The words of wisdom shared with the Class of 2025 by commencement speakers

Geoff Bennett:

As we celebrate the end of the academic year and the beginning of a new journey for thousands of college graduates, a number of leaders, celebrities, thinkers, dignitaries, and "News Hour" anchors have been delivering commencement speeches over the last few weeks.

Amna Nawaz:

Many have included powerful calls to action, others more personal in nature, some with a touch of humor.

Here now are some of the speeches that you might have missed, including part of the remarks I was honored to deliver for the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies' class of 2025.

Henry Winkler, Actor:

I grew up in New York City on the West Side, and I grew up dreaming about being an actor. I don't know how it came into my mind. I don't know how it came into my body. But if people were born to do something, I was born to try.

Do not be deterred. Do — you listen to your instinct. All of you are so smart. All of you know so much. All of you have gained so much from Georgetown, but your tummy, your instinct knows everything. And when your instinct talks to you, you listen.

Jennifer Coolidge, Actress:

You have my permission to relax for a while now, because you have earned it. And…

(Cheering)

Jennifer Coolidge:

Yes. And so what I'm saying is, give yourself the weekend or maybe the summer until Labor Day.

(Laughter)

Jennifer Coolidge:

I mean, I mean, Labor Day, it's basically Thanksgiving.

(Laughter)

Jennifer Coolidge:

And then after that it's practically the holidays. So you might wait until the new year to really lock in.

(Laughter)

Jennifer Coolidge:

Yes.

(Cheering)

Grant Hill, Former NBA Player:

One of the best ways my mom shared her wisdom was in a set of principles she took time to write down. She called it her top 10 list of how to achieve success.

Don't fear failure. Yes, it's inevitable. Yes, it's how you grow. But there's another reason my mom asked us to do this. Don't fear failure, she said, because success is far more dangerous to the human condition. What exactly did she mean by that? She knew that success without gratitude could make us too comfortable and that success without fortitude can make us corruptible.

Amna Nawaz:

I didn't know what I wanted to do when I left school, but the world that I inherited demanded certain things of me.

So, when I found work that I loved to do and work I was good at, work that made me feel like I was making some kind of difference, I leaned in and I never looked back. It wasn't the world that I expected to step into, but it was the one that I got. And this may not be the world that you expected to step into, grads, but it's the one that you have got, and it's the one that needs you now.

The same hope, the same courage that brought you to this day, it will be enough to carry you forward. It will be enough to lift your voice above a chorus of cynics. It will be enough to light your way along darkened paths. It will be enough to stiffen your spine when all seems lost.

Jane Fonda, Actress:

Grow yourself a deep, solid community of people who share your values. Have each other's backs. Check up on each other regularly and be intentional about this.

In these uncertain times, we need to strengthen our ties to community, to our colleagues, our friends and family, because, more and more, we're going to need this support for safety, for love, for help, for fun — let's not forget fun — and for survival.

Usher, Singer:

This world doesn't need more followers. It needs fearless architects of our future. And that's exactly who you are. Be a dreamer. Never stop imagining. Be better. Fight for a better life. Fight for a better world. The goal is beyond our reach, but we can reach as long as we try. And, furthermore, we will succeed because we do.

Congratulations to the class of 2025.

(Cheering)

Usher:

Now go out there and let's make it happen.

(Cheering)