2025 Commencement Address

Class of 2025: Congratulations!

It’s a thrill to be here on the National Mall celebrating this milestone day in your lives.

This mall that contains the history and aspirations of the American people.

To the west are memorials to some of our greatest leaders and heroes, willing to give their lives in the fight for freedom. To the east, the U.S. Capitol and every Smithsonian tell the American story of strength, resilience, inspiration, and innovation. Here, the splendor of America walks beside the sorrow, the hope beside the heartbreak.

We have gathered here in protest, in prayer, and in pride, giving voice to our beliefs about what is right and what is just. This is the gift of our democracy, which contains multitudes in its tension and complexity.

From the March on Washington to the March for Our Lives, this mall does not discriminate. It’s a place of community and solidarity, and today, it belongs to you, the GW Class of 2025.

This Mall’s wide embrace of all that is America, all who dare to dream big, makes it the perfect place for a GW graduation.

Today, we celebrate you, Class of 2025—what you’ve achieved in the classroom, the studio, and the research lab. You made your impact across the DMV from the State Department to the World Bank to the National Archives and countless places in between even as you took care of your families and served your communities.

For all of this and more, we salute you, Class of 2025.

From your first days on campus, you hung out with friends on Kogan Plaza and University Yard, took selfies in the USC, and crammed for that next exam in Gelman Library. You cheered on the Revolutionaries in the Smith Center and on the Vern. You sampled gourmet offerings at the District House and GW Deli.

You’ve made a lot of memories during your years at GW, and I hope they will carry you in the years ahead!

Whatever you studied, you haven’t just learned how to make a living at GW.

You’ve learned how to make a difference.

And being here with you today reminds me of all that you have taught me about the spirit of GW since I arrived as president nearly two years ago. So let me share my top three lessons.

First, you’ve taught me that voices matter at GW.

Some people think it's about shouting the loudest or going viral. But GW's way is to think deeply, listen generously, and speak with understanding and respect.

Second, you’ve shown me that engagement is one of GW’s superpowers.

Throughout your time here, you’ve confronted complex questions and navigated tough conversations where it’s hard to find agreement. And you’ve done it not by retreating, but by engaging across differences—in classrooms, residence halls, and countless group chats and late-night debates.

As you continue your journeys, the questions you will face are not going get any easier, but I have great confidence you are ready to take them on.

This Class of 2025 has already shown that you have what it takes.

I think of the student who served as a member of the President’s advance team, helping coordinate visits across the country and around the world. And there’s the one who interned with the Women's Congressional Policy Institute; the U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee; and with Pyxis Partners focused on health policy and advocacy. I think of the graduates who help share the GW story, one as the general manager of GW-TV and another as a writer and editor at GW Today. And I know that every single one of you has your own amazing story!

To this moment of opportunity, bring your whole selves. Bring your brilliance. Bring your values, your humor, your questions, your heart.

Build on your GW superpower and engage fully as you become the leaders of today and tomorrow.

The third and final lesson: You’ve shown me what it means to Raise High at GW.

Over the past two years, this has been the most important lesson I’ve learned about the GW spirit. I’ve seen it in the classrooms and labs I’ve visited and in your very impressive capstones and research presentations. I've seen it in the ways you lift each other up. This is a lesson grounded in hope and the belief not just that tomorrow will be a better day but that you—as GW Revolutionaries—will make tomorrow a better day.

You have shown me the incredible possibilities that arise from an electric combination of resourcefulness, talent, and a commitment to serve.

Bring that Raise High spirit to everything you do. Lead with it. And live it.

Why? Because this world needs you right now.

This is a world hungry for the new voices, new ideas, and new kinds of leadership that you will bring—leadership that listens before it speaks, builds instead of breaks, and brings people together rather than driving them apart.

Now is your time, Class of 2025.

And this is my charge to you:

Go boldly.

Raise High.

And show the world what it means to be a GW Revolutionary.

Thank you.