Drew Brees
Drew Brees addresses Loyola University's 2010 graduating class, drawing on his shared arrival in New Orleans in 2006 and the city's recovery and Super Bowl win. He offers five pieces of advice centered on embracing adversity, pursuing work you love, leaving things better than you found them, enjoying life's moments, and serving others. He closes with a quote from his grandfather urging graduates to be people who make things happen.
Key moments
- 01 Reflection on coming to New Orleans in 2006 and the city's recovery and Super Bowl championship
- 02 Personal story of his 2005 shoulder injury and examples of Steve Jobs and Ellen DeGeneres to frame adversity as opportunity
- 03 Advice to find work you love, leave your mark, enjoy little things, and serve others
- 04 Closing quote from his 85-year-old grandfather about three types of people
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Drew Brees at Loyola, 2010
A commencement address about gratitude, post-Katrina service, adversity, leadership, and finding happiness by giving back.
Speech arc
- 01Superdome
Opening move
- 02Blessings
Speech beat
- 03Gratitude
Speech beat
- 04Adversity
Speech beat
- 05Opportunity
Speech beat
- 06Service
Speech beat
- 07Leadership
Speech beat
- 08Journey
Final charge
Place: The Superdome makes recovery visible
Speaking in New Orleans five years after Hurricane Katrina, Brees frames commencement through a city that knows damage, rebuilding, and shared resolve.
New Orleans
The setting turns resilience from a slogan into local memory.
Opportunity
Graduates are asked to recognize the openings and support that carried them to the day.
Gratitude
Thankfulness is presented as the mindset that prepares people to serve.
Speaking in New Orleans five years after Hurricane Katrina, Brees frames commencement through a city that knows damage, rebuilding, and shared resolve.
Adversity: The question is when, not if
Brees warns that adversity will arrive, then reframes it as a test that can reveal courage, discipline, and new possibility rather than simply blocking a path.
When
Hardship is treated as inevitable, which removes the fantasy of an untouched life.
Response
The decisive variable is not the obstacle itself but the stance taken toward it.
Opportunity
A difficult season can become the material from which purpose is clarified.
Brees warns that adversity will arrive, then reframes it as a test that can reveal courage, discipline, and new possibility rather than simply blocking a path.
Service: Giving back enlarges success
The address links happiness to generosity: graduates who have received opportunity are urged to pass it on to people with fewer resources and fewer breaks.
Generosity
Service is not a side project after success; it is part of what makes success meaningful.
Community
The city and its people become evidence that rebuilding is collective work.
Joy
Happiness grows when ambition includes other people.
The address links happiness to generosity: graduates who have received opportunity are urged to pass it on to people with fewer resources and fewer breaks.
• Key takeaways •
Gratitude precedes service
Connects to adversity.
Adversity will come
Connects to gratitude.
Response creates opportunity
Connects to service.
Community rebuilds together
Connects to leadership.
Enjoy purposeful work
Connects to purpose.
Closing charge
The closing advice keeps ambition grounded: find work worth loving, lead through adversity, and keep the journey connected to gratitude and service.
Love the work and enjoy the journey
Love
The right work is recognizable by sustained commitment, not just status.
Lead
Leadership begins with how a person responds when pressure arrives.
Journey
The graduate task is to keep moving with purpose, humility, and service.
The closing advice keeps ambition grounded: find work worth loving, lead through adversity, and keep the journey connected to gratitude and service.
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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): gradspeeches.com is a parked/redirecting domain serving no real content. 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 (gradspeeches.com is a parked/redirecting domain serving no real content); video fallback present
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