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This weekend, I had the honour of delivering the Commencement Speech to the Nova School of Business and Economics’ graduates of 2025. Returning “home” after almost twenty years abroad, I reflected on lessons I wish I had heard when I graduated — about ourselves, our paths, and the communities that shape us.
Nova SBE Commencement Speech 2025
About you: Be humble. Be Bold. Stay Sharp.
Today is where it all begins.
Today’s pomp and circumstance should not confuse you into thinking that this is the end of your journey. We are all works-in-progress. Today, you start writing a new book in your life (just when you thought you had gotten rid of books altogether).
As you go on joining new jobs, be sure to remember how little you know about what they’re really about. As much as you have learnt in this extraordinary place that is Nova SBE, you likely don’t know very much about the day-to-day of your future job. That’s ok. Be humble to ask for help from those around you and embark on a journey of lifelong learning.
Humility is also about having perspective. As you join grown-up life, you will face the realisation that the world does not circle around you. That’s a good thing. Many of us here today are economists – in business and in society, there is often a bigger picture. Often, decisions that affect us are not really personal. And no doubt more often than not, they will feel like they are. Keep in mind, it’s not personal, it’s business.
While I call on you to stay humble, I also call on you to be ambitious. Ambition is understated and often seen negatively.
Ambition is a way of being and thinking, an attitude, a mindset.
It is a belief that you can be more, go deeper, strive higher, break barriers, and go where no one has gone before. And that ultimately, you have the power to create change. Ambition is about daring, about having an unwavering belief that your actions matter.
About your path: Design your unique bumpy life
As your journey begins, I invite you to think that, if all goes well, it will be a long journey. What you have chosen to study today and to work on tomorrow will not be your full identity. You have likely spent many hours with career advisory to work out what would best suit you. As you dare to take risks throughout your life, know that your career and indeed your broader life can take many avenues, many highways and even some narrow paths. The ability to keep learning will keep your crossroads open.
Be intentional about your steps, if you don’t curate your life, someone else will.
There will be many times when you look to the side and compare. You will wonder if you should have gone another way. Or if you are doing as well as someone else here today. You will wonder if you are doing as well as your parents or family, or what society expects of you. Be reminded that the path is yours alone to write, and you only have yourself to compare with. There are many definitions of success, there are many versions of identity, and there are many sources of fulfilment. It is up to you to decide, to try, to fail and to rise. There is no single right path.
I am not here to tell you it will always be easy. It won’t. In a weird way, it would not be fun if it was. Grit is one of my favourite words and also one with which I have a difficult relationship.
Grit, resilience, perseverance, whatever you make of it, do not feel good, not at all times.
And that’s ok as well. And if it looks like others are having it easy, I am here to tell you for sure that is not right.
About your Community: Find Your Values. Find your Crew. Be Generous.
There is usually much talk and very little thought about values. These are indeed sombre times to talk about this. I like to remember a quote from one of my professors that said we need to act on the belief that justice does not prevail at all times, but over time, it will. That is a good barometer for life.
Finding your values does not mean that you get stuck in your ideologies. Let’s not confuse the two. That is a key reason for you to find your community, your crew. Surround yourself with people who are honest and authentic. Willing to give you difficult feedback, but also willing to celebrate you. Willing to agree and empathise, but also willing to disagree and discuss. The world is not black and white like the old computer screens. It is only by embracing conflicting ideas and surrounding ourselves with respectful difference that we can truly advance society.
Finally, be generous with your time and your knowledge. We are incredibly privileged to live in the part of the world that we are in. We have access to basic resources, shelter and safety. A large part of the world is not half as lucky.
That reality shouldn’t paralyse you, but rather incite you to take action.
Generosity spreads to those next to you today, whether you know them or not. Today, you join the Nova Alumni Club. Invest in your community and in your network as one of your greatest assets – more valuable than a degree or a technical skill. Recognise the power of being part of and strengthening a network. By definition, a network is reinforced by each of its members and how much we pay it forward to each other.
That same network will develop you, support you and elevate you.
I wish you luck (and resilience) class of 2025.
The road ahead is wide open.
May you find fulfilment in each path and joy in your community.
May you find gratitude in moments of need.
May you find grace when making a difference in the world.
Preparing this speech reminded me that growth never really ends — it just changes form. Each new beginning, whether at graduation or mid-career, is another chance to stay humble, bold, and generous.
Photo Credits: Nova SBE