Good evening!
Tulane University Class of 2025—
You are really something special.
I knew it from the moment you first set foot on campus…in the middle of a pandemic.
I knew it when you faced down Hurricane Ida, and bounced back from the storm.
I knew it when you stood New Orleans strong in the aftermath of the Bourbon Street attack.
And I know, from this day on, you will carry that strength, resilience, and determination with you… wherever you may go.
When you decided to attend Tulane, you made a commitment to academic excellence—to pursuing a curriculum that would challenge you and push you out of your comfort zone, again and again.
That is why I know that you are ready to face the toughest decisions and the biggest challenges that lie ahead.
I also know that you are prepared for the completely unexpected… like an historic blizzard dumping ten inches of snow on New Orleans!
Tonight, I want you to take a moment to look back at all you have faced… all you have overcome… and all you have accomplished.
Because you are the Class of 2025!
Graduation is a milestone that you will remember forever.
By now, you know that we do things differently at Tulane.
So, I’d like to celebrate this milestone…
By going to the movies!
Movies are cultural milestones. They capture a specific moment in time. They both reveal and shape our values.
That’s why it’s fitting to look at this moment through the lens of three unforgettable films… all of which are celebrating a milestone anniversary in 2025, and all of which have vital lessons for you—the Class of 2025.
For over a century, movies from all over the world have built industries, influenced trends, and given us characters that outlive eras.
But every production is a collaboration… and as every Oscar winner knows, it’s important to thank the many people who’ve made this moment possible.
Thank you to the Tulane faculty and staff who make this community so special.
Thank you to the alumni who carry on Tulane’s magnificent legacy.
And especially… thank you to the families and friends who celebrate this moment with us, and who have supported our graduates throughout their journeys.
We are so honored to have all of you here.
Please take a moment to give your families and friends a wave and a whole-hearted “thank you!!!”
And now… Class of 2025, I hope you’re ready for your close-up… because you are a star…and this is your world premiere!
To walk us through our tour of landmark films, I’ve hired one of the best directors in the business.
Riptide, would you please join me on stage?
Thank you, Riptide!
All right, the previews are over, and the feature is about to begin!
So, grab your popcorn! We’re in for a blockbuster night.
For our first movie milestone, let’s flash back to 2015.
Ten years ago, Pixar brought joy, sadness, fear, anger, and disgust to life—and brought memory theory to the masses—with its hit Inside Out.
The movie popularized the concept of “core memories”—important emotional events that shape our lives and our character.
In fact, we are creating a core memory right now!
The story follows the life of an eleven-year-old girl named Riley, whose family moves from Minnesota to San Francisco.
This is a big change, and it sends Riley’s emotions—joy, sadness, and the whole gang of feelings—into overdrive.
Inside Out powerfully demonstrates the complex nature of our internal lives: how a memory can be happy, sad, and inspiring, all at once.
It reminds us to seek the light in the darkest moments, and embrace the intricacies of our emotions.
Okay, Riptide… lights, camera… action!
[Video clip: Inside Out]
Today, you leave Tulane with a wealth of core memories:
The excitement and nervousness of moving in for the first time.
The relief and pride of completing a difficult assignment.
The giddy vulnerability of making friends who come to feel like family… and the heartbreak of saying goodbye when life takes you down different paths.
Wherever you go, the people next to you today will forever understand you like no one else.
Tulanians speak a private language, built by a unique community and enduring traditions that simply don’t exist elsewhere.
That kind of bond endures, and you will find the universe will conspire to have your paths intersect in strange and surprising ways.
As you navigate careers, adventures, misfortunes, and triumphs, your Tulane family will be right there with you… no matter how far apart you are.
Now, let’s flash back to another film anniversary, leaping from our internal lives to outer space.
Released 30 years ago, Apollo 13 brought iconic lines into our collective pop culture lexicon.
You didn’t have to see the movie to use the phrase “Houston, we have a problem,” or to dramatically state, “failure is not an option.”
But—as is often true in life—the most important part of Apollo 13 is when everything goes wrong.
An explosion forces the astronauts to use their lunar module as a “lifeboat.”
Meanwhile, back on earth, a team scrambles to find a solution.
Ready, Riptide? Lights, camera, action!
[Video clip: Apollo 13]
Though you may not have to rescue astronauts in outer space, you will undoubtedly face challenges in your years after Tulane.
But when you’re confronted with a problem of galactic proportions, sometimes the answer will be to think small…. to use or rethink everyday things in a new and novel way.
If you’ve never seen Apollo 13… (spoiler alert!)… the team in Houston found a solution in cardboard and duct tape.
When your options seem limited, looking at what you have in a new way can make those options multiply.
It’s why ingenuity and innovation are so integral to Tulane’s cross-disciplinary culture.
A couple of Tulane students looked at empty glass bottles and saw a solution to coastal erosion.
They founded “Glass Half Full,” which recycles millions of pounds of glass into sand that restores eroding coastlines.
A couple of faculty members looked at machine-learning technology, and saw a secret weapon in detecting cancer.
Their interdisciplinary “MAGIC-SCAN” project was awarded a twenty-three-million-dollar, bipartisan cancer moonshot grant by the then-president of the United States.
Ingenuity becomes a habit—before you know it, you’re finding new ways to see the world around you.
And better yet, you’re finding ways to help it.
That’s a growth mindset that will help you succeed—on this planet and beyond.
Now let’s flash back even further—50 years!—from outer space to the briny deep…where something hungry lurks…
Lights, camera, action!
[Video clip: Jaws]
Jaws needs no introduction.
It is the quintessential story of man-versus-beast: a killer shark stalks the shores of Amity Island, and it’s up to the local police chief to save his adopted hometown.
When it was released in 1975, Jaws created a phenomenon—the summer blockbuster.
It terrified moviegoers, inspired a generation of marine biologists, established Steven Spielberg as a director, and set a new record as the highest-grossing movie ever.
By all measures, Jaws is an enduring success.
But it didn’t start out that way. The production of Jaws was a notorious disaster. It was painfully over-budget. It was way behind schedule.
And most of all…there were problems with the shark. The shark was cross-eyed. Its mouth wouldn’t close. Its skin was distorted by saltwater.
And worst of all… it sank!
To save the film, Spielberg had to get creative.
If he couldn’t count on the shark to work, he had to rely on the audience’s imagination to create a terrifying monster.
He used daring camera work, clever visual cues, and a killer musical score to create tension and fear.
The result was a truly scary movie that became a film legend.
The lesson here is clear: even something that appears to have gone horribly wrong can become a huge success.
The difference is persistence. Keep going.
If what you planned isn’t working, you don’t necessarily need to change your goal… you may just need to find a different way to get there.
Failure doesn’t have to be final. It can be a detour, a strategic pause, or an all-out inspiration.
Class of 2025: from Inside Out to Apollo 13 to Jaws, I hope you take decades of Hollywood inspiration with you as you take on the world.
Your future begins here, where each of you is the director, the writer, the composer, and the star.
Now is your moment to step into the spotlight.
Riptide, would you please slate for this year’s blockbuster production?
Lights, camera, action on the Tulane class of 2025!
Congratulations, class of 2025!
I am so proud of you.
