Remarks to the Class of 2025

Members of the Class of 2025:

Family members, friends, professors, staff, mentors who have helped our graduates along the way...Congratulations!

Graduation is a team sport, as are so many of life’s great achievements. This moment belongs to all of you.

Thank you for allowing me to be part of your special day.

We are fortunate to be joined by so many individuals who are living examples of how you can build on your college experience to lead a life of service and purpose.

I want to thank Major General Charles Bolden for his remarks and his willingness to invest in the next generation of leaders by sharing some of the lessons he’s learned along his own life’s journey.

General Bolden, your words and actions are an example to us all. Thank you.

I also want to express my gratitude to our Distinguished Service Award recipients for all they’ve done for our university, the State of Ohio and our community.

And I extend my congratulations to our honorary degree recipient, Dr. Gawande.

It would be easy to look at the resumes of the individuals we’ve honored today and think, “I’m not sure I could do that.”

Whether they’ve flown into space, authored a bestselling book, pioneered new medical treatments, built successful businesses or become pillars in their communities, this is certainly an accomplished group of people.

But look closer.

The people on this stage have something in common. Something that is an example to all of us. Something the world needs more of.

They have all answered a call to serve the greater good.

This is a lesson to us all. Each and every one of us can live a life of service.

That may take the form of public service, or philanthropy, or community leadership or military service. It may mean raising a family or doing the everyday things that make our community a better place.

The point is, we all have an opportunity and a calling to be a force for good.

With the Ohio State degree you are earning today, I know you will answer that call, and make the world a better place.

And when you set out to create good, there’s a multiplier effect. Each act of service, each positive interaction with another person, has an impact far beyond what you might think possible.

The journey will not always be easy. 

I can tell you this from my own life experience. Things will not always go as you planned. There will be difficult and unexpected challenges.

You’ve already seen this up close and personal. Many of you were in high school at a time when our world was facing an unprecedented crisis.

You may have had to miss or modify some of the rites of passage traditionally associated with this period of your life.

More than once, you had to change direction on a moment’s notice.

And I know that beyond the challenges that made it into the headlines, most of you have been dealt your own private challenges.

You have responded as Buckeyes do.

You’ve worked hard, you’ve stayed the course, you’ve treated others with the grace and compassion they deserve, and you’ve made it here, to this day, your graduation.

And what an achievement this is.

The choice you have made to invest in yourself with a college education is one of the wisest decisions you will ever make.

This degree is something no one can ever take away. The relationships you have formed and memories you have made as a Buckeye will last a lifetime.

The things you’ve learned – the ideas and concepts you’ve discussed and debated in the classroom as well as the skills you’ve gained outside our buildings – will serve you for the rest of your lives.

You leave here knowing HOW to think, not what to think. You know how to engage with people and ideas different from your own. You have built a curiosity about the world and a passion for lifelong learning.

You may not fully realize it sitting here today, but you have changed the trajectory of your life forever.

I have seen it time and time again. There is no more transformative force in a person’s life than education.

Approximately 12,000 degrees are being earned today, and each carries a unique story.

By the way, each diploma that will be awarded today also bears the unique name of the graduate who earned it. That’s a special touch that sets Ohio State apart.

I wish I could tell all 12,000 of those stories. But I know you are eager to celebrate the day. So I will share just a few.

Let me say this. The Buckeye Class of 2025 is a force to be reckoned with. 

We have Jordan Loeffler, a chemical and biomolecular engineering graduate who used her senior thesis project to develop a therapeutic agent for a genetic disease that will change lives.

We have Katelyn Abeln, an Olympian who competed in Paris in the air pistol event.

We have Christopher Ayoub, an M.D./Ph.D. graduate pursuing new treatments for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. A powerful reminder that research done at America’s universities not only changes lives, but literally saves lives.

We have stories of remarkable grit, resilience and perseverance.

Like Theodore Schwartz, an 88-year-old who attended Ohio State in the 1950s and is now earning his diploma.

And Lorenzo Styles, a Buckeye football great who began his degree, went on to a successful career in the NFL, and has now come back to finish what he started.

And so many more.

Stories like these are exactly what our land-grant public university is all about.

They are exactly what we’re talking about when we cite Ohio State’s motto of “Education for Citizenship.”

The students we’re celebrating today are exactly the reason our university exists… The reason we come to work every day.

And I know each and every one of you has an equally meaningful story – filled with hopes and dreams, ups and downs, and your own special memories of what it means to be a Buckeye.

You may be graduating today, but remember that you are a part of the Buckeye family forever.

On behalf of the entire leadership team of Ohio State University, I am so proud of you, and so excited for all that you will accomplish in the years ahead. 

We will be cheering you on every step of the way.

Now, go change the world.