tom hanks harvard commencement speech

tom hanks harvard commencement speech

The Importance of Education and Pursuing Dreams

1. Introduction: Tom Hanks’ Harvard Commencement Speech

Tom Hanks is recognized not only for his remarkable acting ability, but also for his openness, profundity, and intelligence. In an engaging speech he delivered for the 2005 graduating class of Harvard University, this actor endows his carefully crafted advice to the students with one simple yet extremely potent underlying warning: “If you are not making a huge mistake, you are not making ample enough decision.” Everything he speaks of here on out in his speech undoubtedly serves as a depth of exemplification to confirm the viability of this statement, as well as the guiding notion that success often evolves from unforeseen dimensions of failure. Though the underlying warning mentioned is an essential aspect of Hanks’ speech, it is the cautious advice given to help prevent dire mistakes which constitutes the bulk of his Commencement address. He speaks extensively of the necessity for a road map, using the analogy of travel from one destination to another, as a wandering course of action will leave a man ‘adrift without a float’. The students are warned, however, to let the significant discoveries made en route to a set destination serve as decisive redirections of their paths, as some of the most useful characters they will ever portray are those of a person convincing himself to alter through major decision. Hanks also frequently refers to the concept of character within the speech, the advice regarding mostly pertains to the recognition and the alteration of negative character aspects, often discovered at times when one is misdirected from the character building path they had intended to take. He argues that power and influence can ultimately be derived from success in carving and achieving the right character.

2. The Power of Education: Unlocking Opportunities

Higher education can also provide a higher income and career opportunities improve. A research in the United States in January 2011 mentioned that students with S1 education hourly wage can be 50% higher than students who only graduated from high school, while students with professional education have wages two times higher when compared with high school graduates. Wages are also proportional to the level of education, at the age of 25-32 years the median salary of a worker with S1 is USD 45,500, while the median salary of workers with high school education is only USD 28,000. Higher income and job of choice can also make a person have an implicit belief about the benefits of education and have a concern that a higher job is not separated from the supportive knowledge and a better career if they are always productive. Influenced by the implicit belief it is not impossible education can provide a welfare of the family from one generation to another.

Opportunities are not only limited to the preferred students, high education can also create a student to be more flexible in finding work. Data from the Labour Force Survey and Census of Population in the United States showed that in 2009, among workers aged between 25-64 years the highest in the employment is college graduates who have the percentage of 75.8% and the lowest is the high school dropouts which only has a percentage of 42.6%.

Life experience after graduating from high school or college can be fun if things are going well. But most people, when asked, want to be a successful person both in terms of material because they feel that they have studied a lot and got the title, so they must get good workplaces to apply their knowledge and for their future. Students can apply for a loan from a licensed money lender to pay their tuition fees, so that later in the future they will get a decent job that can be a capital for a better future. But various constraints are experienced by students who still have not had work experience in the field they want, some have to be willing to work in companies that are not appropriate with their knowledge and some are still unemployed. According to Frum (2010), education can both increase students’ skills and may function as a signal to employers about the intelligence and the commitment of the students. This means that high education and good academic achievement are important things that can give a signal to an employer that this student has the commitment and intelligence that can support their work better. So the employer will be looking for opportunities for students with good academic achievements to work in his place. Usually, a student with a skill will more easily get a job opportunity to test director company where he is quite skilled in doing the task. This situation will make it easier for students to apply their knowledge and at the same time can increase their skill compared to students who have not had a job with a requirement for higher education. High achievers also tend to find jobs that are directly related to the field of study. If they can find the appropriate job to their knowledge, they will get job satisfaction and feel the benefits of their education.

3. Embracing Curiosity: Fueling Personal Growth

It is essential for dreamers to feed their desire for knowledge and to continuously fuel curiosity so that their dreams will be more than just wishful thinking. As each dream is pursued, there should be an unquenchable thirst for learning, without which the dream may be accomplished but the quality of the outcome will fall far short of the dreamer’s expectations. For example, a student who aspires to change the world through innovative new technologies should first strive to learn as much as possible about engineering, math, science, and the interplay between them, for it is in learning the intricacies of these fields that the student will become better equipped to innovate effectively. On an individual level, more knowledge means more solutions and options when problems and decisions are encountered. It has been said that “one’s abilities are limited only by their knowledge” and while this statement is not entirely true, it does hold some water. A more knowledgeable person will have a much better understanding of the options available to them in problem-solving and decision-making, and these are the very skills that make a dream a reality. For any dream the dreamer can imagine, there will always be some set of problems blocking the path to its fruition, but if the dreamer does not pursue the understanding of how to solve these problems, then the dream will die as just an idea. This is not to mention that knowledgeable people are more adept at getting what they want, simply because they are more aware of how to approach getting it. So for both the quality of a dream’s outcome and the feasibility of achieving the dream, knowledge is an essential tool and the more of it there is, the better.

4. Overcoming Challenges: Navigating the Path to Success

Finding a place in the world is not a simple task; thus, we face numerous challenges in pursuit of a better tomorrow. The road to success is not smooth and is filled with obstacles of various kinds. These obstacles test our determination and willingness to persevere in the face of adversity. We must overcome these obstacles to achieve our goals and find a place in our respective worlds. Cartoonist John Callahan is an example of someone who faced and overcame many obstacles in his lifetime. At the age of 21, after a day of drinking, he was involved in a car accident that left him a quadriplegic. Despite this tragedy, Callahan went on to become a cartoonist, and is now the subject of a biographical movie. His work is published in a variety of magazines and he has also published numerous collections of his work. An alcoholic for much of his life, he became a paraplegic in July 1990 after a 3-day binge. This change in circumstances did not stop his determination to make a success of himself. He taught himself to draw cartoons with both hands by securing a pen in one and bracing the other hand and his elbows on a table. His subject matter was rich with macabre, ironic humor often based on his own disabilities. His drawings are very controversial and have led to protests. He died on July 3, 2010 due to quadriplegia-related respiratory failure. When looking at Callahan’s life, it is clear he faced adversity throughout his entire life, but he did not let that stop him from achieving his goals. A person thinking about success must realize that to overcome these challenges he will need a strong will. This will be a necessity in the face of life’s various challenges, to keep a positive mindset, stay focused on what he wants to achieve, and not be swayed by outside distractions and influences that will aim to lead him off course.

5. Inspiring the Next Generation: Making a Difference

Inspiring the next generation: Making a difference – Most importantly, I want to encourage the youth to break out of the ordinary and strive for excellence. Many times I have spoken to a group of people about various issues in today’s society, and the discussion always ends with a question from the youth, asking how they can make a difference. The reality is that there is no ABC formula to making a difference, but I do know that a university education gives you tools to work with and an experience that will shape you into an individual that will have the potential to make a significant impact. People who have been successful in living out their dream, creating art out of the pure enjoyment and satisfaction of self-expression, I encourage to involve the youth in the community into their world. Although anyone can inspire by what they have accomplished, by providing a solid example to the future generation, the cycle of motivation and success is able to continue. Throughout the course of history, we find that a society’s youth is what mobilizes change and progress. Let us inspire the children to dream big by providing the conducive environment needed for growth and development. A child with dreams is what leads to a generation of change. By creating a scholarship for those who have displayed passion and excellence in a certain area of study, this is the chance to not only support education but seek out individuals who will benefit the community and society at large. This scholarship must reflect its importance in terms of amount and availability, and if successful can be used as a method of affirmative action. With a generation that has continued to escalate the cost of education, many have been discouraged, creating a stagnation and lost potential in today’s youth. This scholarship is a way to alleviate financial stress on parents and spark ambition in students.