They chose to use their platform to ensure not just that their son would be remembered, but that a new university, built in his name, would exist to benefit others.
Since the Stanfords didn’t have the opportunity to give their son the future he had envisioned, they devoted themselves to creating a university that would produce both fundamental knowledge and apply that knowledge to tackle real-world problems – but that that would also help countless other students build their own platforms and launch their own lives of purpose.
As Stanford graduates, you have built and earned your platform.
Your education and experiences here will give you opportunities to pursue your interests and follow your own unique path.
Of course, you’ve worked tremendously hard to achieve this success. And I know that it hasn’t always been easy. Each of you has had to overcome obstacles to get to where you are today.
And all of that hard work – the midnight coffee breaks; the final exams; the hours spent in the library, or the studio, or the laboratory – have brought you here today.
And you haven’t stopped there.
You’ve thrown yourself into activities and experiences here – whether sports or the arts, student government or the student newspaper, service work, sketch comedy, the Band, or…or – especially as I’ve seen in the last week – fountain hopping!
These experiences have enriched your lives, and they, too, have brought you to where you are today.
