May 15, 2020 • 10 mins
In this episode of Commencement: Speeches for the Class of 2020, MSNBC news anchor Stephanie Ruhle offers words of encouragement to new graduates, advising them to prioritize teamwork and embrace the spirit of working together.
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Episode Transcript
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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 Stephanie Rule m Hey Class of two. Thowy, It's me,
(00:54):
Stephanie Rule. Fancy meeting you here. We're not a big
graduation ceremony. I'm not standing behind a podium. You're not
in a cap and gown. I'm not even at Rockefeller
Center in a big, flashy TV studio. I'm in a
tiny room above my garage in New Jersey. And there's
(01:16):
a good chance you're in your parents basement and you
didn't go out last night celebrating with your friends for life.
You haven't had all the big events in the spring
break and the parties and the events and the meetings
and the congratulations. Chances are you've been home with your
family or maybe not even maybe you've been alone. I
(01:39):
know this isn't what you planned. I know you deserve
so much more. You worked so hard for this date.
But there's also something else that's missing today. All the pressure,
the pressure for greatness, the hyper competitive program that says
what you're doing next and where you are, and and
(02:00):
all the fun facts about your internship or your job,
and your parents ability to boast about how you are
going to be the next Mark Zuckerberg because of this
internship that you've got. Those things are really good on paper,
and this idea that you are the next big thing,
but the reality of that is overwhelming and most likely
(02:25):
you're not going to achieve that thing. And falling short
is a pretty awful feeling. And the last thing you
need is to feel awful. You deserve to feel really
good and really loved because you are right now, the
world is completely different from where it even was a
(02:47):
few months ago. I remember when I got out of school,
those first few years of work, I was constantly on
a quest to figure out where's my niche, How can
I figure out a way for them to need me?
What can I solve? And I'm fortunately I kept coming
up short that I couldn't solve anything, because at the time,
it seemed that those above me had it all figured out,
(03:08):
so I was just searching for a reason for them
to have me sticking around, to be honest. But now
everything has changed. Everything has changed. The people above you
and around you, even the smartest, the most successful, they've
never faced something like this. Nobody hasn't figured out, and
(03:30):
that means there's opportunity. There's opportunity to find those solutions
because we don't have the answers. This is a time
to figure out what do people need and what can
you do? And maybe you can be the one to
find that solution. And it doesn't have to be something great.
It just has to be something good because right now
(03:54):
we all need something good. And one thing that has
happened is that need has equalized us. Just a few
months ago, we often thought, who do I know that's
the most powerful, the most connected? How do I get
my kid that opportunity? Somebody like me? My phone would
be ringing off the hook with people whose kids are
(04:15):
at the best schools, who want to do the best
thing because they deserve the best opportunity. Well, now those
opportunities have flown out the window. But the window isn't shut.
You've just got to find a way through it. This
is a chance for you to pick up the phone
and make a cold call and write an email and
share your idea with somebody who is in a position
(04:37):
of power, because guess what, they need ideas. Everyone needs help.
This is the time where you might not be shut
out because you don't go to a certain school or
you're from a certain place. Right now, we've realized that
we're all not so different. We've talked about these divides
so much over the last few years, but the truth is,
(04:59):
and it's time of crisis, we realize we're all just
trying to take care of our families. We're all looking
for the same thing. We all want to be socially free,
physically safe, financially secure. And at a time like this,
we're realizing a lot of those preconceived notions we had
about other people, even our own families or our oldest friends,
(05:20):
but we didn't talk to anymore because the way they
voted or the way they looked or the way they thought.
We've kind of pushed those things aside and thought more
about who we care about and how we feel. And
even though you're not sitting at a graduation ceremony with
your dear family and the audience cheering you on. Right now,
(05:41):
I would bet there's more people thinking about you and
caring about you than ever before. I've been on more
zoom calls and gotten more emails with my oldest friends
I haven't spoken to in years. In the last two months,
I'm embarrassed to say neighbors that I barely knew just
a few months ago in some instances have been the
(06:03):
most important people in my life. Even their wave or
their gesture or them saying hello, something we stopped doing
in our super connected world where we had our heads
and our phones and we're just thinking about connecting, connecting, connecting,
but we disconnected to community. We forgot about the machine
(06:25):
that makes the world work. Because when the machine stopped working,
we realized all the people and the functions that are
in it, and maybe we realized the importance of gratitude.
And so I am grateful for everyone who brought me
here to you today. I'm grateful for this opportunity, and
(06:47):
I want you all to know that you have a
great opportunity ahead of you because we need a new game,
We need a new solution. We can't have the people
on top to climb higher and higher and the people
down below lose their footing even more, we need good
things to happen. We don't have to hold up in
(07:10):
a super swank office with the greatest minds in industry.
We just need good people to work together, to care
about one another and think of solutions. And here's the thing,
doing something good, just something simple and basic. If you
did one every day and you piled those days up,
(07:32):
that is a life of greatness. If the goal was
to try to wake up happy and maybe go to
bed even happier, and do something for someone else, something
for someone who maybe isn't going to help you, someone
who can't advance your career, because I think we misunderstood
what networking opportunities were over the last few years. Your
(07:55):
network isn't just someone who can get you that next
great job, because maybe that next great job won't exist.
Your network is to care about others and hopefully how
others care about you. Because I can tell you, at
a time when we're so worried about the people we
love the most, I think about this idea survival of
(08:19):
the fittest. I don't want to be part of that.
I don't want to win alone and I don't want
to lose alone because even when you win alone, you're
all by yourself. And being alone over the last few
months has reminded me how great it is to have
a family and a community. Even if you don't agree
(08:41):
with them on everything, even if you don't like what
they look or how they talk or what they say,
they care. And I'd say when I lose, it's even
more because losing alone it's pretty awful. But when you
lose on a team and someone else on that team
picks you up and helps you shake it off, then
(09:03):
you can make it through to the next day. And
right now, as we collectively are facing one of the
darkest moments, if we work together, it can be our
finest hour. And I look to you, the class of
to lead us in those next steps. We need new ideas,
(09:26):
we need new solutions, so we turned to you. I
wish you the best of luck, I congratulate you on
this wonderful achievement, and I can tell you that with you,
we can do this, because together together we rise. You
(09:54):
can find the collection of incredible commencement addresses from all
your favorite speakers at The Commencement Podcast on I Heart
Radio or wherever you listen to podcasts. M
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 Stephanie Rule m Hey Class of two. Thowy, It's me,
(00:54):
Stephanie Rule. Fancy meeting you here. We're not a big
graduation ceremony. I'm not standing behind a podium. You're not
in a cap and gown. I'm not even at Rockefeller
Center in a big, flashy TV studio. I'm in a
tiny room above my garage in New Jersey. And there's
(01:16):
a good chance you're in your parents basement and you
didn't go out last night celebrating with your friends for life.
You haven't had all the big events in the spring
break and the parties and the events and the meetings
and the congratulations. Chances are you've been home with your
family or maybe not even maybe you've been alone. I
(01:39):
know this isn't what you planned. I know you deserve
so much more. You worked so hard for this date.
But there's also something else that's missing today. All the pressure,
the pressure for greatness, the hyper competitive program that says
what you're doing next and where you are, and and
(02:00):
all the fun facts about your internship or your job,
and your parents ability to boast about how you are
going to be the next Mark Zuckerberg because of this
internship that you've got. Those things are really good on paper,
and this idea that you are the next big thing,
but the reality of that is overwhelming and most likely
(02:25):
you're not going to achieve that thing. And falling short
is a pretty awful feeling. And the last thing you
need is to feel awful. You deserve to feel really
good and really loved because you are right now, the
world is completely different from where it even was a
(02:47):
few months ago. I remember when I got out of school,
those first few years of work, I was constantly on
a quest to figure out where's my niche, How can
I figure out a way for them to need me?
What can I solve? And I'm fortunately I kept coming
up short that I couldn't solve anything, because at the time,
it seemed that those above me had it all figured out,
(03:08):
so I was just searching for a reason for them
to have me sticking around, to be honest. But now
everything has changed. Everything has changed. The people above you
and around you, even the smartest, the most successful, they've
never faced something like this. Nobody hasn't figured out, and
(03:30):
that means there's opportunity. There's opportunity to find those solutions
because we don't have the answers. This is a time
to figure out what do people need and what can
you do? And maybe you can be the one to
find that solution. And it doesn't have to be something great.
It just has to be something good because right now
(03:54):
we all need something good. And one thing that has
happened is that need has equalized us. Just a few
months ago, we often thought, who do I know that's
the most powerful, the most connected? How do I get
my kid that opportunity? Somebody like me? My phone would
be ringing off the hook with people whose kids are
(04:15):
at the best schools, who want to do the best
thing because they deserve the best opportunity. Well, now those
opportunities have flown out the window. But the window isn't shut.
You've just got to find a way through it. This
is a chance for you to pick up the phone
and make a cold call and write an email and
share your idea with somebody who is in a position
(04:37):
of power, because guess what, they need ideas. Everyone needs help.
This is the time where you might not be shut
out because you don't go to a certain school or
you're from a certain place. Right now, we've realized that
we're all not so different. We've talked about these divides
so much over the last few years, but the truth is,
(04:59):
and it's time of crisis, we realize we're all just
trying to take care of our families. We're all looking
for the same thing. We all want to be socially free,
physically safe, financially secure. And at a time like this,
we're realizing a lot of those preconceived notions we had
about other people, even our own families or our oldest friends,
(05:20):
but we didn't talk to anymore because the way they
voted or the way they looked or the way they thought.
We've kind of pushed those things aside and thought more
about who we care about and how we feel. And
even though you're not sitting at a graduation ceremony with
your dear family and the audience cheering you on. Right now,
(05:41):
I would bet there's more people thinking about you and
caring about you than ever before. I've been on more
zoom calls and gotten more emails with my oldest friends
I haven't spoken to in years. In the last two months,
I'm embarrassed to say neighbors that I barely knew just
a few months ago in some instances have been the
(06:03):
most important people in my life. Even their wave or
their gesture or them saying hello, something we stopped doing
in our super connected world where we had our heads
and our phones and we're just thinking about connecting, connecting, connecting,
but we disconnected to community. We forgot about the machine
(06:25):
that makes the world work. Because when the machine stopped working,
we realized all the people and the functions that are
in it, and maybe we realized the importance of gratitude.
And so I am grateful for everyone who brought me
here to you today. I'm grateful for this opportunity, and
(06:47):
I want you all to know that you have a
great opportunity ahead of you because we need a new game,
We need a new solution. We can't have the people
on top to climb higher and higher and the people
down below lose their footing even more, we need good
things to happen. We don't have to hold up in
(07:10):
a super swank office with the greatest minds in industry.
We just need good people to work together, to care
about one another and think of solutions. And here's the thing,
doing something good, just something simple and basic. If you
did one every day and you piled those days up,
(07:32):
that is a life of greatness. If the goal was
to try to wake up happy and maybe go to
bed even happier, and do something for someone else, something
for someone who maybe isn't going to help you, someone
who can't advance your career, because I think we misunderstood
what networking opportunities were over the last few years. Your
(07:55):
network isn't just someone who can get you that next
great job, because maybe that next great job won't exist.
Your network is to care about others and hopefully how
others care about you. Because I can tell you, at
a time when we're so worried about the people we
love the most, I think about this idea survival of
(08:19):
the fittest. I don't want to be part of that.
I don't want to win alone and I don't want
to lose alone because even when you win alone, you're
all by yourself. And being alone over the last few
months has reminded me how great it is to have
a family and a community. Even if you don't agree
(08:41):
with them on everything, even if you don't like what
they look or how they talk or what they say,
they care. And I'd say when I lose, it's even
more because losing alone it's pretty awful. But when you
lose on a team and someone else on that team
picks you up and helps you shake it off, then
(09:03):
you can make it through to the next day. And
right now, as we collectively are facing one of the
darkest moments, if we work together, it can be our
finest hour. And I look to you, the class of
to lead us in those next steps. We need new ideas,
(09:26):
we need new solutions, so we turned to you. I
wish you the best of luck, I congratulate you on
this wonderful achievement, and I can tell you that with you,
we can do this, because together together we rise. You
(09:54):
can find the collection of incredible commencement addresses from all
your favorite speakers at The Commencement Podcast on I Heart
Radio or wherever you listen to podcasts. M
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