Walter Massey, president emeritus of Morehouse College and of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, former director of the National Science Foundation, and former director of Argonne National Laboratory, delivered the keynote address at Caltech's 131st Commencement Ceremony on Friday, June 13. Read the transcript of his speech below.
Thank you very much, David, and what a gorgeous day. Wow.
And good morning, everyone! It is really my great honor to be here today for Caltech's 131st Commencement Ceremony. First, I'd like to acknowledge the faculty and trustees, and to thank Caltech's professional staff, the people who really do all the work to make these kinds of ceremonies happen. As a college president, I know what it takes. Let's thank them.
And I also want to give a special thanks to you, President Rosenbaum, who I have known for almost 40 years. Tom, I wish you the best of success for your final year as president.
The last time Tom and I were together at a memorable event like this was the Nobel Prize ceremony to which we were invited by professors Kip Thorne and Barry Barish for their role in the discovery of gravitational waves. Tom, I think it's time for another Nobel Prize for Caltech, don't you? And we probably have a few future Nobelists in the audience today among your graduates. And to the parents, partners, family members, and friends who are here to share this special day with your loved ones, as a parent and grandparent myself, I know what you're feeling. It's a sense of pride, accomplishment, and even a little relief, if not a great deal. I'm sure I speak for everyone else when I say that all of your encouragement and support are deeply appreciated. Let's give applause to all the parents and family members who made this happen. Without them, you would not be here, literally.
And, most importantly, to the Caltech graduates of 2025, congratulations! You made it! And all those late nights, the gallons of coffee—and I hope it was mostly coffee—the headaches, tears, exhilarating breakthroughs, and countless hours of dedication, they finally paid off. Today is a day of transition as you began a new chapter in your lives. And for many of you, this can be bittersweet. It's a time of excitement, anticipation, and also anxiety. And these feelings are well justified. Some of you will be continuing your education in grad school or as postdocs, some of you will be moving into the workplace in academia or industry, and some will be taking some gutsy routes in entrepreneurialism tracks we don't even know about.
Whatever pathway you are taking, I wish you success but also remind you that you are leaving Caltech, this stronghold of excellence, at a very challenging time, especially for science, engineering, and what I term the creative economy. There is uncertainty and instability in the job market, and trust in scientific and educational institutions is waning among many segments of the public.
I will not sugarcoat it for you. These are indeed challenging times, and it's important that we acknowledge that. But don't worry, this is not going to be a downbeat speech. Why? Because I promise and I truly believe, based on my own life experiences, that the opportunities for new discoveries and breakthroughs in all areas of the creative economy are greater than ever before. These are challenging times but also in a positive way, and you are poised to be at the cutting edge of new discoveries. You have the opportunity and the ability to change the world for the better.
Why do I believe this? First and foremost, you're Caltech graduates … well, or you soon will be. You have run the gauntlet of one of the most rigorous and respected institutions in the world, and you have succeeded. You have been taught to approach any problem with creativity, analytical rigor, and integrity. What you have learned here has prepared you for any challenge that may come your way. Being a Caltech graduate opens up a universe of possibilities and carries profound responsibilities through the pursuit of knowledge to our society and to yourself.
I believe there are certain values, traits, skills, and habits that equip us to handle even the most difficult situations. Among these, community, hard work, the ability and desire to never stop learning, persistence, resilience (a word you've heard a lot about over these last two days), and a little bit of luck. Today, I want to talk about these qualities, which you have honed over your time here, and how they will serve you as you begin this next chapter. Along the way, I'd like to share some of the lessons I have learned in my own life, and I hope they will be helpful to you as you think about your future.
I often refer to my life as an existence proof, and mathematicians will recognize that. This doesn't mean that my life and career is one that everyone should emulate, but I do think it illustrates some of the possibilities of growth and achievement that are open to everyone.
Early on, I learned the importance of community, and I'm sure this is something you have all discovered during your time here. The people around you can make a difference in your life. I grew up in the Deep South part of the United States in a place called Hattiesburg, Mississippi, during the 1940s and '50s, at a time when everything was divided, apartheid-like segregation. The schools, department stores, movie theaters, drinking fountains, even the neighborhoods were all divided among Blacks and whites, or coloreds and whites. That reality shaped me, and yet, despite that environment, I grew up in a remarkably close and supportive community. My mother was an elementary school teacher and principal. My aunt was a school teacher. So, education was a deeply held value in my family. Our schools were segregated, but we had excellent teachers who cared about our future. My community was a source of encouragement and support. It enabled me to thrive at school and to advance to Morehouse College from the 10th grade. Community is so important, so be sure to take the time to make friends and to cherish them.
My college education was transformative, as I'm sure yours has been. It taught me a number of important lessons that remain with me to this day. First and foremost, hard work. Now, you have all made it to graduation today, so I'm confident that hard work is something that you are very, very familiar with here at Caltech. I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but hard work doesn't stop here. In fact, this is just the beginning. Very few people get to be successful without putting in the time and effort required, but that hard work gets much easier when you are doing something that you love.
Find your confidence. This doesn't come naturally to everybody; it came much later in life for me. But it is important for you to believe that, with dedication, you can achieve your goals. I'm sure you have heard of the term ... maybe you have … it's called imposter syndrome, and it is the belief that you do not really deserve what you have achieved. Well, when you leave here today, I want you to leave your imposter syndrome behind. You wouldn't have graduated if you didn't deserve to be here. You earned this.
Seek out mentors who both inspire and challenge you. In my sophomore year in college, I took my first physics course. Since I left high school in 10th grade, I never had trigonometry or geometry, basic math courses, but I had a professor, Sabinus Hobart Christensen, who I count among my great mentors. He taught me a lot about physics. But even more, he taught me about how much of a difference sharing knowledge and uplifting others can make in people's lives. As Caltech alumni, you will have access to an incredible wealth of knowledge, experience, and support here on campus and across the globe. Take advantage of that. I've been very fortunate to have had some wonderful mentors, and I've always tried to pay that forward by mentoring myself. I encourage you to do the same because it is incredibly rewarding.
Now, I know most of you here are firmly grounded in the sciences and engineering, but I also hope that, during your time here, you have learned and will continue to learn how to embrace the liberal arts. The liberal arts taught me how to learn and led to opportunities I had never envisioned, including perhaps the greatest surprise to me in my life, becoming president of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. And if you think you have experienced imposter syndrome, try being a physicist running an art school. You learn a lot, I tell you. Learning how to appreciate art, music, literature, philosophy, and history will enrich your life and give you a deeper understanding of the world and the people around you. It will also make you a more interesting person to talk to.
Over the last 20 years or so, I've had the pleasure and privilege of working with brilliant and talented people across this creative community, which encompasses the sciences, engineering, the social sciences, humanities, and art and design. It is my belief that all creative individuals share a set of mutual and complementary qualities. Curiosity—and your chairman mentioned this—I would say curiosity is embedded in all creative people who are driven to understand more about the world and how it works. I'm sure curiosity is what brought most of you to Caltech in the first place. Creative people are analytical by nature. No great discovery was ever achieved and no story or work of art was ever created without someone asking why, how, and what if. Always be curious, always question, and always seek to understand what lies beneath the surface.
You are all creatives in your respective fields, and one of the most valuable and remarkable skills of the creative community is the ability to learn. In your time here, you have learned how to learn new knowledge, to understand new and different disciplines, to gather information, weigh what is important, and to apply your knowledge. This is a coveted skill, whether in the laboratory, the corporate sector, or in your own start-up, so take my advice and never stop learning. Your life will be richer and fuller for it.
Be persistent. You are no strangers to adversity. You began your studies in the wake of the pandemic, and you have seen political and social unrest, and some of you, maybe many, either lost your homes or know friends or family who've lost their homes in the California fires. President Rosenbaum shared with me the remarkable story of one of your fellow students, who is named Sasha, who came here from Ukraine to pursue her dream of an academic career. As conflict spread across her homeland, Sasha showed great focus and determination, continuing her research and improving her academic standing. Despite her deep concern for her family and her home, she persisted in pursuing and achieving her dreams. Sasha could not be here today, but her story is an inspiration to us all.
As graduates, whatever path you take is going to require patience, perseverance, and, as I said, resilience. There will be difficult times, and I fear we are already entering one of those times where you will need to be resilient, to believe that things will and can get better, and to believe that you have a great part in making them better. Not every opportunity will materialize, not every venture will be a success, and it might take numerous attempts to achieve the outcome you are hoping for.
One of the great challenges is going to be restoring the public's faith and trust in our institutions of knowledge. How we conduct ourselves as learned individuals is going to play an important role in rebuilding that trust. Be sure to approach your work with the deepest of rigor and ensure that it stands up to the highest levels of scrutiny. Be clear, be concise and thoughtful in communicating your findings, especially with the lay audiences. We need to be more open about how and why we have reached the conclusions we have arrived at in our research.
I encourage you to always think about the impact and the consequences of your work. To do this, it helps to be collaborative. We often imagine a divide between the scientific and nonscientific disciplines, but the reality is that the two really need each other. We have made incredible advances in such fields as artificial intelligence, nanoscience, and biological engineering. Science and engineering brought about these advances, but the arts, the humanities, and the social sciences are going to be vital to understanding how they will impact us as a society and a species. Seek connections from across the disciplines and beyond and embrace a diversity of perspectives of ideas. Your work will be all the better for it.
So, class of 2025, you are a creative community of explorers, problem solvers, scholars, builders, and dreamers. True creativity is grounded in qualities that can never be automated. What you have learned here at Caltech will open up a universe of possibilities, lead to opportunities you have never imagined, and transform your life in ways you have never expected. I wish you the best of success, and happiness, and luck. We all need a little bit of luck in our lives. And as you venture out into the world, remember that I believe in you, your professors believe in you, and your friends and your family believe in you. And now, I challenge you to believe in yourselves. Take the lessons you have learned here and go out and change the world, and make it a better place for everyone. This is your moment. Just say to yourself, "I've got this!"
Thank you, and best wishes.