Stephen Colbert
Field: arts
Comedian Stephen Colbert delivers a largely comedic commencement address at the University of Virginia, joking about the school's traditions, terminology, secret societies, and famous alumni, as well as his own rejected application. He pivots to reflect on Thomas Jefferson's political ambiguity and, in his closing advice, tells graduates that with fewer traditional job paths available they must forge their own way, defining their own generation and world as Jefferson did.
Key moments
- 01 Jokes about UVA traditions, rankings, and secret societies
- 02 Recounts his own rejected UVA application and personal ties to the school
- 03 Discusses Thomas Jefferson's contradictory beliefs and legacy
- 04 Advises graduates to make their own path amid a difficult economy
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Stephen Colbert at University of Virginia, 2013
A commencement address about comedy, uncertainty, service, improv, humility, and carrying community into the next scene.
Speech arc
- 01University of Virginia
Opening move
- 022013
Speech beat
- 03Valedictory exercises
Speech beat
- 04Rotunda and Lawn
Speech beat
- 05Comedy as doorway
Speech beat
- 06Improvising the future
Speech beat
- 07Service and humility
Speech beat
- 08Community after graduation
Final charge
Opening: The joke opens the door
Colbert uses UVA-specific jokes, phones, Wahoo-Wa, and campus lore to win attention before turning toward a serious charge.
Humor
Comedy creates permission to listen and lowers the room's defenses.
Place
The Rotunda, Lawn, and Cavalier traditions make the advice feel rooted in the graduates' own world.
Turn
The jokes become a path into questions about what kind of life the class will build.
Colbert uses UVA-specific jokes, phones, Wahoo-Wa, and campus lore to win attention before turning toward a serious charge.
Improv: The future will not hand you a script
The address treats uncertainty as normal: graduates cannot control every scene, but they can stay alert and responsive.
Unknown
A plan helps, but the next moment still asks for flexibility.
Yes, and
The improviser's habit becomes a civic and personal habit.
Motion
Start with the scene you are given and build from there.
The address treats uncertainty as normal: graduates cannot control every scene, but they can stay alert and responsive.
Service: Stand on others, then lift others
Colbert frames success as inherited and relational, asking graduates to use their advantages in service of people beyond themselves.
Humility
No graduate arrives alone; teachers, families, and communities make the platform possible.
Duty
The next responsibility is to lift others as you climb.
Gratitude
A good life keeps remembering who made it possible.
Colbert frames success as inherited and relational, asking graduates to use their advantages in service of people beyond themselves.
Resilience: Failure becomes material
The comic worldview turns embarrassment, wrong turns, and public mistakes into material for learning and connection.
Setback
Failure is not a final identity; it can become information.
Meaning
Hard moments can be mined for wisdom, humor, and empathy.
Share
Handled generously, the story of failure can make others feel less alone.
The comic worldview turns embarrassment, wrong turns, and public mistakes into material for learning and connection.
• Key takeaways •
Comedy can open attention
Connects to comedy.
Uncertainty rewards improvisation
Connects to uncertainty.
Humility remembers the platform
Connects to service.
Failure can become material
Connects to improv.
Service gives the scene purpose
Connects to humility.
Closing charge
The closing energy is active: use your voice, stay kind, and turn uncertainty into serviceable work.
Say yes, then build something useful
Voice
The world needs graduates to participate, not wait for perfect permission.
Kindness
Cleverness matters less if it is not joined to care.
Build
The next scene becomes real through small, useful acts.
The closing energy is active: use your voice, stay kind, and turn uncertainty into serviceable work.
Visual speech maps
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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): graduationwisdom.com repurposed into lifestyle blog; speech pages gone. 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 (graduationwisdom.com repurposed into lifestyle blog; speech pages gone); video fallback present
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