Theme
Commencement Speeches About Curiosity & Learning
"Stay curious" is a commencement cliché until a speaker makes it specific. These addresses treat curiosity as an engine — the habit of asking better questions, paying attention, and staying a learner long after the degree is printed.
51 speeches / 20 core matches
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"Stay curious" is a commencement cliché until a speaker makes it specific. These addresses treat curiosity as an engine — the habit of asking better questions, paying attention, and staying a learner long after the degree is printed.
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David Foster Wallace Kenyon College / 2005 Why it belongs here The fish parable illustrates how the most obvious and important realities are the hardest to notice, urging graduates to pay attention to what surrounds them. This theme is central to the speech. 02 
France A. Córdova Stanford University / 2020 Why it belongs here She recounts how discovering science ignited her imagination and curiosity, and urges graduates to remain open to new ideas and keep raising new questions. This theme is central to the speech. 03 
John Seely Brown Arizona State University / 2015 Why it belongs here He frames graduates as entrepreneurial learners who learn by doing and must continuously discover hidden resources and read their environment. This theme is central to the speech. Featured speeches
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Why it belongs here The fish parable illustrates how the most obvious and important realities are the hardest to notice, urging graduates to pay attention to what surrounds them.
Why it belongs here She recounts how discovering science ignited her imagination and curiosity, and urges graduates to remain open to new ideas and keep raising new questions.
Why it belongs here He argues history and critical thinking are vital, urging graduates to be curious not cool, read, educate all their parts, and embrace ideas large enough to fear.
Why it belongs here He frames graduates as entrepreneurial learners who learn by doing and must continuously discover hidden resources and read their environment.
Why it belongs here He celebrates the joy of constant learning, exploring new places, and never missing a chance to be amazed or see something new.
Why it belongs here She opens urging graduates to tend the fires of curiosity, using Eric Kandel's persistent scientific inquiry on sea slugs as a model for lifelong learning.
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Core matches 20
Stanford University / 2020 / Astrophysicist and higher-education leader
Stanford University / 2016 / Documentary filmmaker
Arizona State University / 2015 / Field: science
Stanford University / 2015 / NBC News chief foreign correspondent
Kenyon College / 2005 / Field: letters
New York University / 2014 / Field: politics
Dillard University / 2014 / Field: politics
University of Western Australia / 2013 / Field: arts
Wellesley College / 2012 / Field: arts
Philadelphia University / 2011 / Field: tech
Villanova University / 2010 / Field: arts
Stanford University / 2007 / Poet and chairman, National Endowment for the Arts
Stanford University / 2002 / U.S. national security adviser
Massachusetts Institute of Technology / 2025 / Science communicator, video creator, and entrepreneur
Yale University / 2023 / Poet, educator, and cultural advocate
Montgomery College / 2006 / Field: politics
St. John’s College / 2003 / Field: letters
Related mentions 31
Knox College / 2013 / Field: arts
University of California, San Diego / 2012 / Field: business
University of Michigan / 2010 / Field: politics
Yale University / 2019 / Novelist and nonfiction writer
Carthage College / 2014 / Field: business
New York University Tisch School of the Arts / 2014 / Field: arts
City Colleges of Chicago / 2014 / Field: business
Colorado College / 2012 / Field: arts
University of Delaware / 2012 / Field: arts
Ball State University / 2012 / Field: arts
Hofstra University / 2011 / Field: arts
University of Tennessee / 2009 / Field: arts
University of Portland / 2009 / Field: letters
Show 13 more related mentions
Tufts University / 2008 / Field: letters
Yale University / 2008 / Former prime minister of the United Kingdom
Syracuse University / 2007 / Field: letters
Stanford University / 2003 / President of Peru
Yale University / 2026 / Novelist and essayist
Yale University / 2025 / Former prime minister of New Zealand
Massachusetts Institute of Technology / 2016 / Actor, filmmaker, and co-founder of Water.org
Massachusetts Institute of Technology / 2005 / Co-founder and CEO, QUALCOMM
Massachusetts Institute of Technology / 2004 / Director, National Institutes of Health
University of Texas, Austin / 2003 / Field: business
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