Message from the Chair of the Board of Trustees

Fragility and Optimism

Dear Esteemed University of Rochester Class of 2021 Graduates,

On behalf of our entire Board of Trustees, I want to congratulate each of you on your hard work, dedication, sacrifice and perseverance that brought you to this momentous day. I join your parents, grandparents, siblings and friends in acknowledging all your remarkable accomplishments, and applaud all those special people in your lives who have helped you achieve today’s important milestone.

You are all graduating at an historic time. After being turned upside down, the world is beginning to right itself. Each of you now have a true first-hand understanding of just how truly fragile life can be. Most likely, this thought never crossed most of your minds until early 2020, but today in May of 2021, this reality is crystal clear. As a parent, you tend to shelter your children as long as you can from the sometimes harsh realities of life. But sooner or later everyone learns that the only constant in life is change. Our health, relationships, trust, institutions, governments and society, can, and often will, shatter in the blink of an eye. This class has learned this harsh lesson first hand.

Together, we are experiencing and enduring a global pandemic. We are also witnessing the ongoing repercussions of such a catastrophe which have included political, racial, and environmental turmoil. Older generations learn over time that “life is fragile and unfortunate things do happen to good people.” This class has learned this harsh lesson first hand.

I know that these past fifteen months have been incredibly difficult on so many levels for each of you, but I also believe that experiencing and witnessing such a long and tragic event unfold will ultimately set you up incredibly well for the future. For it is only in times of despair that one can really appreciate all the good life has to offer. It is only in times of uncertainty that one can learn not only who their true friends are but how to be a true friend themselves. It is only when one considers just how precious and limited time is, that one will make the right choices and priorities for the future. It is only during the most challenging periods that one can determine what they are truly made of as they fight with every ounce of strength to get to the other side. If you can assimilate all the lessons you’ve learned during this difficult period, I am confident that your lives will be more successful and meaningful than you ever could have imagined and together you’ll help make our world ever better.

The thought that might not be so obvious today when the world is still so fragile is the simple concept of optimism. And this class has a lot to feel optimistic about. In the relatively short time you’ve been at University of Rochester, you’ve turned strangers into lifelong friends, you’ve passed classes that felt impossibly difficult, you’ve turned professors into mentors, you’ve discovered your deepest passions and learned firsthand your strengths and weaknesses. And on top of this you’ve endured the myriad of repercussions from living through a global pandemic. Your tool boxes are fuller than most at this stage of life and this coupled with optimism will take you far. Let your experiences and accomplishments be the jet fuel that refocuses each of you to passionately follow your dreams with a newfound sense of urgency. You are the class that will make the world a better and more inclusive place for all beings who share our planet. You are the ones who will show us how to improve our environment. You are the ones who will teach the next generations. You will provide the world with optimal medical care for all. You will be responsible for the research innovation that will create future medical cures and technology that will improve the quality and enjoyment of life. You will create new companies and perhaps even industries. You will be responsible for bringing our country together politically. You will help nations learn to better communicate, trust each other and become global partners. You will help lead us all to embrace diversity, inclusion, equality and fairness. You will become the philanthropists and benefactors of all things good in the world. You are the future and today each of you begins the transition from students to leaders who will help build a better future for the world. I am incredibly optimistic knowing what each of you independently are capable of achieving, but what really gets me excited is what you will do collectively as new graduates of the University of Rochester.

With great optimism fueled by the knowledge of all of our fragility,

RICH HANDLER
Chair of the Board of Trustees, University of Rochester
CEO, Jefferies Financial Group
rhandler@jefferies.com
Pronouns: he, him, his
@handlerrich Twitter | Instagram

P.S. With the hope that you may find something helpful, I am including a link for a note I wrote to each of my four children on the day they graduated from college.
100 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me After College And Before I Entered The Real World

P.S.S. And for those of you with younger siblings, I’m also including a note I wrote the day each of my children left for college.
100 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Went To College