Sheryl Lee Ralph delivered the commencement speech to the class of 2023 at her alma mater, Rutgers University in New Jersey, where she urged graduates to be bold, open to change, and to find their voice.
“Figure out what makes you happy. If you enjoy what you do, it doesn’t feel like a job,” said the beloved actress at the 257th Anniversary Commencement of Rutgers University-New Brunswick and Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences.
Ralph, who plays Philadelphia kindergarten teacher Barbara Howard on ABC’s hit sitcom “Abbott Elementary,” made history last year when she became only the second Black woman to win an Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series.
She then paid homage to Paul Robeson, the late civil rights activist and athlete who is one of Rutgers’ most notable alumni, who was born 125 years ago last month. Ralph said that he was the reason that she wanted to attend Rutgers.
While the award-winning actress began her studies at Rutgers in 1972 as a pre-med student at 16, she said she quickly discovered that medicine wasn’t for her.
“I found my passion on the stage of the Little Theater on the Douglass College campus,” she said as she continued her message to graduates about finding their passions.
In 1975, at 19, the actor and Broadway performer graduated from Rutgers College, becoming the college’s youngest female graduate. However, she shared that she never got a chance to wear her cap and gown and walk across the stage.
“Much to my mother’s disappointment, there are no pictures of me accepting that well-earned degree because guess what? I was cast in a Skippy peanut butter commercial, and it was shooting the same day. I made the right decision. Look at me now,” she said jokingly. “But seriously, what a blessing. I got to do the commercial, and today I get to take a picture in the cap and gown.”
Not only did the beloved actress get to take pictures in her cap and gown, she also received an honorary doctorate of fine arts.
Ralph said she could picture how many of the 2023 graduates entered Rutgers as “fresh-faced freshmen” with everything looking rosy and bright, thinking back to her time five decades earlier when she first arrived at the university.
“Then our country and the world took a tragic, difficult turn,” she said. “Kobe died, George Floyd was killed, and then the world stopped, and everything changed when COVID-19 reared its ugly red, spiked head and shut down.”
“But, you stayed the course, you never gave up, you kept doing,” she continued.
Ralph challenged graduates to be open to change. “Bring your best to the world,” she said. “We need it. You see the shape we’re in. Bring your best work, your best ideas.”
She also encouraged graduates to embrace diversity, be accepting, use their voices, and treat others how they would like to be treated.
Finally, Ralph told graduates that the key to living a happy life is to find their joy and hold onto it.
“Sing your song, dance your dance, paint your picture, support the arts,” she said. “Listen to the orchestra and Beyoncé too. Write your poem, your play, your book, or your speech. Let your inner artist out, your future doctor, lawyer, teacher, forensic scientist, farmer, global warrior, college president, politician, social media influencer.”
The world is not coming to an end, she told the graduating class. Instead, she said, “It is coming to a new chapter – and trust me, it starts with you.”