Worcester State University Commencement Address – May 17, 2025

Thank you! Good morning, Worcester State! It's good to be here. Yes! And congratulations to the class of 2025! You guys earned this. [Applause]

What a day and what a remarkable achievement. This is the end of cramming for exams and the beginning of better food options than the dining hall. It is a total win-win. So let's hear a big woohoo for never having to log into my Woo State again. Come on! [Cheers]

So I also want to say a big congratulations to all the parents and the loved ones who are here today. I know you have shown your support over the last four years by repeatedly venmoing your kids for supplies and late night Celsius. Let's hear it for our families who are here today! [Applause]

And of course we can't forget the faculty, the professors, the staff here at Worcester State who helped you every step of the way. The early morning classes and the late night cleaning. These are all of the people who kept it running. Let's hear for our teachers and all of the support staff! [Applause]

Now like all graduation speakers, my job today is to do two things. One, give a little good advice and the second, not talk too long. So I'm ready to go. [Applause] We could make a deal here.

Okay, here's my advice: Never post on social media after midnight. Okay, that is just to see if you're paying attention, but I do stand by that advice, especially if you ever want to run for public office.

My real advice is this: Be open to change. Sometimes it comes in the form of a wonderful opportunity already wrapped up with bells and ribbons, and sometimes it comes as a punch in the face. Either way, you got to be open to change.

I graduated from the University of Houston, which is a long way south and west of here, but it's a lot like Woo State—a mix of students and majors and different paths and all of us scrambling to get that degree.

I missed my actual college graduation. I was already married and my husband had a job a million miles away, so as soon as I took my last final I packed up the car and I joined him.

But even without the chance to walk across the stage, I was excited. First in my family to graduate from college. And I was 100% sure where I was headed. I had made good decisions—the right major, the right classes. I had my job lined up. I was 20 years old when I graduated and I was set on my life's path.

And I was right, in the short run. My dream job started in September after graduation. I was a public school teacher. Can we hear for our public school teachers? Come on, public school teachers! [Applause]

So here I was, I was working at an elementary school. I worked with special needs kids, the really little ones, and I loved it. I mean love, love, loved it. So it was clear to me that all of my decisions about my courses, my major, my first job—yeah, they really mattered and I was set for life.

That was September. The following May I got fired. Yeah. Well, those were the days when women could get fired for being pregnant. And that is exactly what happened. The principal discovered that I was pregnant, wished me luck, and showed me the door.

So there I was, sure that my life was set in one direction, and now it was over. It truly felt like the end of the world. A punch in the face and I managed to land flat on my butt.

And then two years later, one baby, one dog, one move, I ended up going to law school. Now this time around I was sure I had it figured out. I would be a trial lawyer. Why not? I could totally do this.

Three years, one more baby, one more dog, one more move, and one divorce later, I was not a trial lawyer. In fact, I've been inside the courtroom in that capacity only once. Instead, I became a professor. So yes, I will confess—I am a nerd. What can I say?

But now many years and many dogs and one more husband later—I count them—I have the honor of being your senator.

And here's the kind of amazing part—I get up every day and I get into a fight for all of our kids, the kids with special needs who need a little more help, and for all of our teachers and all of our librarians and all of our cafeteria workers and our janitorial staff and all the people who make our education system work. So the way I look at it, I'm still partly doing what that 20-year-old set out to do. I'm just doing it differently.

And my graduation advice is tied up in that story. Throw yourself into your work. Take the chance on your dream to become a teacher or an engineer or a chef or a nurse, to start your own business. And then if you discover at some point, early on or years later, if you don't wake up every day loving it, then move on. Embrace the change. You can do something else. If you get laid off and you feel like you've been punched in the face, that is not forever, either. It is just change. And I guarantee you can do something else.

You don't have to stick with plan one forever. Throw yourself into plan one but not necessarily forever.

Take a look at Dunkin’ Donuts, right? The donuts part worked for a while but things change and now they're just officially Dunkin’ and they're rocking it. Just ask Ben Affleck.

Life is all about opportunity. Spot the chances. Keep an open mind. Consider the unexpected. Entertain the odd opportunity that comes looking for you. And never be so faithful to your first plan that when you hit a bump in the road or when the bump hits you, that you don't have the fortitude and the grace and the resiliency to rethink and regroup for the next plan.

Look, I won't sugarcoat it. Things are really tough right now. Americans’ basic rights are under attack. Science and schools are under attack. Immigrant families are being torn apart. Our economy is teetering. And that is exactly why we need people who can change their plans. Now more than ever. [Applause]

We need resilient people. People who see the glass half full. People who will take any situation, no matter how hard it is, and fight to do what they can to make things better. Those are the kind of people we need in our world right now. [Applause]

It's tough, but I have high hopes for every single one of you. I have high hopes because at this moment, you've already done something that's tough. You've earned your place here today. You've shown up. You've done the work. You've stuck it out. You've pushed yourself. And best of all, you have graduated. And that is something to be proud of. [Applause]

So that's it, Class of 2025. You make us proud and you give us hope. By getting an excellent education, you have built a strong and resilient foundation. And if you work hard, if you persevere, if you leave yourself open to unexpected change, you'll not only find your way through this world, you will help make this world a better place for all of us.

So thank you and congratulations. Thank you. [Applause]

Worcester State University. “2025 Undergraduate Commencement.” YouTube video, 2:39:29. May 17, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxxMk2HiKnc