[Music] Stanford University Welcome to the 2024 Stanford commencement ceremony [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] please stand for the beginning of our ceremony [Applause] [Music] for H waves of GRA for purle Mountain mes above the [Music] fruited America America [Music] God shed his grace on the and Crown like good with brother from sea to Shining [Music] [Applause] welcome to Stanford University's 133rd annual commencement we invite you to remain standing as you are able through our land acknowledgement and the invocation that follows here at Stanford it is our tradition to begin all University ceremonies with a sacred land acknowledgement please welcome M Melissa idman class of 2024 who will offer it for us this [Applause] morning sanoy NE now Melissa idman W CLA Kima canu good morning my name is Melissa idman welcome and thank you for [Music] coming as a Euro tribal member and California Indian I'm honored to take this time with you to acknowledge the land that Stanford sits on and continues to benefit from Stanford sits on the ancestral land of the MMA alone tribe this land was and continues to be of great importance to the olone people consistent with our values of community and inclusion we have the responsibility to acknowledge honor and make visible the University's relationship with native peoples well CLA in that Spirit of blessing let us be together this morning we come to celebrate the Day for which we have longed has finally arrived we have made it while the world Waits with baited breath to see what we will do next we pause right now we are called to quiet our minds and calm our spirits to be present to this right and ritual this threshold we now cross between a student's past and a graduate's future in this moment may we remember with gratitude all those who made this day possible who encouraged and empowered us who nurtured and loved us may we be reminded that our pursuit of knowledge and Excellence is not simply for ourselves but for the common good and in this moment may we be gentle with ourselves elves and gentle with one another allowing our hearts to break open so that empathy and compassion become the very ground of our being as we meet the challenges of a broken yet beautiful world sometimes it is difficult to believe that hope and Joy are possible but let that not be this day for this community gathered here is proof that hope is alive and joy persists this day and all days amen you may be seated thank you Dean steinwart graduates Stanford faculty and staff former and current Trustees of our University distinguished guests family members and friends I want to thank you for joining us to celebrate Stanford's 133rd commencement it's my honor to welcome all of you to today's celebration of these remarkable graduates to our senior class members and our graduate students congratulations on your impressive accomplishments today with families and loved ones who have traveled from near and afar we celebrate not only your achievements at Stanford but all of the many accomplishments that you brought here I'd like to begin by asking all of you to join me in thanking everyone who has made today's celebration possible including the groundskeepers the ushers the event planners and the crews thank you today we will award 103 doctoral degrees 2575 master's degrees and 1838 bachelor's degrees our graduates include students from around the world 176 members of our undergraduate class hail from 80 countries and 131 graduate students come from 110 countries these numbers illustrate the hard work and dedication of this impressive graduating class they also suggest the great potential of this remarkable group of graduates to have a positive impact on our world graduates in addition to your own hard work our faculty and staff have dedicated themselves to nurturing your potential and encouraging your success I'd like to take this moment to thank them for their support throughout your time at Stanford thank you and your accomplishments are also due in part to the dedication the encouragement and the support of your family members and friends they have championed you throughout your lives and throughout your years at Stanford many of your family members and friends are here today in the stands of the stadium and others are watching this ceremony from around the world now I'd like to ask all of our graduates seniors and graduate students to join in one of Stanford's cherished commencement Traditions please rise if you were able and turn around and applaud your family and friends in the stands [Applause] and let me add my thanks to the family and friends for entrusting your students to us it's now my pleasure to introduce Stanford's Provost Jenny Martinez who will present the winners of the University Awards it's now my privilege and pleasure to present the following prizes the president's award for advancement of the common good the Walter J Gore awards for excellence in teaching the Lloyd W dinkles Spiel awards for distinctive contributions to undergraduate education and the Kenneth M Cuthbertson award for exceptional contributions to Stanford University recommendations for these awards were considered by a committee of Faculty students and staff the president's award for advancement of the common good honors alumni who exemplify the University's Mission and values and who demonstrate a commitment to learning social responsibility and ethical and effective service I would like to ask the award recipients to come forward at this time the recipients of the 2024 president's award for the advancement of the common good are Fred swaner MBA 04 and Jose Padia 74 and behalf of the University I congratulate you for this significant recognition of your contribu tions for the greater good of society thank you and congratulations the gors awards were established by bequest from Walter J gors A Stanford alness of the class of 1917 and recognize excellent teaching at the undergraduate and graduate level I would like to ask the recipients to come forward now and I ask that you hold your applause until I've announced all of this year's award winners the recipients of the 2024 Walter J Gore's awards for excellence in teaching are kemi anik Ole PhD candidate education policy and organization studies Amir bamman lecturer and director of Stanford deep data Research Center genetics and Steve lubby Lucy Becker professor of medicine senior fellow Woods Institute for the environment senior fellow Freeman spoggle Institute for international relations on behalf of the University I congratulate each of you for this recognition of Your Excellence in teaching I would now ask the dinkle Spiel Award winners to come forward Lloyd dinkles service to Stanford included the presidency of the Board of Trustees in the 1950s and was characterized by an enduring concern for the quality of undergraduate education the recipients of the 2024 Lloyd W dinkles Spiel award for distinctive contributions to undergraduate Ed education are Ria ccano ba candidate in political science Ms candidate in computer science Alejandro Martinez executive director threat assessment team legal services and selain Rodriguez Ms candidate in computer science also receiving this award is has Shou Yen lecturer Material Science and Engineering who could not be with us today I'm behalf of the University I congratulate you all for this significant recognition of your contributions to undergraduate education thank you our next award is the Kenneth M Cuthbertson award for exceptional service to Stanford University I would like to ask the cson award winner to come forward at this time this award was a established in 1981 to honor the late Kenneth Cuthbertson who steered Stanford's long-range Financial Planning and Development programs the sole criteria of this award is the quality of the contribution that the recipient has made to Stanford the recipient recipient of the 2024 Kenneth M Cuthbertson award for exceptional contributions to Stanford University is Megan W Pearson Chief of Staff to the president and Secretary of the board of trustees on behalf of the University I congratulate you for this distinguished recognition of your exceptional service to Stanford thank [Applause] you good morning let me start with with my heartfelt congratulations to our 2024 graduates and their families this has been a challenging year which makes your success all the more memorable your University careers have been marked by World historic events you began your Stanford careers at the height of the pandemic making your first friendships over Zoom this past year has been a challenging unpredictable time for our world terribly tragic Wars have caused intense pain of loss and tensions throughout the community but this morning we want to celebrate your achievements in spite of a troubled environment we will rely on you your values perseverance and strength of character to make our world better we will rely on you your values passion perseverance and strength of character to make our worlds better while at Stanford you've gained the tools and analytical skills to help you understand the world analyze its shortcomings and work on solutions that will make things better the university has strived to give you the skills to listen to and learn from one another I urge you to continue to be open to other points of view don't let your convictions shut out your ability to listen and learn I want to urge you to embrace your futures with gratitude and with optimism while acknowledging the suffering of others you should feel gratitude to your family and to the Stanford Community for an outstanding education that has equipped you for lives of exploration and learning genuine feelings of expressions of gratitude result in Social cohesion and a stronger Civil Society these social bonds are very much needed in the current context of division and polarization gratitude helps combat the hyper individualism that assumes that a person's successes are a result solely of their own efforts of course you've devoted a lot of intense effort and talent to your own successes so far in life but those efforts have been in the context of what others have built and could not have been accomplished without the help and support of other individuals gratitude encourages reciprocity with all the social benefits that it brings grateful people enjoy better physical and emotional health increased happiness decreased depression and decreased materialism one of the consequences of the pandemic has been a wave of isolation as we experience the anxiety that proximity to one another might risk trans transmission of the virus reciprocity and gratitude offer the means to build healthy social networks based on trust and a better society and now let me turn to optimism in the context of current world events it may seem naive to suggest that we should go out with a sense of optimism here I think a knowledge of History offers a justification for optimism ISM and I speak here as a historian of ancient Rome I don't mean to minimize the tragedies of the past four years but it is a mistake to idealize or romanticize the past in a depressing Narrative of Decline and hopelessness on most measures of well-being your generation will be well ahead of ancient Romans and of Americans 100 years ago and even ahead of my own generation you're likely to live longer than your ancestors over the past Century life expectancy in the United States has increased by four 40% and since 1970 the life expectancy of the world's population has increased by a full 16 years the mortality rate for children under the age of 15 has decreased from 50% in ancient Rome to 25% worldwide in 1950 to just 4% today most Romans live their lives close to subsistence poverty still unfortunately exists today but Extreme poverty worldwide has been decreased from 1.9 billion in extreme poverty in in 1990 to 800 million today even as the population Grew From 5 billion to 8 billion that is a decline of 43% of the global population in extreme poverty to about 10% in a single generation along with that decline in extreme poverty the world's population has shifted from being predominantly agrarian and illiterate to being predominantly Urban and literate in a knowledge economy that you will be entering the world lit literacy rate has increased from something under 10% in Antiquity to 42% in 1960 to 87% today with those dramatic changes has come the almost complete elimination of legal servitude which was pervasive in the premodern era in the Long View of History these are absolutely stunning changes and a basic cause of improvement have been education and the discovery and dissemination of new knowledge to which you and Stanford are making signal contributions now I want to avoid triumphalism with those unprecedent Ed positive developments have come huge challenges environmental degradation massively destructive War weapons of war and greater inequality of wealth the benefits of technological advances haven't been evenly distributed but these persistent evils should be put in the context of massive improvements and I'm optimistic that your generation will take on the challenges with the knowledge and spirit that you have acquired here at Stanford I wish you every success in that endeavor and now it's my honor to introduce today's keynote speaker philanthropist businesswoman Global advocate for women and girls and Stanford parent Melinda French [Applause] gates for more than two decades Melinda has committed her time and her energy to fighting poverty and advancing equality with a focus on the People For Whom the barriers to equality are the highest she's worked tirelessly to empower women and girls and transform the health and prosperity of families communities and societies one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the world the Gates Foundation is dedicated to a world in which every person has the chance to lead a healthy and productive life as co-chair Linda helped shape the foundation strategies and set the organization's overall direction in 2015 milinda founded pivotal an organization that works to accelerate the pace of progress by Bridging the worlds of philanthropy Venture Capital policy and advocacy pivotal seeks to increase women's economic and political participation through efforts such as closing the wage Gap supporting better policies and solutions for caregivers and helping women build their political power Melinda is also the bestselling author of the moment of lift in which she shares her journey to becoming an advocate for women and girls and introduces readers to inspiring women she has met in 2023 she created the publishing imprint moment of lift books dedicated to publishing original non-fiction by Visionaries working for a more equal World Melinda also co-founded the giving pledge alongside Bill Gates and Warren Buffett The Pledge serves as an invitation to the wealthiest people to publicly commit to giving the majority of their wealth to philanthropy Melinda's own approach to philanthropy is datadriven and prioritizes flexibility over ideology she makes a point of seeking out new ideas and perspectives as she enters a new chapter in her philanthropy Melinda recently announced that she's committing 1 billion doar over the next two years to people and organizations working on behalf of women and families around the world including here in the United States in her 2014 commencement speech here Melinda said quote optimism for me Isn't a passive expectation that things will get better it's a conviction that we can make things better that whatever suffering we see no matter how bad it is we can help people if we don't lose hope and we don't look away Melinda Gates is a wonderful example of a person who has used her talents and her platform to make things better to advance Equity opportunity and social progress around the world so please join me in welcoming Melinda French Gates thank you president salor and good morning class of 2024 it is such an honor to be here with you and your families on this truly happy occasion today is the day you graduate from Stanford University and that is an amazing accomplishment Stanford has always held a special place in my family's heart my dad Ray received a scholarship to study mechanical engineering here in 1960 and while he worked on his master's degree my mother Elaine French supported them with her job at a bottled water company and on nights and weekends she was my dad's lab assistant there's an old photo I love of my mom pregnant with my sister standing next to the wind tunnel in the engineering lab with a clipboard and a stopwatch today my mom mom and dad are back on campus for a very special occasion to watch their granddaughter Phoebe graduate from the University that changed my Dad's life and phoe is not the only one to follow in his footsteps my older daughter Jen and my son-in-law Nel earned degrees here too so happy Father's Day Dad and to all the dads here and Mom thanks for making this story possible I know there are many many many other parents grandparents and loved ones who are here and as proud to be here as my family and I are graduates you have given us a lot to celebrate and also a lot to admire you arrived on this campus already accomplished in ambitious young people and during your time here you've also proven how adaptable you are and what powerful Advocates you are for the causes you believe in Stanford is a demanding University and your time here was made even more challenging by what was happening in the world all around you from a once in a century pandemic that changed the way you lived and learned to multiple Wars that I know this campus is feeling very very deeply there is no question you are graduating into a different world than the one you matriculated into but you are also leaving this campus prepared to be the leaders that we all need and today marks an important milestone in that Journey shortly after after I sit down you will be invited to rise if you are able you will hear that call as a Stanford student you will answer that call as a Stanford Graduate and with that a major transition in your life will begin I've been thinking a lot lately about transitions the spiritual leader R Doss had a wonderful teaching about two waves traveling through the ocean one big and one small and as the waves get closer to the land the big wave sees what's about to happen they see all the waves ahead of them are just crashing onto the shore and devastated the big wave says to the small wave he warns them the end is near and the small wave Just Smiles and says don't worry we'll be fine you don't understand the big wave insists we're done for and the smaller wave is just totally calm and says no we're not and I can explain why in just six words you're not a wave your water I love that story it captures what it's like to experience an enormous transition without losing the core of who you are I turned 60 this year and you don't get to be my age without navigating all kinds of transitions some you embraced and some you never expected some you hoped for and some you fought as hard as you could for me those included starting my career at Microsoft losing one of my very best friends to cancer falling in love having children starting my work on behalf of women and girls and ending a marriage and Partnership of almost 30 years and very recently making a major career shift in each case there was a moment that I felt like that big wave terrified that life as I knew it was about to be over but I always made it to the next day and so will you and I've learned that the next day is when the real work begins because what we do the next day is what makes us who we are so in addition to honoring all of your accomplishments today I also o want to offer you something to think about when you wake up tomorrow three lessons I've learned from my own experience with transitions the first piece of advice is to enter these moments with radical open-heartedness most of the time we walk around through life in the thicket of our everyday routine but during a transition we step out of our familiar surroundings into a big wide open space where everything is new and there are two ways to encounter these spaces you can keep your head down and focus on the finding the shortest distance possible from one familiar thing to the next or you can find the courage to linger in that lional space and see what it has to tell you that to me is practicing open-heartedness I have to admit as a young person I managed transitions in the first way I had a list of goals I wanted to accomplish and as soon as I checked one off the list I raced across the clearing to the next one cuz frankly it was a lot less scary that way but as I've gotten older I've learned the value of embracing uncertainty I'll give you one example of what this has looked like in my life when I entered philanthropy more than 25 years ago it was completely unfamiliar terrain I didn't have any experience in global health or development yet so I had a lot to learn and I knew I'd need to pay attention now initially we thought the foundation's work was going to focus on vaccine access but when I started traveling around the world to see the work in action the women I met kept changing the subject they'd say what about the shots I used to get they'd ask me and they were talking about contraceptives so I stopped and I listened to what they had to say and soon I was talking about contraceptives on almost all my trips and continuing those conversations back home with my team and those conversations led to others I learned how much Society benefits when women are able to make their own decisions control their own resources and direct their own Futures and I began to focus my efforts there instead I think back now to those early trips was such gratitude because the women I met took me in a New Direction and they led me to my life's work now you are Stanford students so I imagine most most of you are graduating today with big plans for yourselves higher degrees to earn causes to advance companies to start Industries to disrupt those big bold plans are wonderful and the world needs you but my advice is to leave some room for those plans to change resist the idea that anything you've done here at Stanford has already locked you into one path or any one kind of career be excited about the fact that you will encounter possibilities you haven't even imagined and be willing to let what you learn shift your thinking about what you're here on this Earth to do remember that once the wave learns to call Itself by a different name once it realizes it's not just a wave but it is water it becomes free to take on new forms and the same is true for you that brings me to my second piece of advice and it's quite short find your small wave in the story about the waves the smaller wave is the hero because it helps the big wave see things another way in fact the small wave isn't small at all it has the persp perspective on the big wave that the big wave doesn't have on itself graduates no matter who you are or where you are in life a small wave is an incredibly valuable thing to have different people will play that role for you at different times in life in the early days of my career that person was a colleague named Charlotte from the moment I got to Microsoft I absolutely love the work we were doing but as time went on I realized I didn't love the culture it was Brash and aggressive and that wasn't me I was the only woman in my hiring class of NBAs and I felt a lot of pressure to emulate the men around me eventually I reached a point when I thought maybe I would leave the company and like the big wave I thought things were coming to an end for me but Charlotte helped me see things differently she was a little older and had a little bit more experience and she' already figured out how to navigate the culture there without losing her own identity having Charlotte in my life made it possible for me to imagine a future at Microsoft also so graduates I promise you that here in this Stadium today there is someone who is going to play that small wave roll for you someone who can help you imagine yourself as the person you want to become and just as important there is someone here who needs you to serve that role for them in return and that leads me to my final piece of advice today build a web of deserved trust that beautiful phrase comes from the legendary businessman Charlie Munger who changed this campus's landscape with the incredible student housing his generosity made possible Charlie famously said that the highest form which civilization can reach is a seamless web of deserved trust totally reliable people correctly trusting each other a web of deserving trust what a thing to Aspire to as a Society we aren't always set up to feel responsibility for the person who's next to us or the person who's on the other side of a divide or a debate especially not right now but we need each other no matter who you are there will be moments in your journey when you need to be carried or when someone else will need you to carry them when my good friend John died at age 37 I was one of a small group of people who tried to carry his wife Emmy to the other side of her grief 3 years ago when my marriage ended she was one of the people who carried me to the other side of mine that bond between us is incredibly profound but of course what Charlie was talking about was much bigger than that a whole society based on that kind of relationship a bond so strong and reciprocal but multiplied millions and billions of times over during your time here as a student you've borne witness to many painful reminders of how the world is still falling short of that Vision but you have also demonstrated just how ready you are are to be the force for Progress the world needs yes you are graduating into a broken world but it is community that rebuilds things you've already started building that Community here and together is how you'll make the broken things whole again but first you need to graduate and in a few minutes when you and your classmates are in invited to rise I hope you will hear in that invitation a call to action I hope you'll think of everyone who helped you reach this Milestone today and vow to pay forward the Investments they made in you most of all I hope you will step forward into the future with a radical open-heartedness emboldened by the wisdom and perspective of the smaller wiser waves that travel with you committed to expanding the Seamless Web of deserved trust you have already begun to weave around you and when you wake up tomorrow no longer the person you are today and not yet the person you will become next I hope you will draw Courage and confidence knowing that you graduates are water the force that shapes the shore what a powerful force you are thank you thank you Melinda for those words and we really are grateful for your participation in today's ceremony now now will the Provost please present the candidates for degrees Mr President first I have the honor to recognize all those who have completed the requirements for Master's and doctoral degrees they will be presented to You by The deans of their schools will the candidates from the School of Engineering please stand if you are able Mr President I present to you those who have completed the requirements for the degrees of master of science engineer and doctor of philosophy thank you Dean whittam by the authority vested in Me by The Faculty and trustees of this University I'm delighted to confer publicly upon you the degrees for which you have been presented and to admit you to their rights responsibilities and privileges congratulations will the graduates from the School of Engineering please be seated will the candidates from the school of law please stand if you're able Mr President I present to you those who have completed the requirements for the degrees of doctor of jurus prudence master of laws master of legal studies Master of the science of law doctor of the science of law thank you Dean breast and thank you for your service as interim dean of the law school this year by the authority vested in Me by The Faculty and trustees of this University I am delighted to confer publicly upon you the degrees for which you have been presented and to admit you to their rights responsibilities and privileges congratulations will the graduates from the school of law please be seated will the candidates from The Graduate School of Education please stand if you are able small But Mighty Mr President I present to you those who have completed the requirements for the degrees of master of arts Masters of Science and doctor of philosophy thank you Dean Schwarz by the authority vested in Me by The Faculty and trustees of this Unity University I'm delighted to confer publicly upon you the degrees for which you have been presented and to admit you to their rights responsibilities and privileges congratulations will the graduates from the Stanford Graduate School of Education please be seated [Applause] okay will the candidates from the school of humanities and Sciences please stand if you are able Mr President I present to you those who have completed the requirements for the degrees of master of arts master of fine arts master of liberal arts master of public policy master of science doctor of musical arts and doctor of philosophy thank you Dean SATs by the authority vested in Me by The Faculty and trustees of this University I am delighted to confir publicly upon you the degrees for which you have been presented and to admit you to their rights responsibilities and privileges congratulations will the graduates from the school of humanities and Sciences please be seated will the candidates from the Stanford door School of sustainability please stand if you're able Mr President I present to you those who have completed the requirements for the degrees of master of arts master of science and doctor of philosophy thank you Dean majumdar by the authority vested in Me by The Faculty and trustees of this University I'm delighted to confer publicly upon you the degrees for which you've been presented and to admit you to their rights responsibilities and privileges congratulations will the graduates from the Stanford door School of sustainability please be [Music] seated will the candidates from The Graduate School of Business please stand Mr President I present to you those who have completed the requirements for the degrees of master of arts and business research m master of science and management master of Business Administration and doctor of philosophy thank you Dean Levan and on the occasion of your final commencement as dean of The Graduate School of Business please accept my thanks for your service to the GSP and my very best wishes as you take on the mantle of Stanford presidency by the authority vested in Me by The Faculty and trustees of this University I'm delighted to confer publicly upon you the degrees for which you have been presented and to admit you to their rights responsibilities and PR privileges congratulations will the graduates from the School of Business please be seated [Applause] will the candidates from the school of medicine please stand if you're able Mr President I present to you those who have completed the requirements for the degrees of master of science and physician assistant studies master of science doctor of philosophy and doctor of medicine thank you Dean Miner by The Authority invested in me by the faculty and trustees of this University I am delighted to confer publicly upon you the degrees for which you have been presented and to admit you to their rights responsibilities and privileges congratulations for the graduates from the school of medicine please be seated provos Martinez have we left anyone out I don't know is anybody [Applause] left now Mr President I have the honor to recognize all those who have completed their requirements for undergraduate degrees Mr President I present to you those who have completed the requirements for The Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of Science degrees and The Bachelor of Arts and Science degree by the authority vested in Me by The Faculty and trustees of the University I am delighted to confer publicly upon each of you the bachelor degree and admit you to its rights responsibilities and privileges congratulations will the graduates please be [Applause] seated thank you provos Martinez graduate on behalf of Stanford University let me again repeat our congratulations to you and to your families on this joyous occasion uh as you take your next steps I urge you to do so in a a mental framework of learning and benefiting the society around you I know that you will use your skills to make our world better and I look forward to the future with gratitude and optimism congratulation class of 24 now please rise if you are able for the Stanford hymn and the benediction [Music] Hills rise up towards mountains High where the the fire flushing deep anding here we our [Applause] [Music] voices from theills through the B shall ring as we sing he shall ring and Away stand [Music] [Applause] for stand for [Music] [Applause] let us be together one last time as the ceremony ends and the true commencement begins may we shift our gaze to the long Arc of human history remembering the power of gratitude and optimism to propel progress may we Embrace radical open-heartedness lingering in the Lial space of uncertainty and remaining open to listening and learning always and may we Forge strong bonds of deserved trust weaving communities that are compassionate repairing tending and mending the Brokenness of our beautiful world and above all else as the waves of Life crash over and around us may we draw Courage and confidence in the knowledge of who we truly are amen la [Music] graduates please remain seated until the faculty has left the field thank you [Music] sh the [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] last left [Applause] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] for more please visit us at stanford.edu