Abigail Washburn
Field: arts
Musician and Colorado College alumna Abigail Washburn opens with song and explains why she titled her speech 'obituary,' recounting a creativity workshop that had her write her own obituary and envision her life's dreams. She shares three personal stories from her early post-college years—stumbling into a music career, an embarrassing first stage performance, and enduring a hostile, racist audience—drawing lessons about curiosity, fear, and obstacles. She encourages graduates to follow their true calling, push through fear and setbacks, and live open-heartedly.
Key moments
- 01 Explains titling the speech 'obituary' after a creativity workshop exercise
- 02 Recounts unexpectedly launching a music career after a road trip and jam session
- 03 Shares an embarrassing first stage performance and a racist, hostile South Carolina crowd
- 04 Offers lessons on curiosity, fear as readiness, and obstacles as tests
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Abigail Washburn at Colorado College, 2012
A commencement address about beauty, curiosity, open-hearted attention, music, detours, vocation, and being found by the work you are meant to do.
Speech arc
- 01CC alumna
Opening move
- 02Morning song
Speech beat
- 03Beauty
Speech beat
- 04Curiosity
Speech beat
- 05Open heart
Speech beat
- 06Detours
Speech beat
- 07Calling
Speech beat
- 08Play
Final charge
Opening: A song makes commencement physical
The archived transcript begins with Washburn using music and morning imagery to make graduation feel like a daily act of beginning again.
Music
The address treats song as argument: rhythm, breath, and attention arrive before abstract advice.
Morning
Dawn imagery turns commencement into repeated practice, not a single ceremonial finish line.
Beauty
Beauty is immediate and expansive, grounding graduates in perception before planning.
The archived transcript begins with Washburn using music and morning imagery to make graduation feel like a daily act of beginning again.
Formation: Curiosity makes detours productive
Colorado College identifies Washburn as a 1999 alumna whose path connected Asian studies, Chinese language, old-time music, and international creative exchange.
Liberal arts
The path is interdisciplinary by design, crossing language, culture, performance, and public imagination.
China
Language study becomes a doorway into relationships and artistic possibility.
Banjo
Musical practice shows how a life can braid tradition with experimentation.
Colorado College identifies Washburn as a 1999 alumna whose path connected Asian studies, Chinese language, old-time music, and international creative exchange.
Vocation: Calling is discovered through openness
A key takeaway preserved in commencement indexes frames vocation less as intellectual certainty and more as the result of curiosity and an open heart.
Open
The self does not simply choose a purpose; it stays available enough to recognize one.
Found
Calling can arrive through accidents, relationships, and work that keeps asking for attention.
Play
Play is serious because it lets unexpected forms of skill and service emerge.
A key takeaway preserved in commencement indexes frames vocation less as intellectual certainty and more as the result of curiosity and an open heart.
• Key takeaways •
Beauty starts attention
Connects to curiosity.
Curiosity opens vocation
Connects to music.
Detours can be design
Connects to vocation.
Play teaches courage
Connects to beauty.
Calling may find you
Connects to open-heartedness.
Closing charge
The closing charge asks graduates to meet uncertainty with curiosity, keep beauty in view, and trust detours that deepen connection.
Let attention become a life practice
Notice
Begin by paying better attention to the world immediately around you.
Follow
Follow curiosity long enough for it to become craft, relationship, and responsibility.
Sing
Carry a form of joy that can survive change and make others braver.
The closing charge asks graduates to meet uncertainty with curiosity, keep beauty in view, and trust detours that deepen connection.
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Transcript
The previously catalogued transcript link is no longer live and is queued for re-sourcing. A video of the address is available above.
Machine transcript available for archive analysis; it is unverified and may contain transcription errors. Machine transcript source ->
Provenance
BROKEN transcript link (checked 2026-06-26): returns 404 Not Found. Provenance: Imported from NPR commencement archive; cross-referenced with Open Commencement DB
NPR archive last updated in 2015; destination availability has not been exhaustively rechecked | Open Commencement DB transcript; not independently verified against the original recording | Transcript URL dead (returns 404 Not Found); video fallback present
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