Thank you, Judy and Margaret. Those are very hard acts to follow. I'll do my best. Congratulations. Today is one of those rare moments where you can feel time doing something physical, like a door swinging open. Behind you, late nights, case write-ups, group projects that became friendships, and friendships that became chosen family. Ahead of you, the world. And the world, as you've noticed, is not short on problems. But that's actually the good news, because it means you will never be bored. I want to offer you a single word that you can carry with you: forward. Not up, not safe, not perfect, forward. Forward is what you do when you don't have the map yet, when the spreadsheet doesn't capture what matters, when the opportunity is real but the path is not yet clear. People sometimes assume that big careers are built by people who always knew exactly what they were doing, but that's not how it works. The most meaningful leaps are made when you're only partially prepared, with a strong reason, a willingness to learn, and the courage to begin anyway. If I'd known what I didn't know, I might not have been brave enough to try. So to those who secretly worry you're behind: you're not behind. You're early. I want to share three practices. First, be open enough to let strange ideas live. In business, the first person to kill your best idea is yourself. Get ideas on the whiteboard, let them breathe. Most of what matters next will arrive first as a bad idea to someone proud of being reasonable. Be reasonable later; be curious first. Second, be practical enough to decide with imperfect information. If you wait for complete certainty, you'll watch brave people build your future. It's better to be almost right than 100% wrong. Make the best decision you can, learn fast, and adjust. The modern world rewards the person who can be wrong, recover, and rise above mistakes. Third, never give up by making never small enough to do today. Never give up mostly means showing up again tomorrow. Progress in small scheduled increments compounds to mastery. Keep a promise to yourself on a Tuesday to take the next small step. That's how people become formidable. But there's something more important: you aren't just graduating into an economy; you're graduating into an era where we are remaking humanity. Technology can be miraculous or monstrous depending on who holds power. Build the future in a way that makes people more human, not less. AI can amplify us if we insist. Ask: does this system increase dignity? Does this incentive reward truth? Does this tool expand opportunity or concentrate it? Does this strategy reduce suffering or merely relabel it? That's governance, that's leadership. It will cost you some easy wins, but you'll gain self-respect and the ability to say you mattered. Finally, to anyone who has felt they needed to edit themselves to fit: don't. The world needs more whole people. Find allies, give others permission to be real. When you're afraid, remember fear is a sign you're standing at the edge of a life far bigger than you imagined. Take your degrees, your skills, your friendships, and take this word: forward. Not because it's easy, but because it's yours to do. Congratulations, UCLA Anderson. Now go build something worthy of your brilliance.
