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President Bloomberg addressed the graduating fall Class of 2025 on December 13, 2025, in the Wolstein Center. Her remarks appear below as prepared.

Graduates, good afternoon and congratulations.

On a university campus, Commencement Day always feels different than the other days out of the year. There is a nearly palpable sense of excitement. I hope you can feel it, too. It is the excitement that you as graduates surely feel after working for years of your life to reach this milestone.

Today is an accomplishment. There is no doubt about that. I want to emphasize, though, today is a commencement. It is part of your journey, but it is not your conclusion.

As students at a university, you have developed yourself as a learner. Although each of you have undergone a unique, personal journey, you all likely have shared experiences. You likely studied a subject that was entirely new to you. Or you made a connection with someone formerly unknown to you. Or you challenged yourself in a way you had never before.

You ventured outside of your comfort zone and had to learn to adapt. As a result, you expanded your knowledge and your methods for learning. By doing this for years, you have invested in yourself as a learner. 

As you commence today, continue to invest in yourself. It was Socrates who said, “Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.” As learners, our job is never finished. Use today as the first step in a new journey — one that you design for yourself.

During your time at ����Bվ, you have been gaining knowledge and skills, and you have also been building the habits of a lifelong learner. You now know how you learn best. You know which subjects spark your curiosity. You know what questions keep you up at night, because you have a need to find the answers.  To borrow from Socrates, you are coming to know what ideas or problems or possibilities kindle a flame for you.

You, however, are not the only one who has invested in you. You are in an arena filled with people who committed to your success. 

For those of us up here on stage and the faculty and staff throughout the arena, we have an immense sense of pride in what you have accomplished. I so often draw on the French philosopher Voltaire when I think about this sense of vicarious pride. He said, “Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.”

Our pride in your accomplishment. 

Appreciation is a noun. A thing. The act of appreciating is a verb. It takes some effort on our part. 

I want to pause for a moment on that idea. Appreciating the contributions — or gifts — of others yields compounding benefits. Think how you feel when someone notices your efforts, your contributions, your ideas. When you have a sense that others are appreciating what you have to offer.

A researcher and professor at Claremont Graduate University, Dr. Paul Zak, wrote about this very concept in his book, The Moral Molecule. Years of research has taught us that the act of appreciating actually changes our brains. It releases endorphins and leads to a sense of wellbeing that drives us to do more and to do better. These endorphins contribute to the strong bonds we build with one another. At its core, The Moral Molecule asserts that appreciation is free, and yet its impact is priceless.

Now, think about how you feel when you are doing the appreciating: showing a loved one or a classmate or a colleague or a professor that you’ve noticed what they’ve contributed or added to your learning. 

Today, as you prepare to receive your diploma, make a pact with yourself to extend your appreciation — whether through a text or a phone call or even a handwritten note — to someone who might be surprised to receive it from you. 

Who made a significant investment in you? Maybe it was a classmate. Or your roommate in your first year. Or a professor whose class sparked your curiosity.

Don’t let your appreciation go unsaid.

Graduates, with you today are members of our faculty and our staff. They serve as excellent examples of lifelong learners who dedicate themselves to education, who continue to expand their knowledge and research to find the answers to their questions, and who inspire others to do the same.

I encourage you to show your appreciation to these esteemed educators. Thanks to their dedication to their students, you are here today. Please join me in giving them a round of applause. 

The connections you made here don’t end once you have become alumni. Remain connected to your mentors and instructors. We are here when you need us.

Graduates, you are also in an arena filled with the people in your lives who have helped you get to where you are now. There are family members and friends who encouraged you when you doubted yourself. Maybe they came to campus with you the first time you visited ����Bվ. And maybe they even cooked meals for you, picked up your kids while you were in class, or helped you move into your residence hall.

Take a moment to look out into the audience and find those people who supported you. And let’s give them a round of applause.