Title: The Best Advice From Georgetown’s 2025 Graduation Speakers

Over the weekend, Georgetown’s nearly 5,700 graduates heard from the Fonz, a Jesuit priest and 12 other graduation speakers who each shared final lessons for students before they left the front gates.

Speakers like Emmy Award-winning actor and author Henry Winkler gave a resounding address to a standing ovation from seniors and their loved ones. 

“I want to tell you that every one of you is powerful,” he said. “And everything is possible.”

Read on for the best advice from Georgetown’s 14 commencement speakers to the Class of 2025, for whom everything is possible.

Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Harvard Professor and Host of PBS’s Finding Your Roots

“The arc of your career begins today. Make your arguments bold, your reasoning sound and your impact lasting. Your verdict will be written, not in casebooks, but in the lives you touch and the justice that you deliver.”

Watch Gates’ speech at Georgetown Law’s commencement ceremony on May 18.

Henry Winkler

Actor, Director and Author

“This world is yours now. And this world needs fixing. And I pray to the heavens that you are the fixers. I say to you now, go!”

Read Winkler’s full speech and watch his address at the College of Arts & Sciences’ commencement ceremony on May 17.

Steve Pemberton

Managing Director of Seramount

“For those of you who might suffer from imposter syndrome because of those voices that would dare suggest to us that we don’t belong in the room with them — who believe that your very presence is the result of some lowered bar — you, my friend, are asking yourself the wrong question. 

It is not whether or not you belong in the room with them. It is whether or not they belong in the room with you.”

Watch Pemberton’s address at the School of Continuing Studies’ commencement on May 15.

Loretta S. Jemmott

M. Louise Fitzpatrick Endowed Professor of Community and Home Health Nursing at Villanova University

“Believe in yourself. If it’s gonna be, it’s up to me.”

Watch Jemmott’s address at the School of Nursing’s commencement ceremony on May 16.

Rev. Luis Arriaga Valenzuela, S.J.

President of Iberoamerican University

“Be a defender of hope. In times of frustration, stand firm, believing that individuals and communities can always grow and give more. Be a defender of justice for our common home, for others, for freedom, for equality for all.” 

Watch Rev. Valenzuela’s speech at the Graduate School’s commencement ceremony on May 16.

Filippo Grandi

UN High Commissioner for Refugees

“Leadership is remaining true to your values and to your commitment to service, even in the face of adversity. True leaders understand that you only truly move ahead when you bring others with you. … So I encourage you as the leaders of tomorrow, not only to look forward or to look up, but also to look behind you. Remember those who have been forgotten or pushed aside.”

Watch Grandi’s speech at the Walsh School of Foreign Service’s graduate ceremony on May 17.

Ajay Banga

President of the World Bank Group

“Strict adherence to a meticulous plan deprives your career — and your life — of the opportunity to seize and pursue luck. Don’t spend your time plotting your career as a series of steps on a ladder. Take the plunge.”

Watch Banga’s speech at the McDonough School of Business graduate ceremony on May 16.

Maria Van Kerkhove

Interim Director, Epidemic and Pandemic Threat Management, World Health Organization

“There will be moments you will feel overwhelmed, like it’s just too much. But you’re stronger than you think. You’re entering this field, this life of service, at a time when global health is being tested, questioned and even dismissed. And you might feel like you made the wrong choice. 

You didn’t. You did not make the wrong choice. You are needed more now than ever.”

Watch Van Kerkhove’s address at the School of Health’s commencement ceremony on May 17.

Dr. Victor J. Dzau

President of the National Academy of Medicine and Vice Chair of the National Research Council

“Class of 2025: The world is ready for your leadership. It needs your compassion, your courage and your brilliance. Keep asking big questions. Get involved. Find solutions beyond the examining room and clinics. Help make a better society. Carry the ethos of cura personalis with you — and help build the future of medicine we know is possible.”

Watch Dzau’s speech at the School of Medicine’s commencement ceremony on May 18.

Michael Psaros (B’89)

Co-founder and Co-managing Partner of KPS Capital Partners, LP

“Have a passion, purpose and mission in life. Finding your passion is a very personal decision. Only you know what motivates and excites you and provides you with purpose. Whatever path you take in life, do not be influenced by money, by glory or the opinion of your peers. Find your own path to success and happiness.”

Watch Psaros’ commencement address at the McDonough School of Business undergraduate ceremony on May 17.

Kono Taro (SFS’86) 

Member of Japan’s House of Representatives

“The greatness of America does not just stem from its economic power or military strength. America is great because it protects freedom, it cherishes the rule of law, and it embodies democracy. Freedom, rule of law and democracy do not come easily. For many people, these are not given. These are something you have to fight to earn.”

Watch Taro’s speech at the Walsh School of Foreign Service’s undergraduate ceremony on May 17.

Daniel Tsai (L’79)

Chairman, Fubon Group

“Instead of driving, take a walk. You won’t get to your destination as quickly, but take the time to enjoy the journey of … learning.  

Embrace the slow path, because it often is richer in wisdom and understanding, and it also encourages curiosity and creativity. … There’s a Chinese saying that goes like this: … ‘To climb high, one must start from the bottom. To travel far, one must start from near.’ I think this Chinese adage illustrates the importance of slow study and lifelong learning.”

Watch Tsai’s speech at Georgetown Law’s commencement ceremony on May 18.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani 

Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar

“Years ago, I was in your shoes, filled with the same enthusiasm, asking the same existential questions, and with boundless ambition. I thought then that the path was clear and the facts were firmly established, but as time went by, I realized that life was more complicated than any academic equation. I learned that committing to one’s principles doesn’t mean stagnation. I urge you today to observe God in everything you do, let the service of the country and the people be your guiding light, and to maintain your faith in yourselves.”

Watch Al Thani’s full address at Georgetown in Qatar’s commencement ceremony on May 8.

Sam Feist (L’99)

CEO of C-SPAN

“I’m actually optimistic about our politics. We have gone through some terrible times in this country: from the Civil War; to the violence and polarization of the 60s; to the Watergate period; to the divisions of today. But maybe that’s the brilliance of our democracy — we always figure it out. 

And you know when we do? When people from different backgrounds and political perspectives come together. Adams and Jefferson. Reagan and O’Neill. Clinton and Gingrich. Our own Scalia and Ginsburg. Because Republicans, Democrats and independents actually do want the best for our country. … 

Take the edges off the rhetoric. Become a peacemaker. Build consensus. Come together. … It’s through these conversations and these moments that you, the Georgetown McCourt Class of 2025, will really help change the world. You are why I’m optimistic.”

Watch Feist’s speech at the McCourt School of Public Policy’s commencement ceremony on May 15.