Berkeley Talks: Berkeley commencement speeches celebrate resilience, bravery

[Music: “Silver Lanyard” by Blue Dot Sessions]

Intro: This is Berkeley Talks, a Berkeley News podcast from the Office of Communications and Public Affairs that features lectures and conversations at UC Berkeley. You can follow Berkeley Talks wherever you listen to your podcasts. New episodes come out every other Friday. Also, we have another podcast, Berkeley Voices, that shares stories of people at UC Berkeley and the work that they do on and off campus.

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Carol Christ: Let me begin by offering my heartfelt congratulations to you the members of this remarkable and resilient graduating class. Though the fate sought fit to place unprecedented challenges in your path, you kept your eyes on the prize, you persevered, and you have prevailed.

Before I begin my graduation remarks, I want to say a few words about the protest on campus. Students have been camping around Sproul Hall for almost three weeks. They feel passionately about the brutality of the violence in Gaza, tens of thousands of Palestinians killed, and the destruction of educational institutions and vital infrastructure. I, too, am deeply troubled by the terrible tragedy unfolding in Gaza.

The encampment. The encampment is civil disobedience of the sort Berkeley has long witnessed and my efforts to bring it to a peaceful end are in line with how this university has historically dealt with similar protests. I also mourn the terrible killing of civilians in Israel during the Oct. 7 terrorist attack and I’m distressed by the continued imprisonment of Israeli hostages. I’m saddened by how this conflict has divided students, faculty and staff.

While most of our campus community has engaged peacefully, political positions have bled over too easily and quickly to anti-Semitism and anti-Palestinian harassment. I have no tolerance for either. We have lost the ability to talk with one another. I feel passionately that we must work to regain this capacity whatever our beliefs and perspectives. It is my hope that we can soon find a way to recognize our shared humanity.

As you prepare for the next stage of your lives, I hope you will reflect on these issues. I believe the future of our democracy depends on our ability to engage in civil discourse across the divides and reject the forces of division and polarization. Given recent events and the scourge of COVID, I can only marvel at how you’ve navigated these complicated times. Your presence here today is a testimony to a remarkable accomplishment whose meaning and worth will serve you well in the days to come. We could not be prouder.

While this is a day to celebrate your achievement, there’s no time like now to express gratitude to and for everyone who has helped you arrive at one of life’s great milestones. So let us also take a moment to celebrate and thank those who have supported and stood by you through thick and thin. Let us take this opportunity to express respect and appreciation for this university’s extraordinary faculty and staff who have risen for you and together with you to sustain Berkeley’s character and quality.

What animates Berkeley is our belief in and commitment to individual and institutional agency. The notion that through the discovery, development, dissemination and discussion of knowledge we can make the world a better place. We have before us extraordinary opportunities to extract and apply valuable lessons from all that we’re witnessing and experiencing. These unprecedented times offer unprecedented opportunities for learning about ourselves, the communities and causes we draw strength, meaning, and support from, and about the role of our university in our lives, our nation, and our world.

Now more than ever, the world needs all that you have to offer as the beneficiaries of a Berkeley education and experience as change-makers committed to advancing the greater good. Today, as you stand at one of life’s great crossroads, take a deep breath, pause, reflect, and consider the road you’ve traveled and all that you can and will carry with you from Berkeley into your personal and professional futures. I can only hope you share the gratitude I feel for these attributes, values and aspirations that form the foundation of all that Berkeley is and stands for.

Before I conclude, I want to share how pleased I am to have UC Regent John Peréz with us today. He’s a true Cal Bear and has dedicated his career to public service as a labor leader, speaker of the Assembly, and now as a UC Regent. His support for and contributions to our university have been extraordinary and he’s been a tireless advocate for keeping the cost of education affordable, equitable, and predictable, and for a student body that better reflects the people of California. I’ve been grateful for his partnership. There’s no greater champion of UC, Berkeley than Regent John Peréz.

My parting wish for you, may your years ahead be richly rewarding and fulfilling and may you enjoy much happiness. Hold tight to all the things you carry from Berkeley and may they always serve you and the world around you well. We’re immensely proud of what you’ve done and even more of who you will become, Fiat Lux and go Bears. I would now like to introduce you to our ASUC president, a proud member of the class of 2024. Please join me in welcoming Sydney Roberts.

Sydney Roberts: Hello, class of 2024. It is with great honor and humility that I stand before you this morning. Congratulations on accomplishing this significant milestone. And thank you to every beloved family member and friend here in support of a graduate.

Like many of you, I came to UC Berkeley to be a part of a university that not only values academic excellence but strives to make a difference in the world. Gratefully, I am confident I can say I made the right choice, but I’ve realized that it’s not the university itself that attracted me. It was the students. I wanted to be a part of the legacy that is our student body. We are the driving force and the heart behind this institution’s greatness. Throughout my time here, I’ve witnessed students commit ordinary acts of bravery. And I don’t mean adding an 8 a.m. to your schedule.

I’d like to say though, in the face of global challenges, we have adapted and persevered. We created community despite remote learning, and this year in particular has tested our resolve. As a student leader and as a friend to many impacted by the crippling loss overseas, and as a witness to the intense division on college campuses nationwide, I have felt deep grief, powerlessness, even hopelessness. Like many of you, I think we can do more to limit the loss and to support our peers.

So today I do have one request: Do not run from these emotions. Let your compassion motivate you to take agency. Use it to engage in conversation. Because this would not be the first time that UC Berkeley’s student activism led to global change. Time and time again, we’ve challenged what society expects us to accept. We came here with a deep desire to make an impact, whether that’s participating in a scientific discovery or a political movement. We now have the tools to embark on new journeys and to impart what we’ve learned here in a meaningful way. So amid everything that happened this year, remember the community that you were a part of and the progress you found.

On a much smaller scale, we did come together this year. We successfully advocated to retain our Berkeley emails, which may seem so simple, but it signifies a large part of who we are. With it, we’ll be able to stay connected, we’ll be able to demonstrate our academic achievement and we’ll always remember the values that bond us together. And of course we have much more to accomplish, but we are the type of leaders who create more leaders.

So today we graduate and celebrate and tomorrow we pay it forward. We all have someone who held the door open for us to experience greater opportunities, whether that was an ancestor who pushed boundaries or a parent who showed us unconditional love or a mentor who believed in us. Let us now commit to being that source of support for someone else.

Let us also show gratitude to those who supported us every step of the way. I want to thank the people in my life who made this possible for me, my grandparents, my mother, sisters, my East Coast family. Thank you so much for encouraging me to challenge myself and for always supporting me along this journey. I also want to thank my friends for becoming my support system away from home.

So as we bid UC Berkeley farewell, let us do so with a sense of pride and purpose. Let us never forget the bond that unites us all, our commitment to excellence and compassion. The world awaits our brilliance and our relentless pursuit to make a difference. So congratulations, class of 2024 and go Bears for life.

Sarah Turobiner: It is my pleasure to introduce our keynote speaker, Cynt Marshall. A lifelong pioneer Cynt was the first African American cheerleader at UC Berkeley and the first in her family to graduate from college. She worked for more than three decades as a leader of AT&T. After retiring in 2017, she thought she’d pursue a second career perhaps as a college president, before the Dallas Mavericks recruited her as the first African American female CEO in the NBA. I invite Kirk Tramble, president of the Cal Alumni Association and Cynt to the podium, where Kirk will present her with a resolution that recognizes her distinguished service.

Cynt, as your book title suggests, you have been chosen to share your stories and wisdom with the class of 2024. Thank you, the mic is yours.

Cynt Marshall: Class of 2024, this is your day. Are you over there? I am so honored to be back in my home state at the best place on the planet, my alma mater, the University of California at Berkeley. Today we are celebrating 7,000 students. Most of them did not have a senior, prom or high school graduation.

So today is extra special. Yes, it’s a little lively, it’s a little noisy, but we are celebrating these 7,000 students today. I am so proud to be here on this historic campus. We’re where 60 years ago the free speech movement began. And while there are many national and international issues to boldly speak up about, I want to lift my voice today for these resilient scholars who have been equipped with the skills to lead, contribute to, change, and take over the world. Scholars, are you ready, class of 2024, to take over the world?

I remember my college graduation day. I was sitting at the ceremony thinking about a call I had to make. I’m sure some of you are a tad distracted right now like I was. You’re probably more distracted than I was. You see, during my first week at Cal, my boyfriend, who was one year ahead of me, called to tell me that he had transferred schools.

He said, “Surprise Cynt, I’ve transferred to San Francisco State University so I can be near you.” I responded, “I have a surprise for you, boyfriend. I will call you when I graduate.” Remember, it was my first week of college. I told him that I didn’t have time for some smooth talking cutie who wanted to play when I needed to study. This girl from the Easter Hill public housing projects in Richmond, California was serious about her college opportunity. People had big dreams for me and I needed to focus and handle my business, tell somebody she handled her business.

So I graduated at 2 p.m. and I called him at 3 p.m. Since he hadn’t talked to me in almost four years, the brother tried to act like he didn’t know who I was. I invited him to my graduation party and he said he couldn’t come. He even tried to say that he was engaged. However, something happened and he came to the party. Last week, we celebrated our 41st wedding anniversary. I often tell my husband that he came that close to missing his blessing. So if you have a call to make, just give me 15 minutes and I will be out of your way.

Chancellor Christ, thank you for your service, your devotion, commitment and leadership. Thank you for modeling our guiding values and principles of diversity, excellence, innovation, public mission, accountability and transparency. You will be sorely missed. Board of Regents, my colleagues on the board of Visitors, Kirk Tramble, faculty and administration, congratulations on your many accomplishments, including once again and for the past nine years being named the number one public school in the country.

Sydney and Sarah, thank you for your extraordinary leadership of the student body and this amazing graduating class. Parents and loved ones, thank you for laying the foundation for our graduates to reach this important milestone in their lives. They sit here today because of your unconditional love, your faith in their journey, your limitless credit card, and your tolerance for unending text messages and midnight calls. Give it up for that unending credit card. Unlimited credit card. You have invested a lot in your young person. Today, you are getting the return on your investment.

Class of 2024, please stand and express some gratitude to your moms, your dads, your grandparents, your aunts, your uncles, and all of the members of your village. They got you here today.

Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Graduates. Graduates, a few years ago you became a part of something very special. I did too when my feet landed on this campus. I remember standing under Sather Gate and looking up at the Campanile. Everything was so big. I remember walking into 1 PSL, a lecture hall with a thousand people and most of them did not look like me. I remember having to quickly find a quiet study place because the classwork was suddenly a little harder than high school. Enter Moffett and Doe Libraries into my nightlife. I remember how special it was meeting the girl from Long Beach, Yvonne Vallier, who became and still is my very best friend, and she is here somewhere today.

I also remember the young man who drove me home after class one day, asked me if he was pulling into the projects, and then decided he didn’t want to have anything to do with me because of where I lived. Now, my mama always told me, it’s now where you live, it’s how you live. That’s how Carolyn Gardener ran her house. She told us not to be ashamed of where we lived, but I guess this young man didn’t want a friend from the projects.

Somehow that changed when he saw me two years later in this very stadium performing on the Cal cheer and dance team. One day he even tried … Yes, any cheerleaders and dance team members in the house. Yes.  One day he even tried to chase me down as I was walking to the DG House at 2710 Channing Way. Anchors away, DGs. I was so proud of my new house and I was still very proud of my old house in the projects.

Fortunately, most people didn’t care about my zip code. I was embraced by amazing people who were dedicated to preparing me for the next phase of life. Class of 2024, you have also been embraced by amazing people who taught and cared for you during very turbulent times. Class of ’24, please stand one more time and give a thunderous round of applause to the people who nurtured you during a critical period of growth in your life. Your incredible faculty, administrators, and staff. Thank you.

Now, while these wonderful people are still available to you, they have left the next chapter of life up to you. In my world, I think of the next chapter as a new season and the message to you, class of 2024, is the ball is in your hands. Now, certainly you didn’t think that you were going to leave today without getting a sports-related message from me, the CEO of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, where a former … Jim Knowlton, I see they like sports in here. Where a former California Golden Bear, Hall of Famer Jason Kidd is the head coach. And of course there’s baseball’s World Series champion and Cal alum, Marcus Semien.

So OK, I need everyone, our graduates and everyone to look at someone, look at them and smile, and tell them, “Neighbor.” OK, I need to hear you. “Neighbor, the ball is in your hands.” Now, I grew up in a Pentecostal church and we had a lot of neighbors and we were noisy. Don’t get nervous, I’m going to let you out before midnight. Find someone else to smile. Find someone else and tell them, “Neighbor, the ball is in your hands.” Do we have any basketball, baseball, football players with us today? How about soccer, volleyball, softball, golf, rugby, lacrosse, water polo, tennis players in the audience? We do all of it here at Berkeley.

At some point, most of you have handled a ball that is unique to a sport, training, or leisure activity. You’ve become familiar with that ball and what to do with it. Scholars, the ball I am talking about today is different. The playing field is global and multidimensional, and the game is more significant, believe it or not, than the Cal-Stanford big game. You are now playing the game of life and your ball is a collection of choices that you get to hold each day. Allow me to give you six things to consider as you embrace this new ball and prepare to play on this new court. Consider this your final lesson at the University of California at Berkeley.

Number one: teammates. Constantly ask yourself who else is on the court with you? Who are you doing life with? Always keep good company. Run with good people who are doing things and who will help you keep your court safe.

Number two: your position. Be mindful of your position on the court. You have a distinct role to play in advancing the ball for society. Give of your time, talent, and treasure. Perhaps you’ll be the one who changes the life forever by teaching someone how to read.

Or maybe you’ll be the one with the public mission mindset who mobilizes people to address an international crisis. Or just maybe you’ll be the one with the means to make other people’s dreams come true. I didn’t know on my college graduation day that I would adopt four children, save them from abuse, abandonment, and neglect, and give them stability and a forever family. Winston Churchill, former prime minister of the United Kingdom once said, “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” Use your position on the court to make a difference in the lives of others.

Number three: tip-off. Once you flip your tassel, the game has begun and the ball has been tipped your way. UC Berkeley has equipped you to pick up the ball and make good decisions. Sometimes you will have many decisions to make and competing priorities.

I like to use a simple illustration of a crystal ball and a rubber ball. Life is filled with crystal balls and rubber balls. If I drop a crystal ball, it will shatter and it will never come back. Rubber balls bounce away for others to take them, or sometimes they will roll back quietly. Know your crystal balls from your rubber balls. Some things are important and some things are not. Some things are urgent and some things can wait.

Number four: ball handling. Handle the ball with character. Don’t cheat. Always tell the truth. Your integrity is not for sale. Class of 2024. Look at somebody next to you and say, “Always do the right thing.” Look at someone else and say, “Always do the right thing.” There is a difference between doing things right and doing the right thing. You have been taught how to do both.

Number five: rebounding. Sometimes you will make a bad decision. Sometimes you will take the shot and miss it. Sometimes the light you see at the end of the tunnel is a train. In the game of life, bad things do happen to good people, but there will always be someone around you to help you rebound with grace.

Some of you broke up with a boyfriend or a girlfriend over the past four years. I know you did. Some of you ran out of money and have to call somebody for what I call that HASU moment, that hook a sister up moment, or maybe hook a brother up. Some of you needed some extra help with that last final exam. Basketball legend Michael Jordan said, “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.” Don’t be afraid to miss the shot. Just rebound with grace.

The sixth and final part of this lesson is about player conduct. Play this game of life like a grown-up. I need everybody to look at somebody and tell them it’s time to be grown. Tell somebody else it’s time to be grown. Now, I’m not referring to the grown-up status where you get the privilege of paying your own bills, like you get to pay your bills now, or the kind of grown where you get to go and come as you please and do whatever you want to do. When I say it’s time to be grown, my version of grown — G-R-O-W-N — means this.

G, be grateful. Take time to thank the people in your village who have been and continue to be outstanding and supportive trainers. Never forget the coaching staff of educators who embraced you a few years ago and are proud today to send you into the world. Always display an attitude of gratitude. Keep thank you in your daily vocabulary.

R is be ready. The game of life has some new rules. You need to be in good, physical, mental, and spiritual health to win. I am a stage three colon cancer survivor. I learned the hard way the value of paying attention to all three, physical, mental, and spiritual health, what I call PMS. Everybody needs PMS, physical, mental and spiritual health. Keep your mind, your body and your soul in good shape.

O, be open. Class of 2024, you are a part of a master plan that is bigger than you and not about you. It’s about us and it starts with us. There is a plan that your part is perfectly scripted in. Be open to all opportunities and possibilities. Be open to thoughts and beliefs that differ from your own. Most of you have no idea what profound impact you are about to make on the world. Be open to a future that is unknown, but it’s a future that you will impact and I am counting on you.

W is be willing. Stay alert to injustices in society. You are equipped and able to stand up to hate and evil. Be willing to do your part to create a more just equal, inclusive, and equitable world. Be willing to pay what I call the fee for admission to work, live and play in this society. The fee, F-E-E, is fairness, engagement of all and equality. Practice it and pursue it.

N is be nice. My favorite quote is people don’t care how much you know and you get ready to get a Berkeley degree, you know a lot. But people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Be caring, be kind. Never underestimate the power of nice. You will conquer the world with kindness and compassion.

So class of 2024, you’re at center court and it’s time for tip-off. The game is about to begin. Always keep good teammates. Give of your time, talent and treasure. Know your crystal balls from your rubber balls. Do the right thing, rebound with grace and conduct yourself like a grownup. Grateful, ready, open, willing and nice.

May God bless your hands as you pick up the ball. May God bless your feet as you take to the court. May you always cherish and tell others about your days at Cal.

In the words of my friend and Cal alum, Ahmad Anderson, remember this: You know it, you tell the story. You tell the whole darn world this is Bear territory. OK? Come on. You know it. You tell the story. You tell the whole darn world this is Bear territory.

My fellow Golden Bears class of 2024, you handled your business. Congratulations, the ball is in your hands!

[Music: “Silver Lanyard” by Blue Dot Sessions]

Outro: You’ve been listening to Berkeley Talks, a Berkeley News podcast from the Office of Communications and Public Affairs that features lectures and conversations at UC Berkeley. Follow us wherever you listen to your podcasts. You can find all of our podcast episodes, with transcripts and photos, on Berkeley News at news.berkeley.edu/podcasts.

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