedented
global health and economic crisis. I'd be will to bet
that every single one of you has had to give
up something you worked long and hard for. A senior
spring with friends and classmates, your dream job, and of course,
(03:10):
the chance to walk across the stage and celebrate with
your loved ones. My heart goes out to all of you,
especially those who are the first in your family to graduate.
You deserve to celebrate all that went into this milestone,
and I hope you'll get to do that soon. Oh
I wish I had the perfect words of wisdom to
(03:31):
help you navigate an uncertain future. But the truth is
I don't have the answer, as hard as that is
to say, even for a recovering politician, but I do
believe that you, the class of have the answer. So today,
instead of following commencement tradition and giving you advice through
(03:52):
inspiring platitudes, I want to talk a little bit about
why you and your generation inspire me and why you
are better suited to chart your own path during this
crisis and to help build a better future for all
of us. Let's start with a little history. We don't
have to look much further than the last big economic
(04:14):
crisis in two thousand eight to understand that young people
just entering the workforce often pay the biggest price in
a recession. Even though the economy has grown over the
last several years. Millennials who graduated during the financial crisis
are still more likely to have credit card debt and
(04:35):
student debt. They're less likely to own homes or be
invested in the stock market, and more likely to have
part time jobs with fewer benefits. And no, it's not
because of all of that avocado toast, you know. One
study found that for every one percent rise in unemployment,
(04:56):
new graduates lose seven percent of their earnings at the
big getting of their careers. And not only does graduating
in a recession lead to lost income right out of
the gate, it can stick with you for decades. Many
of you or your friends and families are already feeling
the squeeze. More than half of people under forty five
(05:19):
have lost a job, lost hours, lost benefits, or been
put on leave because of the pandemic. Three college students
in Arizona were so fed up with the uncertainty that
they created a website called is my Internship Canceled dot com,
which compiles the latest information on hundreds of companies changing plans.
(05:42):
And imagine trying to explain that to someone who graduated
when your parents did. Now I'm not telling you all
this to give you even more anxiety about what's next.
I'm sure you have plenty of that already. I'm pointing
all this out because the needs of young people usually
don't get addressed or prioritize the way they should, and
(06:04):
this time has to be different. We simply cannot allow
your generation to fall through the cracks or carry the
scars of this crisis long into the future. And there's
a lot that leaders in government and business can and
should do that will help young people immediately, like providing
(06:25):
student loan forgiveness and rent relief, or fixing the clunky,
outdated systems that too many people have to navigate to
file for unemployment insurance. Or how about ensuring that all
young people have access to quality, affordable healthcare in the
midst of a global health catastrophe. Or how about seeing
(06:49):
young workers as assets to invest in for the future
rather than the first costs to cut when times get tough.
You know, investing in the new generation isn't just the
right thing to do, I know it's the smart thing
as well. Keeping people safe and healthy and rebuilding our
economy will require new skills, knowledge, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit,
(07:16):
all the things that the class of has shown you
have in abundance. The ability to communicate, innovate, and do
business online has never been more in demand than it
is right now, and there has never been a generation
better equipped to meet this moment than yours, the first
(07:37):
truly digitally native generation. You've never even known a world
where we weren't connected to one another through the Internet.
The same skills that our second nature to you are
the ones our world and our economy are depending on
like never before. Even before the pandemic, young people were
(07:59):
all using technology to learn, from watching YouTube videos to
pick up a new skill, to using apps to learn
a new language, and in recent years the number of
graduates studying STEM has increased by more than fifty As
we grapple with new medical, public health, and information needs,
we should be creating pathways into the workforce for new
(08:23):
graduates who are ready to lead right now. Helping this
generation gain a foothold in our economy will help pay
dividends for everyone in the decades to come. There was
a great piece in The Atlantic magazine last month by
a writer named demand A Mall about the impact of
the coronavirus on what has been called Generation C, the kids,
(08:48):
college students, and young people whose lives will be forever
shaped by this pandemic. She interviewed a medical anthropologist at
Johns Hopkins who pointed out that this generation is uniquely
suited to transform this country and lead to some very
necessary revolutionary change, not in spite of your experience right now,
(09:12):
but because of it. This pandemic has laid bare some
of the biggest social problems facing our country. Deep inequalities
that have plagued America since long before we even heard
of the coronavirus are becoming not only more clear, but
more dire by the day. For example, less than a
(09:34):
quarter of the counties across America are predominantly black, but
those same counties are home to nearly six of all
deaths from the virus. It's hard to find a clearer
example of the deadly consequences of systemic racism within our
health care system and society. We know that when economic
(09:56):
inequality worsens, so do health despair parties. Unsurprisingly, people who
are already struggling the most economically are more likely to
contract the virus and more likely to die from it.
But as daunting as these problems are. Your generation has
never been one to throw up your hands and give
(10:17):
up in despair. In fact, this generation is the most
diverse our country has ever seen and one of the
most politically engaged. Just look at the mid term elections
when voter participation among eighteen to twenty nine year olds
went up by nearly eighty percent. This is a generation
(10:38):
of voters, and believe me, there is nothing more powerful
than that. So yes, your generation will always be remembered
for graduating during a pandemic, but you'll also be remembered
for the way you responded to this crisis with resilience
and creativity. Across the country, college students start mutual aid networks,
(11:02):
shared financial support, hot meals, housing and other resources. At
the University of Pittsburgh, for example, more than two dozen
students have dropped everything to organize their campus network. At
Wesleyan University, students raise more than three d and twenty
thousand dollars for first generation low income students in need.
(11:23):
Student athletes at Lincoln University in Philadelphia are volunteering at
a food bank for seniors in their community. A senior
at Eastern Kentucky University is sewing face masks with a
clear window so those who are deaf or heart of
hearing can read lips, while to community college students in
San Diego have three D printed hundreds of ear savers
(11:47):
so healthcare workers at local hospitals can comfortably wear masks
for hours at a time. One young woman who works
for ME took time off to volunteer all day, every
day for organization serving meals to hungry New Yorkers. When
she started, they were serving a couple thousand meals a week.
Now a month later, they're up to one hundred thousand
(12:10):
meals across New York and New Jersey. Well, I am
very proud of her and of everyone else who is
out there helping. Your generation has always embodied the principle
that we can solve more problems together than we can't alone.
And this has to start with someone, and why not you?
(12:31):
After all? Is one of my favorite Americans. Eleanor Roosevelt said,
human rights begin in the small places close to home.
So does all the progress we want and need. But
I'm not going to mince words. This is not an
easy time to begin your careers. And if any of
you are feeling overwhelmed by what you'll be walking into Well,
(12:55):
I'm a little familiar with that feeling. My classmates and
I didn't us government authority, figures, or really anyone over thirty.
We were asking urgent questions about whether women, people of color,
religious minorities, immigrants would ever be treated with dignity and respect.
And we were protesting a president who thought he was
(13:17):
above the law. So, you know, a totally different world.
And to top it off, I'd been asked by my
classmates to speak at our graduation. I stayed up all
night writing and editing, trying to figure out what I
could possibly say to capture a time that was just
as hard to put into words as this one. When
(13:39):
I spoke at graduation, I shared a story of something
that happened to me the day before. I was talking
to a woman who said that she wouldn't want to
be me for anything in the world. She wouldn't want
to live today and look ahead to what it is
she sees because she's afraid. Well, fear is always with us,
(14:01):
but we just don't have time for it, not now.
And over the last fifty years, I've seen just about
every response to fear that a person can have, and
what I've learned over and over again. Is that we
all have a choice. Fear can paralyze us or spur
(14:22):
us on. So class of I'm almost done, but I
don't want you to go away empty handed, so I
will leave you with a few pieces of practical advice.
Good friends will get you through even the worst of times,
so stay in touch with them. Thank people for what
they do for you, and send thank you notes. Being
(14:42):
polite is not the same as being politically correct, so
treat others as you would want to be treated. Learn
how to sew on a button. Check the source of
everything you read or share. Vote in every single election,
not just the presidential ones. Believe in science, including vaccinations.
Wash your hands, and if all else fails, try meditation
(15:06):
or alternate nostril breathing. I did it before three debates
with Donald Trump, so trust me. It really is a
good technique for dealing with stress. Seriously google it. Hold
on to what you learned during this challenging period. Is
there something you're doing just because it brings you joy?
Are you painting or making sour dough, starter or gardening
or playing the piano? We'll keep doing it. Have you
(15:28):
been talking to your grandparents once a week? On face time.
Well keep that weekly date. When you go to the
grocery store, do you find yourself treating your neighbors, those
who are working there on the front lines, with a
little extra kindness, Keep reaching for that sense of compassion.
Has this crisis opened your eyes to bigger social problems
in our country, Well keep your eyes open, because we're
(15:51):
going to need your empathy, your energy, your activism more
than ever in the days and months and years ahead.
These are fright in times. But as Eleanor Roosevelt's husband said,
the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
We don't have the luxury of wringing our hands or
being daunted by the enormity of the task ahead of us.
(16:13):
This isn't a time just for words. It's a time
for action. So congratulations, graduates, good luck, and I can't
wait to see how you make your mark on our world.
Thank you all. You can find the collection of incredible
(16:38):
commencement addresses from all your favorite speakers at the Commencement
Podcast on I Heart Radio or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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