May 19, 2025

Warren’s Advice to Worcester State Graduates: Embrace Change

“[W]e need people who can change plans. People who can fight for themselves and fight for others. Resilient people…people who take any situation – no matter how hard – and fight to make things better.” 

“I have high hopes for every one of you…You’ve earned your place here today. You’ve shown up, you’ve done the work, you’ve stuck it out, you’ve pushed yourself, and, best of all, you’ve graduated. That’s something to be proud of.” 

Boston, MA — U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) joined the Worcester State University Class of 2025 and delivered remarks celebrating their graduation and urging them to embrace change. 

“Be open to change. Sometimes it comes in the form of a wonderful opportunity, already wrapped up with bells and ribbons. Sometimes it comes as a punch in the face. Either way, be open to change,” said Senator Warren. 

She shared her story of resilience after being fired from a public school for being pregnant and how it led her to become a professor and, eventually, a United States senator. 

“And here’s the kind of amazing part—I get up every day and into the fight for all our kids, for the kids with special needs who need a little more help, and all for all the teachers and all the librarians and cafeteria and janitorial staff who spend their lives making our education system work. I’m still partly doing what that 20-year-old me set out to do—just doing it a lot differently,” Warren continued. 

Senator Warren also emphasized the importance of reliance in fighting back against the Trump administration’s attacks on basic rights.

Transcript: Worcester State Commencement Address
May 17, 2025

Senator Elizabeth Warren: Good morning, Worcester State! 

Congratulations to the class of 2025! What a day and what a remarkable achievement. This is the end of cramming for exams and the beginning of better food options than the dining hall. It’s a win-win. So let’s hear a big woo-hoo for never having to log back into MyWooState! 

And congratulations to all the parents and loved ones here today. I know how proud you are. I also know you have shown your support over the past four years by repeatedly Venmo-ing your kids for their supplies of late-night Celsius. So let’s hear it for the families!

And of course, we can’t forget the faculty, the professors, and the staff here at Worcester State who helped you every step of the way. Early morning classes and late night cleaning—these are the people who kept it all running. Let’s hear it for our teachers!

Like all graduation speakers, my job today is 1) to give some good advice, and 2) not to talk too long. So I’m ready to go!

Here’s my advice: never post on social media after midnight.

OK, that was just to see if you were paying attention. But I do stand by that advice – especially if you want to run for office.

My real advice is this: Be open to change. Sometimes it comes in the form of a wonderful opportunity, already wrapped up with bells and ribbons. Sometimes it comes as a punch in the face. Either way, be open to change. 

I graduated from the University of Houston—a long way south of here, but a lot like WooState. A mix of students and majors and different paths--and all of us scrambling for that degree.

I missed my actual college graduation. I was already married, and my husband had a job a zillion miles away. So as soon as I took my last final, I packed up the car and joined him. But even without the chance to walk across the stage, I was excited. First in my family to graduate from college. And 100% sure where I was headed. I’d made good decisions—the right major, the right classes, and I had my job lined up. I was 20 years old when I graduated, and I was sure I was set on my life’s path.

And I was right—in the short run. My dream job started the September after graduation. I was a public school teacher. Can we hear it for public school teachers?

So I was working at an elementary school. I worked with special needs kids—really little ones. And I loved it. Love love loved it. So, yeah, my decisions about my courses and major and my first job—yeah, they really mattered and I was now set for life. Woo-hoo!

That was September. The following May, I got fired. 

Those were the days when women could be fired for getting pregnant—and that was exactly what the principal of my elementary school did. Discovered I was pregnant, wished me luck, and showed me the door. 

So there I was, so sure my life was set in one direction, and now it was over. It felt like the end of the world. A punch in the face. And I landed flat on my butt.

And then—two years, one baby, one dog, and one move later, I ended up going to law school. This time around, I was sure I had it figured out: I would be a trial lawyer. Why not? I could totally do this.

Three years, one more baby, one more dog, one more move, and one divorce later, I was not a trial lawyer. I’d been inside a courtroom exactly once. Instead, I became a professor. Yes, I confess: I am a nerd. What can I say?

And now, many years and many dogs and one more husband later, I have the honor of being your senator. And here’s the kind of amazing part—I get up every day and into the fight for all our kids, for the kids with special needs who need a little more help, and all for all the teachers and all the librarians and cafeteria and janitorial staff who spend their lives making our education system work. I’m still partly doing what that 20-year-old me set out to do—just doing it a lot differently.

My graduation advice is all tied up in that story. 

Throw yourself into your work. Take the chance on your dream to become a teacher—or engineer or chef or nurse or to start your own business. And then, if you discover at some point, early on or years later, if you discover you don’t wake up every day loving it, move on—embrace change. You can do something else. If you get laid off and feel like you’ve been punched in the face, that’s not forever either—it’s just change, and I guarantee you can do something else.

You don’t have to stick with Plan #1 forever. Don’t just take it from me — take a page out of Dunkin Donuts’ book. The donuts worked for a while, but things change, and now officially they’re just “Dunkin’”—and they’re rocking it! Just ask Ben Affleck. 

Life is all about opportunity. Spot the chances. Keep an open mind. Consider the unexpected. Entertain the odd opportunity that comes looking for you. And never be so faithful to your first plan that when you hit a bump in the road – or when the bumps hit you – you don’t have the fortitude, grace, and resiliency to rethink and regroup for the next plan.

I won’t sugarcoat it. Things are really tough right now. Americans’ basic rights under attack. Science and schools are under attack. Immigrant families are getting torn apart. Our economy is teetering. And that’s exactly why we need people who can change plans. People who can fight for themselves and fight for others. Resilient people. People who see the glass half full. And people who take any situation – no matter how hard – and fight to make things better. Those are the kinds of people we need in this world right now.

It’s tough, but I have high hopes for every one of you. I have high hopes because even in this moment, you’ve already done something tough: You’ve earned your place here today. You’ve shown up, you’ve done the work, you’ve stuck it out, you’ve pushed yourself, and, best of all, you’ve graduated. That’s something to be proud of. 

Class of 2025, you make us proud and you give us hope. By getting an excellent education, you have built a strong and resilient foundation. And if you work hard, persevere, and leave yourself open to unexpected change, you’ll not only find your way through the world, you’ll help make it a better place for us all.

Thank you, and congratulations!

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