Transcript of MIT FLI Senior Celebration

May 14, 2026

Dear members of the class of 2026,

It is an enormous delight to be given the opportunity to greet you and congratulate you on your graduation from MIT.  I remember well my last convocation as MIT president, when I greeted you and your families in 2022 as first-year students at MIT.

Your accomplishment is a very special one, and one that I understand very well.  Like each of you, I was a first-generation low-income student.  As an undergraduate I did not have a meal plan and was often hungry.  I did not have money for textbooks, so I borrowed them from the library.  But I could not keep them for long because other students like me needed them too.  I often felt unprepared and believed that everyone around me was smarter than me.  I am sure many of you went through the same, and perhaps more.

That is why the achievement you are celebrating today is especially meaningful.  You have faced the same rigourous academic demands that every student faces at MIT, but you also faced a few additional obstacles. Succeeding at MIT required resilience, resourcefulness, and determination.  Maybe some of you thought of quitting at some point.  But none of you did.  You persevered, and here we are.

I share this with you because I want to end with one piece of advice: in your future professional life, do not fear anything that comes your way.  Your years at MIT may well be among the most challenging you will ever encounter, and you overcame them.  You succeeded.  You know your strengths, but you also understand your weaknesses (we all have them) and, most importantly, you have learned how to rise above them.

So, leave MIT with confidence. Join the world with the knowledge that you are academically, technologically, and scientifically fearless. Be proud of your MIT education, be proud of yourselves, and please come back to visit from time to time.

I wish you the very best in your life and career.