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[SOUND EFFECTS PLAYING] [BACKGROUND NOISES]
[TAIKO DRUMMING]
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
[BACKGROUND NOISES]
[TAIKO DRUMMING]
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
[TAIKO DRUMMING]
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
[SPEAKING JAPANESE]
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
LOTOYA FRANCIS: All right. Are these on? Yes. OK. All right. So a lot of people in here. Yeah. OK. All right. Welcome, fellow classmates. I am Lotoya Francis. I am the Class of 2022 Senior Convocation Chair.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
I am very excited to have the opportunity to celebrate with you today. First, I want to thank Yamatai for that amazing performance, so let's give it up for them again.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
Now, just a little bit more about Yamatai in case you didn't know. Yamatai is Cornell's one and only taiko drumming group. Through transforming the traditional Japanese drum into a modern art, Yamatai demonstrates power and energy in every performance, the same power and energy our graduating class has shown during our time at Cornell. At this time, we ask that you take a moment to locate exits close to your location, which may very well be behind you. So just take a moment, look around, so you know where you need to go if something pops off.
OK. Also, please take a moment to make sure your cell phones are on silent. Like, actually do that, please. Thank you. The event is being live streamed, so please remain in your seeds during the event so as to not block the cameras by the video staff and professional photographers. The video can be viewed at Cornell Cast. At this time, it is with great pleasure that I welcome Dr. Marla Love to the stage for opening remarks.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
All right. Before I give her the mic, I'm going to tell you all a little bit more about her. So Dr. Marla Love serves as the Robert W. And Elizabeth C. Staley Dean of Students within the Division of Student and Campus Life.
As part of SCL's broad vision of creating transformation through co-curricular programs and services, the Dean of Students provides vision and leadership for care and crisis services, the diversity cultural centers and student empowerment areas, and student conduct and community standards to champion and advocate for initiatives that foster overall student well-being, academic and personal excellence, and strengthens a sense of inclusion and belonging across campus.
Where's she at? OK. Dean Love, we thank you for your work and are pleased to have you join us in this celebration today.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
MARLA LOVE: Thank you, Lotoya, for that introduction. Class of 2022, can I hear you? Class of 2022, can I hear you?
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
Welcome to your convocation ceremony. We are thrilled to be back in-person and feel the energy of a full Barton Hall. Yes. This ceremony is a little bit different from years past, but one thing remains. Today is about you. It's a celebration of your hard work, commitment, and your contributions to Cornell. This celebration will include many voices, namely our guest of honor, Constance Wu. Whoo!
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
To inspire, motivate, and wish you good luck and fortune in your next chapter. I've had the chance to attend your student organization events, view your poster presentations, offer advice to Student Assembly leaders, yell "Go Big Red" at your sporting events, chat with you over meals, or meet with you on Cornell matters of personal passion. I'm honored to witness all of your growth and accomplishments over your time at Cornell, and I'm also excited to celebrate your next chapter and future as Cornell alumni.
You're a special class for me, because you're the first class I greeted on move-in days, my first full year here at Cornell. I chatted with your families and friends who helped you settle into the beginning of your lives. And now, we are days away from welcoming back many of those familiar faces to celebrate this significant accomplishment. Your families and friends will return with big smiles of pride and joy. And as your Dean of Students, my smile will join them as you possess onto the field on Commencement Day.
Cornell class of 2022, congratulations. You have been leaders in bringing our campus back to life and I am so thankful for your contributions. I look forward to seeing and hearing about the impact you're making, and I hope you will remember this campus fondly and come back to share your stories and triumphs of life after Cornell. So throughout this program, we'll showcase several of your amazing classmates as they perform song, dance, and poetry. It is my pleasure to introduce our next performance from the African Dance Repertoire.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
I get the feeling you have seen them perform at a time or two. ADR strives to foster cultural unity and understanding among the students at Cornell and bring awareness of the African diaspora to the larger Cornell community. In addition, they hope to provide a forum to celebrate the diversity embodied in various African countries through cultural events, educational seminars, publications, and community outreach programs. Please join me in welcoming to the stage the African Dance Repertoire.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
[BACKGROUND NOISES]
LOTOYA FRANCIS: All right. All right. We ought to give it up for ADR one more time. Let's go. Let's hear it.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
Thank you, ADR, for that energetic and powerful performance. Fun fact, I was in ADR for all of one semester. Yeah. Thank you. All right. So at this time, it is with great pleasure that we welcome our president, Martha Pollack, the 14th president of Cornell University.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
I'm going to say some more about her. OK. President Pollack is a professor of computer science, information science, and linguistics. From 2000 to 2017, Dr. Pollack held positions of increasing responsibility at the University of Michigan, serving as Dean of the School of Information; Vice Provost for Academic and Budgetary Affairs; and finally, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs.
An expert in artificial intelligence with a research focus on natural language processing, automated planning, and the design of assistive technology for people with cognitive impairment, Dr. Pollack earned a bachelor's degree in linguistics at Dartmouth College. Boo.
[LAUGHING]
And an MS and PhD in computer and information science at the University of Pennsylvania.
[LAUGHING]
She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Association for Computing Machinery, and the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence. As president of Cornell, she is committed to building on the University's academic distinction, capitalizing on its depth and breadth of expertise, fruitful cross-disciplinary collaborations, and unique strengths as an Ivy League and Land-Grant University.
By investing in new evidence-based approaches to teaching and learning; fostering an inclusive, equitable community; and leveraging the complementary strengths of Cornell's urban and rural identities, Dr. Pollack strives to bring Ezra Cornell's vision of a model American university forward to meet the challenges of our present and future. So please, join me again in welcoming our Cornell University president, Martha Pollack.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
MARTHA E. POLLACK: OK. I promise you that I am going to be shorter in my comments than Lotoya's bio of me. But I am really, really happy to be here with the class of 2022. So glad that we are ending your time on campus the way you began it together, in-person. Yeah. We're so glad about that.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
Now, every Cornell class gets two convocations. There's New Student Convocation when you first arrive on campus and then there's this convocation, which is now in the last week before your graduation. And the last time you came together for a convocation, everything was new. You were probably using an app to get around campus or, if you're like me, probably getting lost anyway. But now, you're sitting with your roommates and your teammates and your classmates and your friends. Campus is just as big as it was when you got here, but now it's full of the memories and the friendships you've made.
And so before you say goodbye, before you head out on that next adventure, this is your week to celebrate, not just the degrees you received but all the friendships that you made along the way. So I hope you're having a really, really great time, and I hope you're as excited as I am about today's convocation speaker.
I will admit I am a huge fan of Crazy Rich Asians. In fact, one of my last trips before the pandemic was to Singapore, and I went out of my way to go see the hotel with the surfboard on the top of it. So I will see all of you again on Saturday at the graduations. But for now, I am just delighted to introduce our next speaker, Nasra Ismail.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
And I'm going to say a few words about Nasra, too. Nasra is a graduating senior in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences where she's majoring in international development. Oh, sorry, international agriculture and rural development. She is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute CURT scholar and a mentor through both the Cornell STEP program and the Saturday Math and Science Academy, and she is here to share with us the art of the spoken word. So please join me in welcoming Nasra Ismail.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
NASRA ISMAIL: Thank you, President Pollack, for the generous words. To my fellow classmates, faculty, alumni, and underclassmen, I'm incredibly honored to be standing here before you all today to share words about our unpredictable journey that we successfully made it to the end of. When writing this piece, so many of you came to mind, the shared stories, experiences, and memories we have all had during our time here at Cornell. It was an absolute joy having the privilege to encapsulate all of those emotions into words. This piece is dedicated to you, the class of 2022.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
Far above Cayuga's waters, on this campus we've all called "home," children of immigrants, sons and daughters, legacies and first-gens from across the world, Nairobi to Rome. Every state from Connecticut to Oregon, any person, any study, every interest, every origin. We've shared an experience different than most, one of resiliency, discipline, and hope. Quarantined, attending classes from behind screens, socially distanced, yet still going the distance to make it to the finish line to the many nights in the libraries fueled by caffeine.
I mean, it was no easy journey. We've been living in a time that could only be described as unprecedented, yet still managed to get through the academic rigors and the many losses that have left us feeling disorientated, left navigating a world of unknowns, constantly in cycles of losing and regaining direction.
The compass that kept us going was not our grades or reputations but rather our drive to live a life where our passions and dreams can come to fruition. Whether you arrived in the summer of 2018 for PSP or transferred in with people like me, you are part of a story that will be told long after we're gone, a story of a botanical garden.
Through the seeds we've planted through our various involvements, through the time we make for friends, and the time we make for commitments, balancing the 11:59s and the parking fines, to be front row for your friend's game or thesis defense, we have watered each other seeds in our efforts to support each other's endeavors. We have planted our roots and supported our core value as Cornellians to purposefully discover, changed lives through engagement, and explore across boundaries. Through the boundaries we pushed and the records we broken, the [? Lioni's-- ?]
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
--the [? Yousefs ?] and the [? Katherine ?] St. [? Heliers-- ?]
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
--we found light in creating these moments, found light in creating these spaces, found light in creating these bonds, creating the things that drive our passions, converting our light into actions, photosynthesizing our goals into accomplishments. I am amazed at our growth, at our ability to adapt to change, and our ability to make the most out of limited time. Whether in-person, hybrid, or online, we have nurtured our paths and begun to branch our seeds into the world.
Like a plant whose spores have gone on into the wind, we are all part of Cornell's diaspora, its garden of scholars. As we stand here in this present moment, excited for all of our incredibly bright futures, we hope you never forget to cherish the past, not just the challenging labor and its fruits but the people who have been there for you every step of the way to watch your growth. We hope you never forget your roots, far above Cayuga's waters, far above the busy humming of the bustling town. Thank you.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
LOTOYA FRANCIS: OK. So we're going to have to thank Nasra again for what she just gave to us.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
Especially that 11:59 part. Yeah, we're going to get back to that in a second. But before we do, I want to introduce the platform party to the stage and we'll just give them a second to come up and take their seats.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
OK. All right. So I'm going to shift gears a little bit. I'm about to take us back to the beginning of all of this, not O week, not move-in day, but the night that Common App was due.
[LAUGHING]
Yeah. Now, I don't know about y'all, but I'm a last-minute diamonds-are-made-under-pressure kind of girl.
[CHEERING]
Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. My entire academic career has been Lotoya versus 11:59. Yeah. And I'm not going to lie, 11:59, she put up a good fight. Yeah. She definitely won some of those battles. But listen, this weekend, let the record show who won the war. Right? Yeah. Yeah.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
OK. Yeah. And let the church say "period."
AUDIENCE: Period!
LOTOYA FRANCIS: Yeah. Now, when I sat to write this speech, I couldn't help but think about my first 11:59 deadline for Cornell University as I was shooting my shot as a high school senior. I wish I could say I had the most amazing and supportive college application process, but my reality was far from that. My college counselors, some of them had very little faith in me and did not think I would get into any of my top schools. This made things pretty rough, to say the least. Now, for context, I am first-gen and was raised-- whoo, yeah.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
And I was raised by a single mom who immigrated here from Jamaica before I was born.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
Yeah. She's watching the live stream. She's at work right now, y'all. So shout out, mommy.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
So I had really like little to no frame of reference for how this elite American college stuff was supposed to go and neither did she. Thankfully, though, my mom always believed in me and the power of prayer. And it turns out that that was really all that I needed. The night of the Common App deadline, I decided to scrap everything I'd already written and start over. I wanted my application to tell the story that was really on my heart. So you probably guessed it, I'm going to read y'all some of what 17-year-old Lotoya wrote back in January of 2018. So here it goes.
"Higher God, all my mother said was that she would stand behind me and my goals, no matter what statistics say. Her faith lies in a Higher Power, not numbers. My college counselors' response was that, if we're so sure that God will provide for us, then perhaps we should hire him. His use of phrases like 'chances are' and 'for your demographic' never seemed to shake my mother's belief in my ability to accomplish my dreams.
Now, I have not always been the most devout Christian, but this college process has enhanced my faith in ways I had never anticipated. When I told my mother what the counselor said to me, she told me to take his advice. So I listened. I have started to pray about the process and speak my dreams into existence. Yet still, I am a bit fearful. I spent my high school career more concerned about changing the world than about how I looked on paper.
But the Bible says, 'let us not grow weary of doing good for, in due season, we will reap,' Galatians 6:9. Numbers and statistics do not define the person I am today. My aspirations are high, because I know how I have impacted my communities and how I can impact yours. At some point, I will return to my counselor and tell him that I took his advice to hire God and that it was the best advice I have ever received.'" So spoiler alert, I got in.
[LAUGHING]
Yeah.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
Thank you. And I'm graduating in a few days with lifelong relationships, a wealth of knowledge, and so much more. A wise woman, Beyonce Knowles, once said, "Always stay gracious. Best revenge is your paper." And by paper, I'm sure she meant that diploma that's coming in the mail. Yeah.
Now, what was the point of sharing these thoughts and my Common App essay with you today? My intention was not to get up here and give a sermon or embarrass my 17-year-old self. I'm being honest. If I'm being honest, it's not like I spent the past four years on bended knee praying to Jesus. I was at fish bowls and Thirsty Thursdays just like everybody else.
[LAUGHING]
But there is no doubt in my mind that I was always protected. Even when I wasn't praying for myself, my mother's and her mother's and her mother's prayers carried me through. Maya Angelou once said, "I come as one, but I stand as 10,000." Not everyone that makes it into this place makes it out. We've lost friends and gained angels along the way.
If you or anyone ever doubts that you are destined for greatness, I urge you to take my high school college counselor's advice. Lean on your support system. Celebrate yourselves today and every day and take advantage of this life and these opportunities we've been given. Numbers and statistics don't determine who you are and what you can achieve. Through all the world's crises, every emergency alert text, and every email that started with "in these unprecedented times"--
[LAUGHING]
--we have managed to overcome. We still have ways to go as a community. There will always be more to learn and more we can do to support the most disadvantaged among us. We must continue to challenge ourselves and our institutions to do better and to be better. And we have been equipped with the knowledge and tools we need to do so.
With that, I'll close with quotes from two of our greatest heroes, Uncle Ben from Spiderman and Cornell alumna Toni Morrison. "With great power comes great responsibility," Uncle Ben. And "As you enter positions of trust and power, dream a little prayer for you think," Toni Morrison. Thank you for listening to me today. Thank you to my friends who have become family.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
I love you, and I owe you everything. Thank you to all the faculty who saw me for who I am, respected me, and pushed me to dream in ways I didn't know I could. And this goes for high school teachers, middle school teachers, elementary school teachers as well. Thank you to the village that raised me, especially my Aunt Jackie, who is my second mother who's watching the live stream.
And of course, to the birth-giver herself, my mom. I have done this all for you. Thank you to my Convocation Committee and to our advisor, Kyle Schillace, and all of Campus Activities for your tireless efforts in putting this together and for not allowing me to write this speech at the last minute.
[LAUGHING]
LOL.
[LAUGHING]
I'm lying. Yeah. I encourage everyone here to thank those that made this possible for you. While we're preparing to leave this place we've called "home" for the past four years or however many years you have been here, know that home is where the heart is. So as long as we've found love here, we get to take home with us wherever we go. And let the church say "period."
AUDIENCE: Period!
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[BACKGROUND NOISES]
Y'all are so cute for that, aw. All right. And now, without further ado, I am excited to introduce you all to our next speaker. [HUMMING] All right. Constance Wu.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
Y'all know I got more stuff to say. Come on. Come on. Come on. All right. Constance Wu is a vibrant and acclaimed actress, steadily paving the way in her industry. In 2018, Constance starred in Crazy Rich Asians, a romcom that made Hollywood history as the first studio film in over 25 years to star an Asian-American woman.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
Before that, Constance starred as Jessica Wong in ABC's comedy series Fresh Off The Boat.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
Y'all, don't clap after every sentence. She's done a lot, y'all. Come on. This also made history as the first American network TV show to center an Asian-American family in over 20 years. Constance holds a BFA in acting from SUNY Purchase's Conservatory of Theater Arts and Film where she trained in classical theater.
[CHEERING]
Yeah. Yeah.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
Constance, on behalf of the entire Cornell community, we are honored that you have joined us as the class of 2022's convocation speaker. The Student Selection Committee, right over here, was entrusted with the opportunity to represent the student's voice and coordinate an impactful event. We wanted a speaker whose values, achievements, and insights would resonate with our unique college experience. You are someone who has been guided by personal values and understands the importance of living life by what is important to you.
The pandemic has impacted everyone in so many ways. One thing that has become clear to many Cornellians is the power of community and the responsibility we have to nurture it. With our motto of "any person, any study," it is critical that we prioritize equity, inclusion, and diversity. Cornellians not only focus on academics but seek ways to make an impact and change social norms positively. Many of us are activists, humanitarians, and creators. We strive to be changemakers outside of the classroom.
Through your work, it is clear that you are an advocate for inclusion in mainstream media. You have continuously prioritized diversity over standards expected by the entertainment industry, which continues to break down barriers in terms of representation. We also appreciate the way you bring humor into our world. You are forward-thinking, authentic, and bold, who demonstrates integrity, determination, and success in your career, and you have leveraged your influence for a more inclusive and welcoming world. Constance, we are deeply honored to have you share this momentous achievement with us. At this time, I welcome Constance Wu, our class of 2022 convocation speaker, to the podium.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
CONSTANCE WU: I always have to lower these things, because I'm really short. OK. Hey, guys. How's it going?
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
It is so awesome to be here. And Madam Chairperson, Lotoya Francis, thank you for those kind words of introduction. I'm glad somebody's recording that, so I could listen to it on a bad day. I want to say thank you to the entire Convocation Committee for inviting me, a former B-minus/C-plus student to speak at this very A-plus school.
[CHEERING]
Thank you, President Pollack, Vice President Lombardi, and Dean love for welcoming me so graciously. And most of all, thanks to you, Cornell class of 2022.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
So over the past few weeks, whenever I mentioned that I was coming here to speak, I got a lot of the same responses from Angelenos. They were all like, oh, it gets cold up there. From Asian parents, they were all like, Ivy League.
[LAUGHING]
And then from my friends, they asked, you, why? And I tried to keep my responses polite. Yeah, you know, upstate New York is often colder than LA. And, yes, mom, it's an Ivy League. And I do know that your Taiwanese friend Wanda's son got into three Ivy League colleges. You've told me about that a million times. Yes, I also remember that his SAT score was almost double mine.
[LAUGHING]
Does that sound familiar to any of the Asian kids here? Yeah.
[CHEERING]
And when responding to my surprised friends who were like, oh, why did they invite you, I was honest. I was like, well, I spent 10-plus years waiting tables, so maybe I'm a cautionary tale. Or maybe it has something to do with my acting work, Crazy Rich Asians, Fresh Off The Boat, Hustlers.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
Or the Kohl's commercial I did when I first moved to LA.
[LAUGHING]
That's when I realized that guys might know a lot about me, but I don't know a lot about Cornell or about you. I was actually vaguely aware of Ezra Cornell from a TED Talk about his distant relationship to a serial killer, but I doubted that had very much to do with his vision for the University. So first, I confirmed that my doubts were right. You'll be glad to know. But then I kept reading about Cornell's original endowment, securing land-grant status, and Ezra's catchphrase which cemented the spirit of Cornell. "I would found an institution where any person could find instruction in any study."
Even 157 years later, hearing the promise in the words that became your motto was heartening, especially coming from Hollywood where, until only very recently, stories considered worthy of telling all looked kind of the same. So as someone coming from Hollywood, I was a little skeptical. I was like any person, really? That's when I dug deeper and learned about Cornell's incredible history of inclusion and diversity. "Any person." But then "any study"? So I looked up some of the more unique courses you guys have here. I found a course called "Intro to Wine," and I booked my flight immediately.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
I have to say I was pretty amused by reading tales of woe from a surprising number of students who clearly declined or "forgot" to spit their wine out during tasting classes. It's hard to discern a Zinfandel from a Cab when you're wasted. I've tried. It's not easy. But keep trying, guys. Challenges are good.
[LAUGHING]
And then I found some very happy, warm stories of being at peace in the kaleidoscopic soundscape that was the final for Magical Mushrooms, Mischievous Molds.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
Wine and mushrooms, those are some cool classes you guys have. Though, it wasn't on my college transcript, I studied those things, too.
[LAUGHING]
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
No. Yeah. I was a drama school student at a performing arts conservatory. Any drama/theater majors here? OK. There's a couple. Drama students are good in a crisis, because we, A, thrive on drama and, B, we really do believe that the show must go on. That is why I was curious about your drama these past four years and how your show went on, even through a global pandemic.
So I read some stuff on the internet. I read stories of confusion and frustration as hard-won opportunities were lost due to protective pandemic measures. I read about loneliness and unfortunate pod pairings. There was the cancellation of dances and concerts, closed restaurants, probably a lot less beer pong, and a lot less making out, which was a really big thing for me when I was in college. My favorite thing.
[LAUGHING]
But you know what? Then I remembered some of the more regrettable hookups, and I realized maybe you guys dodged that. Because that theoretical dumb mistake of a hookup, like he wasn't in your pod. One less regret. And although a pandemic college experience may have helped you dodge a regretful hookup or two, I do think mistakes can be good sometimes. Like for example, I learned that I should never date someone who cites the Fountainhead as their favorite book.
[LAUGHING]
My mistake taught me something. Of course, I'm not advocating for your failure. But as you descend from the hill this weekend and make your way to whatever chapter awaits, knowing that you can survive big misses is exactly what might inspire the big swing that manages to connect. Because it's not about failure but what you do with it. I mean, you guys couldn't control a pandemic. You couldn't control social restrictions. But you did what you could with it, and your lives will be richer for having those tools.
And I guess, in these kind of speeches, I'm supposed to impart some kind of wisdom. And I was like racking my brain for something, and I was like, oh, I don't know. And that's when I realized, that's it. I don't know. Those three little words, "I don't know." Those words are the best thing I can tell you about. Saying them can be so freeing and so telling of your character, but it can be difficult to say when you're scared of failure.
But if you recognize failure as opportunity rather than defeat, then, in a way, you never fail. You just find opportunities to get better. I don't know. When you say that, the world doesn't end, you get to learn something, and you demonstrate to leaders that you aren't afraid to ask, that you want to learn. And you aren't judged for not knowing. Or if you are judged, then that person's a dick.
[LAUGHING]
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
It's true. An insecure dick. And then it becomes a filtering mechanism for dicks, which you could then read out to devote your time and energy to non-dicks.
[CHEERING]
So my first two years of Fresh Off The Boat, I was new to television because I'd been a theater kid my whole life. I didn't even know the terminology of a TV filming set. I didn't know what a "forced call" was or what a "honey wagon" was, which that's the trailer that you go pee in. I didn't know that. I thought it was like maybe for honey. I guess they didn't want to call it the "pee wagon"? You know, Hollywood.
But I held my pee in, figuratively not literally, because I was too afraid to ask, too afraid to say, "I don't know what that means." See, because by the time most actors have reached the level of a TV show like Fresh Off The Boat, they've climbed the ladder a little bit, so they know these things. My co-star Randall had had lots of TV experience. The crew had been working on TV shows for decades. Even the child actors seemed to know more than I did. And when they didn't, their parents asked for them. And they had an excuse for not knowing, they were kids. I was 30.
People assumed I knew what I was doing. There was a lot of expectation, and I was constantly paranoid of being found out and fired at any moment. It was only after two seasons that I started admitting that I didn't know, that I needed help. And while I'd feared that that admission meant a bolt of lightning would strike me down and banish me from ever working again, people were glad that I asked for help. They were glad to share their knowledge. It helped them remember when they were new, too. Why had I been so afraid of it? I spent two years in my dream job wasting time and energy on that fear.
So, guys, when you leave here and consider if you should pick up those three little words, think of all you might accomplish without that wasted energy pretending, think of all the extra life you might get to enjoy. You might even be able to laugh at yourself. Admitting that you don't know or that you need help, professionally, psychologically, emotionally, it's not a mark on your record. It's just part of the story of life. Everyone goes through it.
My story is suburban girl goes to the big city to pursue her dreams, goes through rough times but prevails in the end. And although it is an extraordinary story in its own right, it's also one we've heard before, one I might have even predicted when I first arrived to my Craigslist rental in New York City. And when you guys first got to Cornell, you might have had some predictions for the story of your college experience. Maybe it was a classic coming-of-age story, a romantic comedy, maybe even a teen sex comedy.
[LAUGHING]
And then things happened and the reality became a little more Contagion than American Pie. But even in the face of that change, I mean, look at you guys. You're friends, comrades, lovers, colleagues, pandemic war buddies. You've shared hand sanitizer.
[LAUGHING]
You convinced your paranoid uncle to get vaccinated. Yay! You found a way.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
Part of what's very cool about being here with you right now is that I could stand here and see what all of you created through this very unexpected story of a global pandemic, the pods and communities you created. I could watch what you did to keep colleagues, educators, and their families safe. And this wasn't accomplished with grand, sweeping movements but through small and consistent gestures of care thousands and thousands of times, gestures that addressed a need that more often than not was outside of yourselves. And very, very recently, I thought, wouldn't it be great if our politicians thought outside of themselves, too, if they thought outside of their millions in NRA contributions and instead thought of the insides of elementary schools?
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
Yeah, outside of their NRA contributions and thought instead of the inside of their elementary schools, houses of worship, grocery stores, and the people in those places that they claim to represent, that they pledge to care for. Because that's what community is, or at least that's what it should be. It's being there for each other. And it's good to know that that still happens today, because we're in a time when it's very difficult to find evidence of that kind of thinking around us. Not in small towns, not in big cities, and definitely not in the halls of power. So while your college experience wasn't the story you were expecting, you should be proud of it. You made it a story to remember.
I've always been a lover of stories. That's why I'm an actor. And when you study stories the way I do when I approach characters, you sometimes look for patterns. And one I've noticed across a lot of stories, including the one that has put me up here in front of you today, is that persistently and faithfully rising to the occasion, showing up when it isn't convenient or pleasant, staying true to yourself even in the face of rejection and despair, well, that's often the starting point of incredible things. I can't wait to see what you all are going to do in this life. I don't know what's going to happen, and that's what makes it fun. So go out there, make your story, and have some fun. Thank you. Congratulations, class of 2022.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
LOTOYA FRANCIS: All right. Constance, thank you for offering words of advice and encouragement. And classmates, soon-to-be graduates take Constance's advice and focus on writing your own story, one that is meaningful to you. Remember what you heard from Constance, challenges are good. Who cares if it was in reference to wines and mushrooms? Challenges are good. Now, at Cornell, we do not issue honorary degrees. Sorry, Constance's mom.
[LAUGHING]
But we do have a fancy medallion. OK. So let me find it. Where is that? Oh, there we go. OK. Cool. Cool. Cool. Cool. All right. So the medallion is our way of recognizing the impact you've had on Cornellians today. You have made this weekend iconic and relevant for us as graduates through your words. On behalf of the class of 2022, it is my absolute pleasure to present you with the Convocation Medallion.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
OK. It is with pleasure that I introduce to you all a person who truly always puts us, the students, first every possible time, a person who is there with us when we first moved into Cornell, transitioned to remote learning or hybrid, then back to in-person, Dr. Ryan Lombardi.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
This is the last time. You know I got to say some more stuff. Ryan serves as a Vice President for Student and Campus Life at Cornell University. The Division of Student and Campus Life provides a broad array of programs and services designed to support students and the campus community. Ryan, we welcome you to the podium.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
RYAN LOMBARDI: Thank you, Lotoya. You are amazing, truly. Congratulations. Isn't she? Come on.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
And thank you also to Constance for the inspiring, the thoughtful words, and the very poignant words that we're all feeling right now this morning today. Thank you so much for addressing that and bringing it to the front. I appreciate it. Class of 2022, yes. Yes.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
Look, I have a speech in here. I don't think I'm going to give it, though, because that's not me. That's not my style. I want to say a few things to you, though, and I think you should text your friends, the ones that kind of got up and left. But they're about to miss something big. I'm actually just kidding. It's a bluff, but like I think it would be kind of fun if you texted them that, that they missed something really cool. I don't know where they're going. Is there like another wine tour this afternoon or a boat cruise or something? Yeah. Someone's like, yes, there is. We're trying to get to it.
So congratulations. I am really, really, really going to miss you all, for sure. We do this work. We support you. I know we don't always agree on the exact way to do it. I read those emails. I'm on reddit once in a while.
[LAUGHING]
I actually had to give it up, too. It wasn't good for my own mental health.
[LAUGHING]
But, class of '22, it has been a ride, without question. Every speaker today acknowledged it. You came in so strong, we were doing it.
[LAUGHING]
We're finishing strong. Yes, we are. This has been pretty good. Slope Day was pretty good. I mean, I saw some of you.
[LAUGHING]
I think Marla had a better arm than I did when we were throwing those t-shirts out, trying to hype the crowd. We're going to end strong. We had this little thing in between for a couple of years. No, I don't mean to joke about that. It's very serious, but I do want to say how much I appreciate your effort during that space. I know it was tough. Believe me, we didn't like it either. And again, when I was reading those things that you didn't like or when I was getting those emails, I didn't like it either. It was very tough. It was tough on all of us.
And we tried to do our best. You tried to do your best. And it's all we can ever ask for, is that everyone tries to do their best. And I can tell you, myself, my colleagues, the president, the provost, everyone who worked over the last couple of years was just doing their best. We may disagree about some of the decisions that were made. That's fair. This is a place where we can disagree and we can still love each other, because we're still family at the end of the day. We did our best. We all did our best. And you were awesome, so thank you for that. Yes.
[APPLAUSE]
And dare I say that that is actually how life often works. We have a plan. We come on to something strong, and then something changes. Maybe something in our control, maybe something out of our control. And we just have choices at that point. We have choices about how we're going to respond, how we're going to engage, and how we're going to move forward; choices about how we're going to take care of ourselves while we're doing that and take care of our family around us, our community. We have those choices. So as tough as this might have been, it may have also been the greatest preparation for what's yet to come.
And let me just say, from my seat, y'all are ready. You are ready for whatever is next to come. And as a few others have said, do not ever let anyone call that into question for you. You get to choose. You are ready. You are enough, and no one else ever gets to tell you otherwise. That's what I see from my seat. You're going to crush it, just as you did here. Thank you so much for being a part of Cornell's rich history. Thank you for taking care of each other while you were here, leaning on each other in hard times, having fun on the Slope in those times, and whatever else is going to happen in the next couple of days before graduation.
[LAUGHING]
Rescinding usually doesn't happen at this point, by the way.
[LAUGHING]
That's what I'm saying, you're good to go. It's all good. It's all good. Today is about you. We celebrate you, class of 2022. Remember, you've got it. You did awesome here. You're going to have a great experience. And I wish you all the very best in your next chapter, and I am going to miss you. Thank you so very much.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
Now, here is the bonus. Look, a couple of folks just got up. Thank you for staying for me at least. I appreciate that. Here is the bonus. We have one last amazingly talented set of your friends and peers who are going to perform. It is my pleasure to welcome the very talented Class Notes to end our time together today.
Now, the Class Notes, if you do not know, are the oldest award-winning all-gender a cappella group here at Cornell, founded in 1983. And although they were originally a jazz group, they have since grown to sing everything imaginable. They have been featured on best of a cappella compilation albums and recently became the ICCA central champions in 2022. Think Pitch Perfect here. Please, join me in welcoming the Class Notes.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[BACKGROUND NOISES]
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
[HUMMING]
[VOCALIZING]
(SINGING) Hey. Hey.
[VOCALIZING]
(SINGING) Cut my friends, I don't want to feel anything. Lost my facing, I lost my brain, I don't need that love. We're going to have a party for one, blow my candle because nobody come. It's just me turning up, have my cake and eat it. Everybody's playing a game. I'm just going to stay in my lane. Watch as they never change, all of them can beat it. Turning off my phone, yeah. I'm just better off alone. It's sad but true. Sad but true. Sad but true.
Cut my friends, I don't want to feel anything. Lost my face and I lost my brain. I don't need that love. Cut my friends, because they only want to let me down. Now, I'm wondering through this crowd. I don't need that love. You're already out of my head, stay on my phone but I leave you unread. It's too hard to take. I know that they don't mean it. I'm turning off my phone and I'm just better off alone. It's sad but true. Sad but true. Sad but true.
[VOCALIZING]
(SINGING) Cut my friends. I don't want to feel anything. Lost my face, and I lost my brain. I don't need that love. Cut my friends, because they only want to let me down. Now, I'm wandering through this crowd. I don't need that love, no.
[VOCALIZING]
[BEAT-BOXING]
[VOCALIZING]
One, two, three. (SINGING) Cut it. Cut it. Cut it. Cut it. Cut it. Cut it. Cut it. I get this feeling that you really want to turn me on. Whoa. Tell me why I got this feeling that you really want to make. (SINGING) Parts of me kind of like. But before, I lead you on, tell me what's your motive. What's your motive? What's your motive? Tell me what's your motive? What's your motive? What's your motive? (SINGING) Don't say you want me. Say what you mean.
[VOCALIZING]
(SINGING) Tell me what's your motive? What's your motive? No need to sugarcoat it. Say what you want. Can you promise me you'll bring it all tonight?
[VOCALIZING]
(SINGING) Tell me what your motive.
[VOCALIZING]
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
(SINGING) And all you see was a warning sign. That if you talk enough sense and you lose your mind. And how use you as a focal point. So I don't lose sight of what I want.
And I found love where it wasn't supposed to be. Right in front of me. Talk sense to me. And I found love wasn't supposed to be, right in front of me. Talk some sense to me. (HUMMING)
[VOCALIZING]
(SINGING) We are the crowd. We're coming out. Got my flash on, it's true. Need that picture of you. It's so magical. We'd be so fantastic. Oh. It's not sure what it means with this photo of us. It don't have a price. Ready for those flashing lights, because you know that, baby, I'm your biggest fan. I'll follow you until you love me.
Baby, there's no other superstar. You know that I'll be. (SCATTING) Baby, you'll be famous. I'll be the one back stage to show. They'll be roses inside, because you're my rock star in between the set.
Purple teardrops, I'm crying. (SINGING)
[VOCALIZING]
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
(SINGING)
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
[BACKGROUND NOISES]
LOTOYA FRANCIS: All right. All right. Can you all hear me? Yes. OK. All right. They just ate up. We need a, yeah, another round of applause. Thank you. Yeah.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
All right. So closing thoughts, after this event there is a celebratory event hosted by Alumni Affairs and Development in Bartels Hall. So if y'all want to slide over there for like music, food, fun things, you should definitely do that. Right now, I'm going to invite Dr. Marla Love, VP Lombardi, Constance, President Pollack, and Nasra to this stage. And we are going to join the Class Notes in singing the alma mater, and then we're going to head out. So can everybody rise, so we can sing together?
[BACKGROUND NOISES]
How did they make no it
(SINGING) Far above Cayuga's waters, with its waves of blue, stands our noble Alma Mater, glorious to view. Lift the chorus, speed it onward, loud her praises tell. Hail to thee, our alma mater, hail, oh, hail, Cornell. Far above the busy humming of the bustling town. Reared against the arch of heaven, looks she proudly down. Lift Of the chorus, speed it onward, loud her praises tell. Hail to thee, our alma mater, hail, oh, hail, Cornell.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
All right. I like that. That was a little mix, period. OK. Thank you again, everyone, for coming to the event.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
And congrats class of 2022.
The Senior Convocation Ceremony is a Cornell tradition that takes place during the Senior Days leading up to Commencement Weekend. Convocation is a student-led event that celebrates the accomplishments of the undergraduate graduating class. Highlights of the event include a student speaker, a student poet, student organization performances, University leadership, and an invited guest speaker.
Welcome address: Dean Marla Love Performance: African Dance Repertoire Address: President Martha Pollack Student Poet: Nasra Ismail Convocation Chair Address: Lotoya Francis Guest Speaker Address: Constance Wu Closing remarks: Vice President Ryan Lombardi Performance + Alma Mater: Class Notes
