Final Exercises 2026

Thank you, I should probably quit while I am ahead and sit down.

Thank you, Ella, for that kind introduction, and thanks to the Fourth-Year Trustees for inviting me. It’s an honor to have been asked to speak, and I’m thrilled to be with all of you. I’d like to congratulate the Class of 2026 and all of your friends and family in the audience. It is a big deal to graduate from college. This is not a pretend milestone like third grade graduation. This is a genuine milestone. And you and your families should be justly proud.

I was hoping to graduate with all of you this year, albeit from the presidency. But as you may have heard, I was allowed – you might even say encouraged – to graduate a year early! Nonetheless, given everything that we went through together, I’d like to consider myself at least an honorary member of the Class of 2026, if that’s OK with all of you.

In all seriousness, let me say this: I have missed you, and I am filled with joy and gratitude to see all of you here. More than I can fully convey in words, though, I will give it a try at the end of my speech. 

For now, I’d like to begin by acknowledging a sad truth. Sad for all of us, actually. It is highly unlikely that you will remember this speech. My only hope is that you might remember the main message, which is inspired by a speech by Winston Churchill that he gave during WWII, while he was serving as prime minister of the United Kingdom. The speech came at a difficult phase of the war and Churchill was trying to strengthen the resolve of his fellow Brits to stand firm and continue the fight. 

In that speech, Churchill memorably told his audience this: “Never give in. Never, never, never, never.” This was not the entirety of the speech. But these are the only two lines people remember, including me. That’s not a criticism. Most speeches are completely, 100% forgettable. The best that a speaker or audience can reasonably hope for is a memorable line or two. 

Which is why, today, I’m going to follow Churchill’s lead and offer you a very concise and somewhat related message. Here it is: “Do the right thing. Always.” 

My hope is that this simple message will stick with you and help strengthen your resolve whenever you face the question, as you have before and will again, of whether to do the right thing.

I am tempted to stop right here, given that what I say next will almost surely be forgotten. But I am Irish Catholic, and for that reason I feel anticipatory guilt about – well, about everything, but especially about telling you to do the right thing without providing at least some explanation.

So, I’d like to say a little more about a couple of questions that might be on your mind and are worth discussing in any event: First, how do you know if you are doing the right thing? And second, why do the right thing at all? After addressing these two questions, we’ll have some time for audience participation.

We should wrap up well before midnight, so …

How do you know if you are doing the right thing? This a deceptively difficult question.

On the one hand, doing the right thing has a know-it-when-you-see-it quality, and I think we all have an intuitive understanding of what it means to “do the right thing.” You know you are doing the wrong thing, for example, if you think: “My mother can never know about this.” You know you are doing the right thing, by contrast, if you think: “I hope to be able to tell my grandkids about this someday.”

Beyond that, however, it gets a little complicated, because there are a million ways to describe and define what it means to do the right thing. I know this because I have obsessive tendencies and am on sabbatical. So, I have been down a lot of rabbit holes. 

I rewatched the Spike Lee movie, “Do the Right Thing”; have poured over the Trolley Car problem; read an inordinate number of theological and philosophical essays; revisited Robert Frost’s horse rider who has promises to keep; and talked with my friend Claude. I even rewatched “Sophie’s Choice,” which may be the saddest movie I’ve ever seen. Along the way, I exhausted the patience of my family and friends, one of whom recently suggested: “How about you do the right thing and STOP TALKING!”

After wandering through the “do the right thing” wilderness, if I had to boil it down to its essence, I believe that doing the right thing means living your values, even when it’s hard and even when no one is looking. And it means making choices that are not about your personal gain, but instead about someone else or something bigger than yourself – a community, a cause, a principle.

Your values might come from your family, your faith, your culture, your conscience, the UVA honor code or some combination, just to name a few sources. You might have a long list of values, or your values might be summed up by the Golden Rule. Regardless, doing the right thing means acting in ways consistent with those values. It also means making decisions that are not all about you and your personal welfare.

So, if you value being a good friend, as I’m sure you all of you do, then you should be a good friend, even when it’s inconvenient. If you value your family, show up for them, even when it doesn’t fit your schedule. If you value honesty, be honest with yourself and others, especially when it matters. If you believe in helping others, help them, whether you get credit or not. If you believe in showing gratitude, show it. If you believe in a cause or principle, stand up for it, even when others are ducking for cover.

That’s what I mean by doing the right thing.

Now, sometimes doing the right thing will be pretty easy. I believe, for example, that it would be wrong to steal a bicycle, and I’ve never really struggled to put that belief into practice. Doing the right thing can also bring you joy, as you’ll see in a moment when we get to the audience participation part. 

Other times, however, living your values will be genuinely difficult. Choosing to do the right thing might put you at a disadvantage, at least in the short run. If you don’t cheat on a test or lie to your boss, for example, you might do worse than you would have if you had cheated or lied. If you lend a hand to someone in need, you might lose some time that you could have spent on yourself.

Doing the right thing might also put you at risk. If you speak up for a person or a cause that others are willing to ignore or denigrate, you risk – at the very least – embarrassment. If you refuse to compromise your principles or speak truth to power, you might risk losing a promotion or your job. 

There will also be times when it’s impossible to tell what the right thing is, and the best you can do is make a decision for the right reasons. In my experience, these occasions, while real, are pretty rare. Most of the time, you’ll know or be able to figure out the right path. The hard part will be summoning the will or courage to do what you know is right.

This is why one sure sign that you are about to do the right thing, or you are at least thinking about it, is that you start to make excuses to avoid doing what you know in your gut or heart is right. Or you feel a tug at your sleeve that is telling you to pay attention to something you are trying to ignore. Or your stomach starts to churn because you are about to take a risk and stand up for something or someone you believe in.

It is in these exact moments that I hope you will remember the main message of this speech and choose to do the right thing. That you will hear a voice in your head that says: Don’t give in to the excuses. Pay attention to that tug at your sleeve. And know your stomach is churning not because of that burrito, but because you are about to do the right thing.

My dream is that five or 10 years from now, you will come back to a reunion, track me down, and say: “Jim, first off, you haven’t aged a bit. Second, I want to tell you about the time I cursed you and this speech, and then I went on to do the right thing.”

Now, if always doing the right thing sounds daunting, let me offer you some reassurance. You don’t have to be a martyr or a hero to do the right thing. It doesn’t have to be dramatic or table stakes to count.

Nor does it have to be the only thing you do. Life doesn’t consist just of right things and wrong things, so if you are not doing one, you are doing the other. Aside from right and wrong, there are some smart things to do, like showering and eating a good breakfast. And there are fun things to do, like showering, eating a good breakfast, and then streaking the Lawn. 

Even if you commit to always doing the right thing, as I hope you will, you will still have plenty of time for the smart and the fun, as well as the enriching, romantic and adventurous.

You can even leave room for some harmless mischief, especially given that you are about to graduate from the recently rebranded UV. 

And speaking of mischief, harmless mischief, I gather that if I go to the Corner tomorrow morning at 7 a.m., I might see some of you there? 

You can rest assured, finally, that I’m not suggesting you always have to do the nice thing, as opposed to the right thing. There’s a difference between nice and right, even if the boundary is sometimes blurry.

To give you a brief example: My mother was a big believer in reaching out to people when they were sick or otherwise struggling, which I admired. She also tried to enlist me to do the same, which I also admired, but sometimes found perplexing. As she got older and had more time on her hands, looking for people who might be struggling became a sort of hobby. 

She would call me and say something like: “Remember, Mrs. Burke, who lives eight houses down from us?” “I’m afraid not,” I would say. “Well,” she would continue, “you delivered newspapers to her when you were 10. Anyway, her sister’s cat died. Yeah, it was a tabby. Apparently, they were very close. I was thinking it would be nice for you to send a note.” I’d ask: “Mrs. Burke or her sister?” My mom would say: “Oh, right! Both!”

It would have been nice, if slightly random, for me to send that note or two, but I wouldn’t put it in the “do the right thing” category. Unlike my mother, I’m not telling you that you always need to send that note. 

To be absolutely clear – this is really important – I am not against doing nice things! That should not be the message that you take away from this speech! I’m just happy to leave the category of nice things to your discretion – and perhaps your mother’s. To put it another way, I’m not insisting that you send your friends birthday cards every year, but I am imploring you to pick up the phone when they call at 3 a.m.

All of which is a roundabout and long-winded way of saying, in answer to the question of how you’ll know, I have complete faith that you will know in your gut, your head, your heart, when you have an opportunity to do the right thing. When you do, you should, even if it’s hard.

Which leads to the second and last question of why.

Why do the right thing at all? 

This is an awkward question, because you know that you’re supposed to just nod your head in agreement when someone says you should do the right thing. You might even be embarrassed to ask this question in public, which is why I hesitate to tell you that Keoni asked me this very question earlier. That said, it’s a fair question that deserves an answer. Here is my attempt.

For starters, Kathy McGruder, widely known as Ms. Kathy, is in the audience today in the front row. Tony Bennett, the former men’s basketball coach, couldn’t be here today, but will be in the audience for Final Exercises tomorrow. That’s worth a clap. I know for a fact that both Ms. Kathy and coach Bennett would want and expect you to do the right thing. And I don’t know about you, but I would never want to disappoint either one of them. 

I’m not sure you need any other reason to do the right thing, but just in case, here’s another one: If not you, who? Or, if not Hoos, then who, if you know what I mean. You are prepared for and capable of doing the right thing, and as the saying goes, to whom much has been given, much is expected. 

Your education has provided you with knowledge and skills that can contribute not just to your own success, but to the welfare of others. You’ve experienced self-governance and have lived in a community of trust bound by an honor code, so you should have a sound moral compass and know what it means to act with integrity. And you have been a student at a university that has aspired to be both great and good, in the sincere hope that you would as well, both at UVA and beyond.

To be sure, there are plenty of people quietly doing the right thing, day in and day out. But when it comes to leaders, there is not a lot of competition in the “do the right thing” category. Whether in the public or private sector, too many leaders seem more concerned about themselves than the welfare of those they should be serving. 

I say this because you will undoubtedly have opportunities to lead in ways large and small. My hope is that you feel both obliged and prepared, given your education here, to be a different kind of leader, one who leads with the courage and integrity to do the right thing time and again. But you should also see an open lane to do so, and you should know that doing the right thing is contagious. I believe, deeply, that most people, most of the time, want to do the right thing. And your example will inspire them to do so.

The final reason to choose the right thing when you have the chance may sound melodramatic, but it’s true: your choices are cumulative and will define your life. I trust you all aspire to be good people for your entire lives. But to paraphrase Forrest Gump and Yoda, good is as good does. You don’t want to live feeling like a fraud, with one set of aspirations and another reality. You run the risk that you eventually just give up on the idea of being a good person altogether, which would be bad for you and for the rest of us, especially when all of you are running the world.

In sum, if you choose the path, time and again, that will make your grandkids proud of you, I promise you will also be proud of yourself and your life.

OK, this is where you all come in. I’ve spent a fair bit of time describing how it feels to do the right thing. To end my time with you, I’d like to show you, rather than tell you. I’d like you to experience the joy that can come from doing the right thing. 

I believe it’s always right to thank someone who has helped you, especially those who don’t expect to be thanked. No one makes it to graduation alone. To the members of the Class of 2026, you have friends and family in the audience who helped you along the way. Please take a moment to thank them for helping you. If you can only stand, wave and clap, that’s fine, but if they are close, feel free to give them a hug, fist bump, high five, whatever, go ahead. And feel free to make noise. 

OK, next up.

Now I need to ask you to help me thank some people who deserve your thanks as well. Because of the way my time as president ended, the people I worked with – not just in Madison Hall, the president’s office, but all across the University – were never properly thanked. Some stepped down when I did, others stayed and continued their work. All of them worked incredibly hard on your behalf. I wonder if you can help me thank them?

OK, you see what I mean, right? That feels good, doesn’t it?

OK, one last person for us to thank, who will not be thrilled about this, but it’s the right thing to do. I am married to Katie Ryan. She worked as hard as I did over my seven years as president, and she cared as much about all of you as I did. She was there when we opened the president’s house in 2022, and she attended every single open house for the next three years. I have already thanked her, but I’m sure it would mean a lot if you could take a second to thank her as well.

OK, it’s time to land this plane.

Let me end by doing the right thing and thanking all of you in the Class of 2026. We met nearly four years ago in this very arena, as you were just starting out, and I asked you to be curious and not judgmental. Since then, we have been through a lot together, not all of it easy. In fact, some of what we experienced was as hard as it gets. We also shared a great deal of joy and laughter. It’s sometimes hard to fathom how we still have the capacity for joy amidst sorrow, but I suppose that’s just part of the human condition.

In any event, I’d like to thank you, first off, for making me laugh. Thank you as well for helping me grieve and showing me what it means to face tragedy with grace and compassion. Thank you for making me want to be a better person and a better leader. And thank you for telling me, when I needed to hear it, that you were counting on me to be a better person and a better leader. Thank you for dazzling me with your talents and your kindness. Thank you for sharing your stories, advising me, running with me, having lunch with me, and inviting me to your fraternity parties. (I’m mostly kidding about that last part.) 

Thank you, finally, for giving me hope. It’s common for graduation speakers to say that they are counting on the next generation – namely yours – to meet the challenges and solve the problems created by the previous generation, namely mine. I think this is both unfair and unwise. 

It’s unfair because why in the world should those of us from the generation that messed things up expect your generation to clean up our mess – and to be excited about the chance! Don’t get me wrong, I do hope you take this on, but I can’t in good conscience suggest that it’s all on your shoulders now – and hooray for you!

It’s also unwise, I believe, to pin your hopes on a generation that has not yet been tested or had a chance to prove themselves. Who knows whether your generation can be trusted to do the right thing? In my view, it’s a little too early to tell.

All of that said, if I can’t yet trust your entire generation, I trust all of you. You give me hope because I have seen what you can do. In particular, I have seen you do the right thing over and again. 

You have supported each other in ways large and small, through grand gestures and small kindnesses. You helped our community heal after the tragic shooting in 2022. You logged tens of thousands of hours volunteering through Madison House. You created a guide for students interested in public service. You improved the UVA Community Food Pantry, and you created the Cavalier Career Closet. 

You spoke out when you thought I was on the wrong path, and you spoke out when you thought the board was on the wrong path. You defended student self-governance. You advocated for UVA employees and for Charlottesville residents. You advocated for your fellow students. You found ways to celebrate and thank your colleagues, your professors and mentors, and UVA staff for helping you along the way. 

Many of you told me you hoped to leave UVA better than you found it. And guess what? Together, you have done exactly that. 

You have my deepest thanks. Thank you for doing the right thing, over and again. 

Keep doing just that. Always.

Thank you.

[♪ Upbeat music playing ♪]

Alison Quigley: After graduation, I will be working as a pediatric oncology nurse at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Albert Castellon-Prado: I’ll be pursuing my master’s in mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of Virginia.

Lauren Grohowski: I will be doing patent litigation at Fish & Richardson, followed by a clerkship on the federal circuit.

Paul Clancy: I’ll be starting anesthesiology residency at the University of Michigan, and I’ll also be working at my nonprofit, Admissionsacademy.org, to help students reach their dreams of healthcare education.

Nathan Ferns: After graduation, I’ll be attending medical school and commissioning into the Air Force Medical Corps.

Sarah King: I will be staying in Charlottesville, working for the Blue Ridge Health Department and practicing and teaching Ashtanga yoga at Ashtanga Yoga Charlottesville.

Lauren Josiah: After graduation, I’m headed to Richmond, Virginia, to become an adolescent psychiatry nurse.

Psalms Morales: I’ll be splitting my time between Charlottesville and Mexico City, focusing full-time on my app, Busco, an experiential marketplace.

Derek Liu: After graduation, I will commission into the Navy, where I will serve as a nuclear-trained surface warfare officer.

Ben Edlavitch: After graduation, I’ll continue to operate the business I started, making Lego artworks and applying for a job as a Lego designer in Denmark.

Sophie Lou: After graduation, I’m moving to Bristol, U.K., for a master’s in paleobiology.

Taylor Whirley: After graduation, I’ll be working in the Batten School as an admissions coordinator.

Annie Zhao: I’ll continue serving my community in my gap year as I apply for medical school.

Jess Newberg: After graduation, I’m starting my urban planning career as a geospatial technician for Dewberry Engineers.

Pranav Shah: After graduation, I’ll move to New York City to start my career as an auditor at PwC.

Carter McGee: I’ll be a second lieutenant with the United States Air Force, where I’ll join as a special agent with the Office of Special Investigations.

Sinmi Oyekola: After graduation, I’ll be moving back to Nigeria and working as a consultant in McKinsey.

Andrew Bender: I will be a corporate attorney at a law firm in New York City.

Kaleigh West: I’ll be staying here at UVA to pursue my Ph.D. in neuroscience through the neuroscience graduate program.

Carly Appel: After graduation, I’ll be moving to New York City to work as an associate consultant at Bain & Company.

Hai Liu: After graduation, I’ll be either doing biology research or data science elsewhere at the University.

Jordan Kerere: I’m heading down to the Medical University of South Carolina to complete my predoctoral internship in clinical psychology.

Kyle Trotman: I’ll be moving to D.C. to work in litigation at Akin Gump before moving to Norfolk to clerk in the Eastern District of Virginia.

Dimmey Rideout: I’ll be moving to Washington, D.C., to work on Capitol Hill in the House of Representatives as a legislative correspondent.

Zachary Palazzotto: After graduation, I’ll be starting in Merck’s Manufacturing Leadership Development Program.

[♪ Upbeat music playing ♪]

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She had doubts about my ability to make everything fit in the car. But she did it. It was it was impressive I'll give her that one. We did drive 13 hours yesterday so we might not be coherent. Yes, she has too much stuff. 

[LAUGHING]

I should be moved in pretty soon and I'm gonna get my college journey started, I'm excited. I'm looking forward to making new friends the most I'm really excited for all my classes. Meeting new people is definitely gonna be a big thing for me. It's nice to get out of my shell a little bit. Sports games really excited for the football and basketball games here, getting to know the new first years here, I almost called them freshman. I've never moved before, I lived in Virginia Beach my whole life but now I get to branch out there's so many new opportunities so many new faces so it'll be fun. I'm excited to kind of be independent and be on my own here and overall I think it's just it's a learning opportunity and I'm going to grow from it. Gosh, there's been a lot of advice. Believe in yourself, know that you're ready. Have a discipline in your life and have a little bit of fun too. Be flexible, be strong, be focused, and have fun. Whatever challenge comes your way face it and if you fail it's okay. Do everything.

If there's an opportunity take it, go for it, don't be afraid to meet new people throw yourself out there. You'll never really experience life like this again. I think what I'm gonna miss is honestly our jokes and just being together. She was in the room next to me so it's going to be very quiet at the end of the hall. I'm not going to have someone to help me through high school anymore. It's going to be strange at the dinner table having four spots instead of five so that's that's going to be an adjustment for sure but it's the natural process that's supposed to happen and I'm proud of her too. Heartbroken, crushed! Oh my god we're moving to Virginia, you know, this is my baby, it's hard man, it's hard. It'll feel really very strange at home, she's my only girl so the house will feel strange without another girl in the house.

Yeah it's a little sad. He's my last baby going to college but very excited for him and happy that he's at UVA. They're going to have the time of their lives, they're going to make their lifelong friends and I know I'm going to miss them a lot. I'll miss my baby. Don't get me started! I am not going to do the tears, not on camera! It hasn't really hit me yet I know as soon as we leave I'll be like, it's a huge change and I'm really going to miss her and I love her a lot. Oh now she's crying! We were doing fine, now we're a mess! Spencer, what did you say how often you're gonna text her? Probably every other day I promised her maybe. I mean, I'm probably gonna want to call every night to make sure my mom is mentally sound. Well the good news is we're only an hour away so he never knows when we might just pop in. That's terrifying.  

Definitely not, no I would not have wanted pop-ins when i was going to college and I will do her that same courtesy. I think it'll be hard realizing that she's not coming back and we're not going to see her every day and that will be hard so. There'll be some tears on the way home for sure. You know, Blake takes up a lot of space in our family and he's just a great human being and I love being around him and it's going to be really hard 

[CRYING]

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Student 1: Today is summer orientation. 

Student 2: We're gonna be first-years next year and we'll be going to UVA officially. 

Student 3: I was really nervous this morning. I was pretty frantic, but then I got here and it was really chill and everyone is so nice. 

Student 4: For the rest of day we're just walking around (campus) getting to know where all the buildings are.

Student 5: Everyone's really, like, excited and happy and that makes me excited and happy.

Student 6: I'm really looking forward to establishing myself -- you know, the freedom of being away from home.

Student 7: Having freedom.

Student 2: Freedom that comes with college.

Student 9: The freedom from being away from my parents, but also definitely the academics.

Student 2: That's the biggest thing is I have no idea what I'm doing with classes right now.

Student 10: I plan to do  pre-med and business, but subject to change.

Student 9: We do have registration tomorrow and I know that's kind of going to be a nightmare.

Student 11: The schedule seems to be like free and stuff like that. Like, I looked at my schedule and I'm like, why do I only have like one class on Monday? I guess that's just the way it goes.

Student 12: I'm not too sure what I want to major in yet, but that's the nice thing about a first-year student, is the whole point of it is just to feel it out and see what you're interested in.

Student 13: I'm looking forward to, like, having great professors and, like, being able to just meet new people.

Student 14: All the extracurricular activities and the clubs.

Student 15: I'm pretty excited for club tennis, I was talking to, like, someone about it, and it seems really fun.

Student 16: We got football, we got basketball, we got swimming, we got track and field, we got everything. Like, what does this school not have?

Student 13: I'm kind of nervous about living in a dorm and, like, being away from, like, my family for so long, but I think the staff and, like, everyone that I've met so far is really helpful, so I think I'll have a lot of support.

Student 17: Just adjusting to living at UVA, living by yourself, a new, a whole new world.

Student 3: I was really nervous about how to make friends and I think that's changing after today.

Student 18: I think part of like why I came here is because I found that there is multiple paths to finding your passion and it's something unimaginable, I can't wait.

Student 11: The whole point of, like, just adolescence in general is just, like, go on and, like, do the next step of your life and become independent and all that stuff.

Student 6: As time goes on it'll get easier and i'll you know find my place here and it'll be great.

Student 3: I'm very excited to be here -- even more so after coming here today.