Summer 2015
Alumni Corner
Be Uncomfortable, and Other Thoughts for the Class of 2015
The diverse paths that a liberal arts education can lead to were in evidence this spring as four College alumni — a politician, a sound scientist, a screenwriter and an entrepreneur — were keynote speakers at Class Days across the University. Here are excerpts from their speeches.
PHOTO: EILEEN BARROSO“The greatest gift that a Columbia education offers is that you begin your years here looking for answers but you end them by becoming brave enough to accept that life means facing more questions. This education has complicated your sense of self, forced you to shake your habits, encouraged you to practice a radical empathy. And it’s made you humble enough that you never stop fearing the next step, and facing it despite your fear… [A]bove all its many lessons, this university helps you be both an insider and an outsider, to be able to navigate the borders that are where life is. Each of us is a bundle of contradictions and that’s the way it should be.”
Eric Garcetti ’92, SIPA’93, speaking at the College
PHOTO: ISLAND PHOTOGRAPHY“I believe that curiosity is my core value. No matter where your life leads you, whether you have goals or not, whether you reach them or are frustrated — you can always try to maintain a sense of curiosity. It’s a wellspring of pleasure and satisfaction which can be boundless … Eleanor Roosevelt saw a great good in curiosity. She stated, ‘I think at a child’s birth if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift should be curiosity.’ I cannot overstate the importance and value of curiosity. Curiosity is the gateway drug to creativity. It’s just a small step from asking ‘Why?’ to asking ‘Why not?’”
Carl Haber ’80, GSAS’85, speaking at GSAS
PHOTO: joel jarres“We tell ourselves lies all the time. If we didn’t, there wouldn’t be any need for art to combat our collective self-deceptions. Question what you think you believe, and see past what you think you’re seeing. Trust your instinct above all else; instinct is the only thing that’s impervious to belief and illusion. … Be prepared to re-examine your reasoning. … Never be precious, never presume, be prepared to fail, to start over, to question. This isn’t about giving in to self-doubt, it’s about searching. Art is a trial-and-error game, my friends. Reexamining your reasoning is at the heart of experimentation, and if you’re not experimenting, you’re not making art — you’re making yourself comfortable. Be uncomfortable; it’s far more fruitful.”
Beau Willimon ’99, SOA’03, speaking at the School of the Arts
PHOTO: EILEEN BARROSO FOR COLUMBIA ENGINEERING“What I’d like to give is a few unconventional graduation thoughts and I’m titling them ‘Do not follow your passion and the world is not going to hell in a hand basket and the Class of 2015 is not required to save it.’ … [F]ollowing your passion is a very me-centered view of the world. And when you go through life what you’ll find is that what you take out of the world over time, be it whatever — money, cars, stuff, accolades — is much less important than what you put into the world. And so my recommendation would be follow your contribution. Find the thing that you’re great at, put that into the world, contribute to others, help the world be better.”
Ben Horowitz ’88, speaking at the Engineering School