Editor’s note: This address was first delivered at Utah Valley University’s convocation ceremony for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences on May 1, 2026.
As the mother of a large family, I’ve sat through a lot of graduation speeches. When I was invited to give a speech at UVU convocation for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences last week, I asked one of my daughters how I could make this a good, not boring speech.
She said: “Don’t give it.”
I could quote Dr. Seuss to you, but I won’t, even though “you have brains in your head” and “you have feet in your shoes.”
I could tell you to find “joy in the journey,” but I won’t, even though there is joy to be found.
I could tell you to follow your passion, but I won’t, because that’s just plain bad advice.
And why is it bad advice?
A few things, for starters. Our passions almost always change over time. What you are passionate about at age 20 is very likely to be different at age 40.
And, more importantly, “passion” focuses on you, while “purpose” focuses on others.
Finally, it can cause undue stress and anxiety if you think everyone else has a single, innate passion they have been pursuing since infancy. It’s simply not true.
Author and leadership expert Simon Sinek says passion is a result, not a starting point. I’m a prime example of that. I love the job I have right now as a radio talk show host. I’ve been doing it for less than a year, but never, at any time, did it show up on a bucket list or my list of things I love — that is, until I started doing it and can say it’s been my dream job.
Now, I’m going to share something that you don’t usually hear at graduation. Your life will not go smoothly from here on out. You are not going to love everything you do in life. Every job — even dream jobs — has parts of it that are not fun.
I don’t love talking about horrible crime stories or covering funerals on the radio. I don’t love crying on air, but that happens regularly too. And, I don’t always love waking up at 4:30 a.m. every morning. But I do it, because it’s part of the job — and most days, I don’t mind.
Not all parts of being a parent are fun — diaper blowouts, mounds of laundry, mouthy teenagers — but it’s part of the job. Working hard will continue to be a part of your life.
Here’s another reality: You live in troubled times, and while we tend to say they are unprecedented, they are not. In fact, the late Harvard political scientist Samuel P. Huntington noticed what he called “moral convulsions.” He found a pattern that seems to hit the United States every 60 years or so: the Revolutionary period of the 1760s and 1770s; the Jacksonian uprising of the 1820s and 1830s; the Progressive Era, which began in the 1890s; and the social-protest movements of the 1960s and early 1970s. So, late 1960s plus 60 years is late 2020s. Welcome.
Author David Brooks says these moments share certain features. “People feel disgusted by the state of society. Trust in institutions plummets. Moral indignation is widespread. Contempt for established power is intense.” Sound familiar?
Here’s the good news: You are resilient. After all, you’ve already lived through all of that, plus a global pandemic. You’re adaptable. You’ve had to be. And, you will be required to be adaptable and flexible in the future.
You will almost certainly have to pivot in your careers. Did you know that ChatGPT has only been around for three and a half years? And that Ukraine just retook an entire region only using drones? Some new innovation that will take the world by storm is almost certainly right around the corner, bringing with it jobs that don’t even exist yet.
You are likely to face other “opportunities” to pivot as well. Not all plans will work out. Relationships end. You might get laid off. Your goals may not come to fruition.
I had a specific job goal for more than a decade. I got a Ph.D., pursued volunteer opportunities that would make me more marketable, applied, interviewed and then did not get a job. When I applied again for a similar position the next year, I didn’t even get an interview. I feel quite confident in telling you that your life will not turn out like you imagine today — and that is OK. You have what it takes to make those pivots.
You are stepping into a world that increasingly questions the value of higher education. Let me assure you that what you have learned along your path to graduation will serve you your entire life. You’ve learned how to think critically, and how to analyze information that comes at you from multiple sources. You’ve learned to be an effective communicator, a skill you will use at home and at work, at the park, the grocery store, and at church. You’ve hopefully had the opportunity to gain a global perspective and cultural awareness of those around you.
Stay curious, stay open, stay kind and know that no matter how different someone might seem from you, you can find things in common with everyone you meet.
For example, today, you all share the common experience of graduation. The paths that brought you here are diverse: first-gen, multi-gen, on the two-year plan, four-year plan, 10-year plan (like my daughter who graduated yesterday) or, if you’re like me, you took a 30-year break to raise your family. It doesn’t matter if you are 16, the youngest UVU graduate today, or 51, like I was when I graduated from UVU with a bachelor’s degree in communication 10 years ago, or 83, the oldest UVU graduate this year.
Today, you have a shared experience to connect you. Tomorrow, your paths will be different.
A quote attributed to the Talmud has guided my life for a number of years now. Maybe it can do the same for you.
“Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.”
All of you can look up, step up, show up, stand up and speak up. You’ve got this.
