2022 Commencement Address from Jessica Herrera-Flanigan

Below are the remarks given to the Regis University Class of 2022 by Jessica Herrera-Flanigan, vice president for public policy and philanthropy, Americas at Twitter.

You did it! While I may not know y’all personally, please know that I’m proud of & see you. As I look out though, I don’t see potential, which is often talked about at graduations, only an amazing level of accomplishment. Congratulations and thank you for sharing today with me.

I just want to say at the onset – if your mind begins to wander and I start sounding like background noise, don’t worry, I get it. It’s your day after all. I will be live Tweeting my remarks in a thread at @jesirae, in case you want to read what I said later. Or not, it’s all good.

I have to admit, even though I’ve done more than my share of public speaking I was a bit nervous about being up here this weekend.  What could I say to this group that could be inspirational & not just be another one of “those speeches?” What should I not talk about?

So, being in tech, I Googled “most popular commencement topics” & found the top 5 used for commencement speeches: perseverance, goal setting, positive thinking, life lessons, failure. Looking at the list, I asked myself – Is there a common thread in these topics? Yes, there is. 

The thread consists of two simple traits we all learned when we were young, whether on a playground or in our first class:  Kindness and Self-Awareness. Today, I want to focus on the first. Tomorrow, during the undergraduate commencement, I’ll speak to and Tweet on the second.

Kindness – well, it doesn’t escape me that I’m standing here at Regis University, which holds as its mission the core desire to build a more just and humane world & adheres to such Jesuit values as cura personalis, care for the person, and magis – more - striving for the better 

Whether your path involves medical, business, non-profit, education, science, or humanities, care for the mind, body, & spirit of all persons, including yourself.  You have been given skills & value & how you use those to make your mark will be the hardest test you’ll ever take.

Why? Well, the world isn’t full of unicorns & rainbows where everything is perfect. We struggle, we question, and it’s easier to assume the worst in people & situations – especially as the world feels more polarized – full of gotchas & belittling that have overwhelmed the Norm.

The test you will face is not a pass or fail or based on a grade but one you yourself will have to assess.  As you do so, I ask you to ask yourself: what can I do to make kindness the norm as I make my mark?  What act will I take to pay it forward or look out for others?

Some of you may have a plan. Others may question what it really means If anything. That’s ok as there is no kindness cookie cutter. If you do need ideas, I encourage you to look up @RAKFoundation, based here in Denver, which has fantastic resources on making kindness the norm.

By the way, if I may digress for a second, I just want to give a shout out to one of the Foundation’s leaders – Rachelle Stubby, who just happens to be a Regis grad, class of 2007. Why am I not surprised to see Regis’ fingerprints on a wonderful organization focused on kindness?

The test that awaits you also is based on a simple premise that underlies both kindness & self-awareness: you do not have to tear someone down to build yourself up. This is true not only in actions but in words as words are powerful and can either raise people up or change lives.

There are countless quotes on the power of words in the Bible, but my favorite is Proverbs 16:24, which focuses on kind words: “Kind words are like honey – sweet to the soul & healthy for the body.” This is true whether your audience are students, patients, customers, or Twitter.

I just want to end today with how I started – congratulating you on your graduation and thanking you for having me here. Remember, you aren’t the future – you are the present.  So, yes, embrace failures, persevere, and set goals. Let positive thinking and life lessons lead you.

But, most of all, as you leave Regis University, be kind, be self-aware, and in the words of St. Frances De Sales, “be who you are and be that well.”