Senior Speaker: Public Policy

A message from the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences:

Each year, our graduating students in every major select a student to speak on behalf of their area of study. Because we are a large college, the time allotted to our ceremony does not allow for each speaker to appear on stage. However, these speeches have been recorded for your viewing pleasure. 

At its core, our College supports open and free inquiry and debate about the most weighty and consequential subjects that face us all. Each student was given a minute to speak on whatever topic they think will be meaningful to their peers. Some of the contributions are lighthearted, others are serious, and some may inspire some people and conflict with the values and beliefs of others. But that is the nature of free inquiry and debate: it should challenge us and make us think. We are proud of every one of our graduates, whether or not we agree with the views they express here. 

Transcript: 

At a university, issues of public policy, the questions of what should be done to address societal problems, are all around us. As students, we learn about these issues in our classes and aid those who research them. As researchers, we try to understand an issue from a new lens, better understanding what the solution is. As people on campus, we experience the reality of public issues, seeing these problems firsthand. No issue is ever just theoretical; we then try to make change through civic action in all its forms.

Now, it is graduation. We are leaving one world and entering a broader world where those issues are amplified, affecting countless people in countless ways. The questions will be complex, the answers often impossible. We will move, entering or reentering communities that have different issues and are impacted by familiar issues in different ways.

We must not be scared as we enter that new world. The same things we have learned, the same ways we have pursued the truth still apply. We will adjust as times change and what works changes. The core remains. Identify the issue, find what works to alleviate it, and push for a solution. This is what Public Policy majors learn to do but it applies to all of us, no matter what we do after this day. Find problems and fix them. It’s that simple.

Thank you to the professors and students who guided me. Thank you to the Massachusetts Daily Collegian for giving me a home and a voice. Thank you to everyone else I have met at UMass. And, thank you to the class of 2026, congratulations!