Commencement Archive

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Class of 2012

Browse commencement speeches from 2012, including addresses by Atul Gawande, Cory Booker, and Ira Glass. Each record links to the available source material, transcript, video, and archive context.

36 addresses 10 themes 6 highlights

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Highlights from 2012

Records with stronger source signals, summaries, transcripts, videos, or visual archive material.

  01     Atul Gawande Williams College Surgeon and writer Atul Gawande uses the story of an 87-year-old patient who survived a rare surgical complication to argue that success in any field depends less on avoiding risk than on the ability to recover when things go wrong. He cites research showing the best hospitals don't have fewer complications but are better at rescuing patients, a concept called 'failure to rescue.' Drawing on the BP oil disaster and his own early career missteps, he tells graduates that the difference between triumph and defeat lies in the willingness to acknowledge failure and act to set things right.    InfographicSummaryTranscriptVideoOfficial source   02     Cory Booker Stanford University Newark Mayor Cory Booker addresses Stanford's 2012 graduates by expressing gratitude toward the trustees, faculty, staff, and families who supported the class. On Father's Day, he focuses on lessons from his father and grandfather, recounting his family's history of overcoming poverty and segregation through what his father called a 'conspiracy of love.' He shares his father's admonition not to take his blessings for granted, urging graduates to use their advantages to fight for justice, which inspired his own move to Newark.    InfographicSummaryTranscriptVideoOfficial source   03     Ira Glass Goucher College Ira Glass opens by declaring his opposition to the very form of the commencement speech, then shares personal connections to Goucher, including his grandmother Frieda Freelander (Class of '31). He reassures graduates that feeling lost, floundering, and questioning their choices in their twenties is normal, recounting his own years of struggling as a writer and performer in public radio and clashing with his parents. He advises that ideas and creative work require deliberate effort, and closes with a story about his grandmother encountering Hitler in 1932, urging graduates to keep building themselves so they will recognize their chance to change the world when it comes.    InfographicSummaryTranscriptVideoOfficial source   04     Michael Lewis Princeton University Michael Lewis recounts his unlikely path from Princeton art-history major to Wall Street employee to best-selling author, arguing that luck, more than merit, shaped his success. Drawing on his book 'Moneyball' and a cookie experiment from Berkeley, he contends that successful people rationalize away the role of accident in their lives. He urges graduates to recognize their good fortune and the obligation it creates toward the less lucky.    InfographicSummaryTranscriptVideoOfficial source   05     David McCullough Jr. Wellesley High School In this commencement address, English teacher David McCullough Jr. repeatedly tells the graduating class that they are "not special," citing statistics about millions of graduates and the vastness of the universe to puncture inflated self-regard. He critiques American culture's preference for accolades over genuine achievement and warns against complacency and materialism. He urges graduates to pursue work they love, read widely, develop moral character, and live selflessly, concluding that recognizing you are not special is what makes everyone special.    InfographicSummaryTranscriptVideo   06     Wesley Chan University of California, San Diego Wesley Chan of Wong Fu Productions, a Sixth College alumnus, addresses the UCSD class of 2012 as a peer rather than an authority. He encourages graduates not to stress about having a fixed plan, emphasizing adaptability, continued learning, and resourcefulness, drawing on his own unplanned path building Wong Fu Productions. He closes by urging graduates to live to make something and assures them their proudest moments are still ahead.    InfographicSummaryTranscriptVideo   

Represented themes

Common ideas classified across this year's speeches.

Purpose & Meaning 15 Courage 9 Resilience 13 Failure 8 Social Justice & Equality 8 Identity & Authenticity 10 Public Service & Civic Life 10 Kindness & Empathy 8 Love & Relationships 9 Gratitude & Humility 8

All 2012 addresses

Complete archive records for this year, sorted by institution.

Ball State University

Bennington College

Abigail Washburn

Colorado College

Louis B. Susman

Connecticut College

Dominican University of California

Florida State University

Goucher College

Halsey Junior High School

Harvard University

Harvard University

Maharishi University

Marquette University

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Northeastern University

Princeton University

Sarah Lawrence College

Stanford University

Syracuse University

The University of the Arts

Tufts University

Michael J. Burry

University of California, Los Angeles

University of California, San Diego

Soledad O’Brien

University of Delaware

Soledad O’Brien

University of Delaware

University of Mary Washington

University of Michigan

Benno Schmidt Sr.

University of Missouri

Michael Bloomberg

University of North Carolina

Jefferson Smith

University of Oregon

USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism

Melissa Harris-Perry

Wellesley College

David McCullough Jr.

Wellesley High School

Williams College

Barbara Walters

Yale University