With this school year's commencement season at an end, all of us at the Goldhirsh Foundation and LA2050 congratulate the graduates of the Class of 2025 and their families!

We’re marking the occasion by releasing a new installment of what’s become an LA2050 blog tradition: A run-down of some of our favorite recent commencement speeches from colleges and universities in Los Angeles. [Here is one past edition, and here is another.]

This year, we’ve selected filmmaker Jon M. Chu, musician Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, educator and author Dr. Bettina Love, and CSUN communication studies graduate Désirée Kiva Powell. Read more and find links to their respective remarks, below.

Jon M. Chu | University of Southern California

On May 15th, USC School of Cinematic Arts alum Jon M. Chu took to the stage and addressed the 2025 USC graduating class as their main commencement speaker. Chu touched on the necessity of community in an ever-changing world. He focused on storytelling as the best navigator in an unprecedented time, and how the graduates’ job is “not simply to inherit a world, but to reimagine it and set the foundation for who we are moving forward.” He encouraged students to redirect their imagination away from worry and to embrace all the mistakes and flaws that led them to this point in their lives, emphasizing that the best stories are written alongside community. “You will go through tough times. Terrifying times even,” Chu said. “But your beautiful brain will figure out creative ways to get out of it. And your ferocity will get you through it.”

Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson | Loyola Marymount University

Academy Award-winning filmmaker and multiple GRAMMY Award-winning Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson of The Roots joined the Loyola Marymount University graduating class on May 17th as their main commencement speaker, sharing four guiding practices that he said provided him with the resilience to grow amidst adversity. Drawing from his personal experience, Thompson stressed the importance of gratitude, daily habits, conscious breathing, and movement as means of alleviating the anxieties of uncertainty and the physical toll of unprocessed emotions. He encouraged students to “dig deep” and noted that “the stuff that changes your life is usually buried under your biggest fears,” underscoring the power of self-affirmation. “Transformation begins with how you talk to yourself,” he said. “Flip that question, ‘Am I good enough?’ into, ‘I am good enough.’”

Dr. Bettina Love | USC Rossier

On May 19th, 2025, author, academic, and educator Dr. Bettina Love addressed the doctoral graduates at the USC Rossier School of Education. Dr. Love also urged graduates not to confuse credentials with wisdom, and to always stay true to one’s community because “education without accountability is empty, and knowledge without application is wasted.” In her final remarks, Dr. Love encouraged graduates to center love and community in every endeavor. “A degree is what you bring into this world,” she said. “And that degree also asks you to give back, reflect, and keep learning.

Désirée Kiva Powell | CSUN

On May 19th, CSUN Communication Studies graduate Désirée Kiva Powell addressed her class of 2025 peers at the university’s commencement for the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, & Communication. Sharing some of her own life’s triumphs and tribulations, Powell reminded graduates that when you are down the only way to go is up: “Mistakes are always an opportunity to grow, and messing up is how you really learn.” As Powell reminisced on her educational journey and her experiences as a single mom of two, she highlighted the importance of learning to be happy and present.

To all the recent graduates who are stressing about their next steps or worrying about their future, embrace both the sweet and sour moments of your journey. In the wise words of Désirée Kiva Powell, always remember that “life should be lived… if you dare!”

<Photos: Via YouTube>