Home / Stanford University / 2015
№ 2015.007 — Stanford University — Commencement keynote
Richard Engel
NBC News chief foreign correspondent
NBC chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel recounts his decision to move to Cairo after graduation with little money and no job, urging graduates to take risks and gamble on the unknown. He describes his career covering wars in the Middle East, explaining that conflict reveals human nature, and offers predictions that urbanization, climate pressures, and communications technology will shape the graduates' era. He encourages students to identify where history is heading and to seek inspiration rather than chase comfort.
Key moments
- 01 Recounting his post-graduation move to Cairo with $2,000 and no job
- 02 Describing war as revealing human nature, compared to a car crash
- 03 Posing as a human shield to enter Iraq in 2002
- 04 Predicting urbanization, climate pressures, and technology will reshape the world
- 05 Recalling a rejuvenating swim in ancient ruins during the Libyan war
Visual speech map
Richard Engel at Stanford, 2015
A commencement address about risk, journalism, war, inspiration, and gambling on the unknown.
- 01 Cairo leap
- 02 No job
- 03 War reporting
- 04 Human nature
- 05 Iraq risk
- 06 Future forces
- 07 Ancient ruins
- 08 Seek inspiration
Leap
Move toward the unknown
Engel's post-graduation move to Cairo becomes the speech's central wager: meaningful lives often begin without guarantees.
He leaves with little money and no settled job.
The absence of certainty becomes the point.
Graduates are urged to choose direction over comfort.
Witness
War reveals character
Foreign correspondence is described as a harsh lens on human nature, danger, resilience, and moral pressure.
War exposes what people value under stress.
The journalist stands close enough to witness.
The work carries danger and consequence.
Forecast
Read where history is going
Urbanization, climate pressure, and communications technology become signals graduates must learn to interpret.
Urban growth reshapes politics and life.
Environmental pressure becomes historical force.
Communication technology changes power and witness.
Renewal
Seek inspiration, not comfort
A swim among ancient ruins becomes an image of renewal inside chaos and a reminder to find work that wakes the spirit.
History and beauty interrupt the war zone.
Meaning is stronger than ease.
Find the place where history and purpose meet.
Transcript
The full transcript is hosted by the original publisher. Commencement Archive links to the source rather than republishing copyrighted text.
Read the full transcript at source →Provenance
Verified from official archive