Good evening, Class of 2026!
To our graduates, to your families and friends, and to everyone who helped you reach this moment—congratulations. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, our deans, our faculty, and our staff, it is a privilege to celebrate with you tonight.
And because we are here in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, we begin as we always do—with the Olympic torch, a symbol of effort, of excellence, and of possibility. Let us light the torch now.
Now, it’s almost a cliché at commencements for someone to stand in front of you and say: this graduating class is the best class in our university’s history. But sometimes it’s true, right?
In all seriousness, I feel a special connection to the Class of 2026. Not just because I’ve gotten to know so many of you. But because we’re always going to share something in common. For most of you, this is your very first USC commencement. And as president, this is my very first commencement as well.
Doing something for the first time can be exciting, but I have to admit that, as I thought about what to say tonight, I’ve also experienced some self-doubt. What could I tell you that you don’t already know? What could I say that anyone might actually remember? Was I ready for this moment? And what if no one cheered?
All of this got me thinking about what it means to be “first.” At USC, we love coming in first. And this seems especially true of the Class of 2026.
This year, for example, students graduating from our School of Architecture beat out hundreds of other students from across the world by winning the international Design for Freedom competition. Anyone here from Architecture?
Also this year, our Rocket Propulsion Lab—already known for going higher into space than any other amateur group—became the first student group to launch a payload into space. Anyone from RPL here?
Meanwhile, students from Marshall competed against top universities around the world to take first place in the Global Case Competition. Anyone from Marshall here?
And to top it off, this year our women’s water polo team won their eighth national title. I think that’s something we can all cheer about.
The winning doesn’t stop after graduation. This year, Trojans won the Super Bowl. We earned more Academy Awards than any other school’s alumni. We received more than two dozen Grammy nominations. And that’s without counting the nine Grammy Awards received by a future honorary Trojan, Maestro Dudamel, sitting behind me.
Heck, we’re so into winning at USC that we even have a class that teaches students how to “Win Forever.”
There’s just no better feeling than coming in first. And yet, there are other kinds of firsts that may matter even more over the course of a life. Not just coming in first—but being willing to go first.
In a couple years, the Coliseum where we are today will be welcoming the LA28 Olympics and Paralympics to Los Angeles. USC has an unsurpassed legacy of students and alumni competing in the Games. And the most decorated Trojan of them all? Allyson Felix, the winner of 11 Olympic medals over five Olympic Games.
Allyson knows better than anyone what it takes to come in first. But she also knows what it means to go first. Recently, she announced some incredible news, which is that she is training again. Her goal? To become the first woman and mother in their 40s to win a track and field medal in the Olympic Games.
Think about that. Here is someone who has already secured her place among Olympic legends. Someone who has nothing left to prove. But instead of just basking in glory, she’s decided to put herself on the line again. And why? Why go through years of grueling training, risking embarrassment and failure?
Because the goal isn’t just to win another medal, but to expand what’s possible—for herself, and for mothers across the world. So let’s all cheer now not just for Allyson, but for every mom who is here tonight. Happy belated Mother’s Day! (And students, please stop telling your parents that anyone in their 40s is old.)
The great thing about going first is that you don’t have to wait until you’ve reached the pinnacle of achievement. A few years ago, a young woman made news for being the first woman to climb the highest mountain in all 50 states by the time she was only 17 years old. And the next year, she made news again as the youngest American woman to climb and summit Mount Everest.
What I love about this story is that it’s not just pulled from a newspaper. It’s the story of someone in the Coliseum tonight: Lucy Westlake, a graduating member of the Class of 2026. Anyone else here from the Price School?
Going first doesn’t just happen by itself. In fact, in some ways, going first can be even harder than coming in first.
Because instead of having to compete against someone else, you have to compete against yourself. You have to push through the self-doubt. The potential for embarrassment. The fear that, after putting yourself out there, you could fall on your face.
Overcoming those fears isn’t just part of training for the Olympics. Or climbing up Mount Everest. Or conducting a major orchestra for the first time.
You have to overcome the same self-doubts venturing outside your home state for the first time. Or switching majors from what you expected to study to something you discovered for the first time at USC. Or being the first in their family to attend and graduate from college, like many here tonight.
Whether you ultimately end up at the top of a mountain, or on the floor of the 9-0, your willingness to go first—and push past the natural insecurities we all feel—will create opportunities you couldn’t have imagined. And just like Allyson or Lucy, you can inspire others regardless of whether you succeed or fail.
Behind me are some of the finest deans in the country. You know this already because you’ve spent the last four years in their schools. But none of them started where they are now.
They’re here today because, at some point, each of them decided to step forward for the first time, believing they could be a great dean before actually knowing it. They took that first step forward because, while failure is always a possibility, it’s an absolute certainty if you never try.
I’d like to ask everyone in the Coliseum tonight who isn’t a student, including everyone behind me on stage: how many of you have ever put yourselves on the line—for a job, a promotion, or any opportunity—even though you had never done it before and weren’t sure if you would succeed or fail? Please raise your hands or cell phones high and wave so the students can see you.
And yes, as a new university president, I’ll also raise my hand and say: this may be my first commencement address—but I’ve got this.
As you leave here tonight, we at USC hope you come in first—many times. We hope you win and win big. But there’s something we wish for you even more than all that.
Not just that you come in first, but that you’re willing to go first. By believing in yourself and in the support of the Trojan Family. By carving your own path through uncertainty and doubt. And by winning on your own terms, not those of someone else.
Along the way, you can shape a life that is full of achievement, full of adventure, and that is uniquely yours.
Congratulations, Class of 2026. And Fight On!