UCLA’s class of 2025: Staying kind, staying curious and changing the world for the better

Just as thousands of graduating students and their families and friends began lining up outside Pauley Pavilion for the first of three UCLA College commencement ceremonies today, the sun broke through the gloomy marine layer, laying a special sparkle on the scene.

That auspicious weather change was mirrored in the beaming face of Renell Gochman, whose daughter Gisell was graduating with bachelor's degrees in psychology and human biology. Draped in head-to-toe Bruin hues and clutching an electric-blue orchid, Gochman, whose son is also a UCLA alumnus, spoke glowingly about her daughter's accomplishments - an honors student, a research assistant in a UCLA neuroscience lab and a director with the Special Olympics who would soon be headed off to law school.

"It means a lot to have her graduate, and UCLA has been phenomenal," Gochman said. "I could not have asked for a better school, and she couldn't either."

Nearby, graduating students Kate Kresser and Lindsay Bettencourt walked hand in hand toward the arena, best friends since they met at a UCLA orientation for transfer students two years ago.

"There are so many emotions. It's very surreal," said Kresser, a music major at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. For Bettencourt, an English major whose grandfather had attended UCLA but never graduated, it felt, she said, like she was completing the circle.

"This moment means everything," she said. At the same time, she acknowledged that she and her fellow classmates were leaving campus at a time growing uncertainty. "There's a lot of turmoil happening in the world," she said, "but I feel ready and prepared because of UCLA."

Gochman, Kresser and Bettencourt were among 6,700 UCLA College undergraduates and more than 27,000 guests expected for the 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. ceremonies in Pauley. Overall, some 10,000 undergrads, along with 5,000 graduate and doctoral students, are collecting their UCLA degrees this commencement season, which began in May and reaches its height today and this weekend, with nearly 70 ceremonies, receptions and celebrations taking place across campus.

The graduates, who range in age from 16 to 70 years old, are a testament to UCLA's inclusive excellence: 30% of undergraduates are the first in their families to earn a degree from a four-year university, nearly 80% are from California, and one-third are transfers from community colleges who found their way to the nation's No.1-ranked public university from diverse paths.

UCLA values in the world today: Kindness as 'a light in the fog'

Students soon made their way to their seats inside Pauley, smiling broadly, snapping selfies, adjusting their mortarboards and leis, waving jubilantly to their families and the jumbotron camera, and throwing the popular UCLA "fours-up" hand symbol. In many ways, the exuberant moment seemed to be a shared shout of joy and a collective sigh of relief, although it belied the ambiguity many students said they felt about the state of the world.

In his first commencement address as chancellor, Julio Frenk, just a week after his official inauguration, praised the class of 2025 for their extraordinary achievements and their resilience and grit in the face of the trials of recent years - from the aftermath of the COVID pandemic and the campus unrest during spring 2024 to the devastating Los Angeles wildfires and today's highly polarized national political landscape.

At a time when public discourse has become deeply entrenched and the way forward seems murky, Frenk stressed the importance of what he called "a simple yet radical idea" - being kind, particular to those we don't know.

"Too often, division drowns out dialogue. Withdrawing into like-minded circles seems easier than extending a hand to someone who does not look like you," the chancellor said. "But kindness can be an act of defiance - a light in the fog of cynicism, tribalism and withdrawal."

Guided by UCLA's motto "Fiat Lux" (let there be light), Frenk said, new Bruin graduates are well prepared to champion the affirmative values they learned at UCLA in the larger world and to draw on them in shaping a better and more just society.

"Let your learning be a source of light. Let your voice be a light in difficult conversations. And let your actions shine light in places shadowed by injustice or indifference," he said. "And when you are unsure where to begin, begin with kindness ... That is how we renew connections among humanity and make space for knowledge."

Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and actress Sara Bareilles, a UCLA alumna, echoed many of the same themes in her keynote address, a soul-baring speech in which she spoke openly about her fears and anxieties over current events, both local and global - events that, as a whole, had led her to question her faith in humanity.

"It is impossible to be in this moment, in our country and the world, and not acknowledge that this is scary," she said. "It feels like cruelty and a lack of empathy are gaining traction, spreading like a virus - and sometimes it feels like I have caught it too."

Like Frenk, Bareilles, who graduated in 2003 and who has used her global platform to advocate for mental health, zeroed in on openness, curiosity and a willingness to engage as a means of overcoming division and isolation. Her speech underscored that pain and discomfort also present a path forward and the opportunity for learning and growth.

"We are taught from a young age to value certainty, that it embodies strength," she said. "But there is so much more to learn about this life and each other, about the gray areas, the crises of faith, the messy middle. What would happen if we could learn to stay curious instead of certain?

"I think to love the world - to love this exact world, with its chaos and cruelty and beauty and brilliance - is to pack your parachute, find the edge and jump."

'Growing in ways we never thought possible'

The class's student speaker, Harriet Grace Leibowitz, spoke about her own experiences of vaulting into the unknown. The physiological sciences and pre-med student came to UCLA from the U.K., she said, because "something deep inside me knew my story wasn't meant to be written in one place." And she penned a jam-packed chapter in her story, conducting important heart research at Cedars-Sinai, working as a certified medical assistant and serving as the CFO of a UCLA startup developing hydration supplements in addition to her studies - testing and redefining her own limits.

"That is why being challenged is so important," she said. "It forces us to step beyond what is comfortable, to confront our own limitations and to grow in ways we never thought possible.

"Today, as we stand on the brink of our futures," Leibowitz said, "it's impossible not to feel a mix of emotions - honor, gratitude and even a little bit of fear. Because leaving this place means stepping into the unknown. So, let's remember what UCLA has given us - not just an education but a mindset, a belief that change isn't something we wait for; it's something we create. We have been shaped by this institution, and, in turn, we will shape the world."

After Frenk formally officially conferred the students' degrees, Leibowitz led her classmates as they shifted their tassels from left, signifying the completion of their studies, and a quartet struck up the alma mater, "Hail to the Hills of Westwood."

The newly minted graduates soon filed out into the bright sunshine, reconnecting with their families and friends in a revelry of hugs, tears and photographs.

"I can't even believe it's real," said Ryan Romo, who had just earned her bachelor's degree in sociology, as she stood with her mother, Raquel Rivera. " I've worked so hard, and the day has finally come. It's something so surreal and lifechanging." Rivera, who was celebrating her birthday, said her daughter's graduation was the best gift she could have dreamed of.

Romo said she especially appreciated Sara Bareilles' speech. " She killed it. It was a great speech, and I just love the overall message of bringing kindness and light into the world."

For many, the messages of kindness resonated deeply, including the words of David Russell - an associate professor of English who, as the ceremony's marshal, gave a speech on small acts of kindness - as a particular inspiration.

"You will not, for the most part be able to measure their effects or how far they spread," Russell had said. "But this also makes them more powerful than we might tend to assume. They are a means by which you are able to offer other people hope and one of the means by which the future gets better."