�鶹��Ѱ�����

Chancellor Justin Schwartz

The true purpose of higher education is to prepare students to think critically and constructively — but what does a graduate do once they have absorbed this lesson?

My hope for you, graduates, is that your NEXT step will be to use your knowledge and energy and passion to ACT, in service to a sustainable, inclusive and just world.

In short, I hope you will follow the sage advice given by President Theodore Roosevelt over a century ago, when he quoted Squire Bill Widener:��

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”

In a world that often expects perfection before action, this saying reminds us of something vital: you do not have to wait. You don't have to wait to be smarter, or richer, or more influential. You don’t have to be an Olympian or a chancellor or a centenarian.��You don't have to wait for the perfect time or the perfect opportunity. You already have everything you need to begin. Right here. Right now.��

Throughout your time at �鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder, you have gained knowledge, developed skills, built friendships, and discovered more about who you are and what you stand for. As you reflect on your Boulder years, I hope you will be proud of your accomplishments — and also realize that you had it within you the entire time.

As you transition from reflection to anticipation, I hope you will also discover that the true value of your �鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder experiences is not measured by the grades you earned or the titles you will hold. It is measured by what you choose to do next — by the actions you take and the impact you have.��

History shows us that change comes not from those who wait for perfect conditions, but from those who start where they are, with whatever they have.��

Yes, we all can learn more, and build our base of experiences and knowledge. Yet many of humanity’s greatest movements for justice, innovation and progress have been driven by people who did not have all the answers or all the resources.��

They simply had the courage to act.��

Some choose to act in dramatic ways, with profound courage — standing in front of a tank, raising a fist or wearing a patch on an Olympic platform, making the world’s first telephone call, or traveling to the moon and back.��

Yet it is often the seemingly smaller acts that end up fundamentally changing humanity –- building prototypes in garages, trying over and over until finding success, or organizing communities to advocate for policy changes, even if it takes decades.

You are entering a world that is full of serious challenges and incredible opportunities. Climate change, inequality, advancements in human health, and the emerging capabilities of artificial general intelligence — these are not topics for tomorrow.��

They are opportunities for you to respond, to innovate, and to change the world. And just as you had everything you needed to graduate when you first arrived at �鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder, you also have everything you need to meet the global challenges of today.��

So do what you can. You don't have to create the next groundbreaking technology or write the next great American novel all at once or by yourself.��

Today, more than 9,900 students are graduating at �鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder, along with a few million students graduating college across the United States this spring.��

My generation trusts your generation to take the torch of progress and march forward. Start with small acts of compassion, innovation and leadership, and have faith that they will ripple outward.����

Start with what you have got. In a matter of minutes, you will officially hold a degree from the �鶹��Ѱ�����, a top national research university with global impact. Add to that your skills, your passions, your experiences, your unique way of seeing the world — the things that make you, you.

Start where you are. Grow as you go. You do not need to be somewhere grand or famous to make an impact. You don’t have to walk the halls of Congress to have tremendous influence. You don’t have to be atop a 14er to speak truth to power. From that altitude no one would hear you!��

Progress begins wherever you stand: in your workplace, your community, your home.

You are the generation that will prove that action — imperfect, humble, determined action — can amplify the vast strengths and beauties in today’s world, heal what needs healing, and build what needs building.

As you move forward in the world, know that you go with support from those around you. I would like to take a moment to recognize the families, friends, and loved ones in the audience today and watching online. Graduates, please join me in showing our appreciation for their support.

I also want to recognize our faculty and staff, who have guided and mentored these graduates and shared their expertise, wisdom and connections to help students reach this moment. Thank you for your many contributions.

Graduates, as you leave here today, take pride in all that you have achieved, but remember: your education does not end with this diploma. Learning must now become doing.��

Dream boldly, yes — but act decisively. Stand up for what matters. Serve where you see need. Create where there is a void.

As your chancellor, I could not be more proud of each of you graduating today. You have already shown that you are scholars, creators, leaders, and problem-solvers. Now go out and be changemakers.��

Be the ones who do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

Congratulations, Buffs. The world is waiting — and you are ready.

Thank you.

And now it is my great pleasure to introduce our commencement speaker, an individual who certainly understands the importance of taking that first step.

Emma Coburn is a three-time track and field Olympian World Champion, competing in her first Olympics in London in 2012 while she was a student at �鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder.

She graduated from Crested Butte High School before becoming a Buff, following in the footsteps of her grandfather, parents, uncles and two older siblings.��

As a member of the �鶹��Ѱ�����Track and Field and Cross Country teams, she became a three-time NCAA champion and earned her degree in marketing in 2013.

After graduation, Emma went on to become a 10-time U.S. champion in her specialty event, the 3000-meter steeplechase.��She was inducted into the���鶹��Ѱ�����Athletic Hall of Fame in 2023.

Emma continues to compete as a professional track athlete, and she lives and trains right here in Boulder. She is coached by her husband, Joe Bosshard, and they have one amazing daughter, Betty.

Please join me in welcoming Emma Coburn!

Emma Coburn, 2025 commencement speaker

Good morning, and congratulations to the Class of 2025!

To our graduates, faculty, staff, parents, families, and to all the proud Buff alumni, thank you for being part of this moment.

Today isn’t just the end of a chapter.
It’s the end of one race—and the beginning of another.
You’ve crossed the finish line… and now, you’re standing at the starting line of everything that comes next.

Before we go further, I want to thank Chancellor Schwartz and the Senior Class Council for inviting me to speak today.

I didn’t walk in my own graduation here at Folsom—I was competing at a track meet.
So, if it’s alright with you... I’m going to pretend this is my graduation too.

***

This university has shaped so much of who I am.
I was born right here in Boulder to two Buffs who met on campus.
I knew the fight song before I knew my ABCs.
I went to my first Colorado football game at just three weeks old.

Years later, I had the honor of wearing the Buffs jersey as a member of the cross country and track teams, competing across the country—and wearing it again when I qualified for my first Olympic team.

That journey started here.

For 17 years, I’ve lived here in Boulder.
I’ve trained here.
Cheered here.
And today, I’m proud to celebrate here—with you.

***

��

There’s something I want to talk about today—something I think about often, as both an athlete and a human trying to grow.

I call it:��“the gap.”

The gap is the space between where you are now—and where you want to go.
Between who you are today—and who you’re working to become.

It’s not a flaw.
It’s not a sign you’re behind.
It’s proof that you have a vision for your life.
The gap only exists because you’re aiming for something��greater.

And it can feel uncomfortable—sometimes even painful—to sit inside that space.

But here’s the truth:
Pressure. Discomfort. The unknown.
That’s where growth happens.

***

I’ve lived this.

At 17, I stood on the starting line of the Colorado high school state cross country meet—crying.
Not because I was hurt.
Not because I wasn’t fit.
But because I didn’t believe in myself.

I was scared of failing.
And sometimes, when things got hard, I quit.
I dropped out of races.

That was my starting point.

***

At 21, I stood on the starting line of the Olympics, while still a student here at CU.
Same sport. Bigger pressure. But a Completely different person.
��Calm. Relaxed. Focused.

***

So what filled the gap?

Not magic.
Not just talent.
Just work.

Thousands of small, unremarkable steps.

Showing up to practice when I was the slowest on the team as a freshman.
Finishing workouts when I wanted to quit.
Listening to feedback that stung.
Celebrating little wins—
—a personal best,
—a hard workout,
—running a 4:54 mile in my first track college race- a goal my coach set that I thought was��way out of reach.

And then?
I did it again.
And again.
I kept going.

By senior year, I won the NCAA Championships, running 4:29 in the mile.
That didn’t happen by accident.��

��It happened because the space between 17 and 21 was filled with��effort, humility, and��belief.�� In my years as a Buff, I won 3 NCAA Championships total and became an Olympian.��

I didn’t come to this campus dreaming of being an Olympian.��

I was never the dreamer, I was always the doer.��

That is how I closed the gap. By doing.��

Not with one giant leap, but with a million small steps..��

That is how you will close the gap-
Often when you don’t even realize you’re moving forward.
Even when you don’t know exactly where the finish line is.

***

You might not realize it yet—but you’ve already closed a gap.

Some of you started college on Zoom.
From your childhood bedrooms.
Muted mics. Frozen screens.
Uncertainty about what college would even��be.

And yet—look at you now.

***

Think back to the person you were when you arrived on campus.

Maybe you were confident.
Maybe you were overwhelmed.
Maybe you got lost looking for Macky Auditorium and called your mom from the stairwell—maybe more than once.

You showed up with questions.
You wondered how you were going to make friends, balance your schedule, or survive lectures that started at 8 a.m.

You didn’t know how to write a college paper, apply for an internship, or function in a kitchen—maybe you still don’t.

But over these last few years—step by step—you built new skills, new habits, and a new version of yourself.

You figured out how to manage your time—or at least fake it convincingly.
You learned how to advocate for yourself, finish what you started, and ask for help when you needed it.

You got stronger.
Smarter.
Braver.
More resilient.

***

That’s what filling the gap looks like.

Not overnight.
Not all at once.
But��consistently—through late-night study sessions, difficult conversations, tiny victories, and all those invisible moments where you could have backed down—but didn’t.

The person who walked onto this campus… and the person sitting here today?
Not the same.

And that change wasn’t an accident.
It was��earned.

And that’s the power of the work you’ve done here.

Not loud. Not flashy. But real.

***

Now... closing gaps in college is, in some ways,��straightforward.
College is designed to help you do that.
There are guardrails. You’re nudged forward.

But when you leave here today?

Those guardrails are gone.
The bumpers are down.
And now... it’s up to you.

You’re on your own, kid.

I know you’ve picked up some lessons already—
But I want to leave you with two more.

Two principles that helped me grow.
Helped me close the gap.
And I believe they’ll serve you too.

***

Lesson One: Win at the things that don’t require talent.

You don’t need talent to show up early.
To be kind.
To take feedback.
To stay consistent.

Those are��choices—not gifts.

I’ve won races not because I was the most gifted—
—but because I made choices, I was consistent with the small stuff.

I didn’t cut runs short.
I didn’t skip the unglamorous parts.
I listened. I prepared. I trained hard. I built discipline.

And because of that discipline—not just talent—
I won an Olympic medal in 2016 and a World Championship gold in 2017.

***

Lesson Two: Control what you can. Let go of what you can’t.

In sport, I can’t control if someone cheats.
Or if someone else is better than me.
Or if it rains on race day.

But I��can control how I respond.
I can control my effort.
My mindset.
My resilience.

Life is full of variables.
But your preparation? That’s yours.

When you focus on what you��can control, you get stronger.
When you obsess over what you��can’t, you get stuck.

Know the difference.
Choose what brings you forward.

***

Now I am not going to stand here and tell you that by taking steps forward, you will always make progress. You will fail. You will fail at things you thought you would conquer, but that's ok.��

At the Tokyo Olympics... I failed.

I fell in the final lap.
I was disqualified.
The race I had trained years for—the race I thought was going to be��my Olympic moment—was over.

It was a��very public failure.
And I was crushed.

But because I had spent my career building a deep capacity for hardship, I didn’t stay down.

I got up.
I processed the pain.
And the next summer, I came back and won my tenth U.S. national championship—
the first runner to win the same event 10 times.

***

You will fall too.
At work.
In love.
In life.

It’s not a matter of��if—but��when.

So build your resilience now.
Stack your capacity.
Learn how to rise.

Victory isn’t the absence of failure.
It’s the ability to��move through it.

***

��

So when the next scary starting line comes—
When you begin a new job, a new life, a new dream—
You might feel like that kid I was at 17.

Scared. Unsure.
Wanting to call your mom and go home.

And that’s okay.

Do it scared.

You don’t need to feel ready to begin.
You just need to begin.

And when it gets hard?

Move forward anyway.

***

In the movie��Finding Nemo, there’s a fish named Dory who has to swim into the deep unknown.
She sings:��“Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming”

��It helps her keep going.

I say the same to myself all the time—
But in my world?

It’s��“Just keep running.”

Because forward is always an option.
Moving forward doesn’t require talent.
Moving forward is always in��your control.

You’ve done it already.

And you will do it again.

***

To send you off today, I want to remind you that you are capable of building the life you want.
You have already started.

You are accountable for this life.
You are the one who will close the gap between who you are—and who you want to be.

So when fear shows up...
When doubt creeps in…

Just keep moving.
��Small steps. Brave. Disciplined.

You’ve already closed one gap—step by step, choice by choice.
The next one will be harder.

But you’re ready.

Not because you know exactly where it leads—
But because you know how to keep going.

Just keep swimming.
Just keep moving forward.

Congratulations again to the Class of 2025.
Sko Buffs.

Aaditya Pore, Senior Class Council President

Class of 2025 – how are we doing?����

My name is Aaditya Pore and it has been my absolute honor to serve as the Senior Class Council President this year. Being able to spend time with many of you, learn more about your stories, and serve you all through senior class events was an amazing opportunity, and I am so excited to be able to celebrate our achievements with you on this momentous occasion.��

Before I begin, I want to take a moment to thank those that made today possible. First, thank you to our esteemed speaker, Ms. Coburn, for her inspiring words. I know I speak for us all when I say it was a pleasure to hear about your experiences and memories. Additionally, I’d like to extend my gratitude to Dr. Holman, Chancellor Schwartz, the Commencement Committee, and of course, my lovely Senior Class Council team for their work in planning this event. Last, but certainly not least, I’d like to thank all of you – graduates, friends, family – for showing up this morning to support us all. Commencement is an amazing experience because of each and every one of you.��

Today, we gather here to commemorate the grit, dedication, and perseverance this class displayed over the last few years that led to our triumph today.����

But before we get too far into thinking about tomorrow, let’s take a moment to look back and see how we got here. Close your eyes for a moment and think about how you felt on your first day on campus. Recall that sense of uncertainty wrapped in excitement that you felt walking into your dorm for the first time; going to your first class; seeing the sun beam on the Flatirons; or going to the C4C and truly realizing why people talk about the Freshman 15.����

It has been a long time since that day, although it may not always feel like it. These past few years have been a mix of wins and losses and challenges that felt more like tests than anything our professors assigned us. We saw the turnaround of our football team under Coach Prime, Travis Hunter, and Shedeur Sanders from a 1-11 season to a 9-4 record, which was truly something special. You could even say it was, ‘Perfect Timing’. And who could forget the buzzer-beaters in basketball, and the legends like Evan Battey, McKinley Wright IV, Tristan Da Silva, and Jabari Walker, who gave us something to cheer for beyond the stats? These athletic highlights gave us hope and excitement in an increasingly divided and uncertain world.��

It’s easy to look back on these moments with nostalgia, to keep reliving the glory days and the excitement of our college years. But the moments that will truly define our �鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder experience go beyond athletic wins and losses. It’s the late-night conversations when we were stressing out about exams and trying to care for our mental health. The support we gave each other when times were tough, and drastic world events brought uncertainty. And it was the friendships we built over difficult assignments, fun club meetings, or just a meal at a dining hall that will last a lifetime. These are the deeper moments we’ll carry with us as we leave Boulder.��

The truth is, the challenges that lie ahead are much greater - not just for us as individuals, but for the world around us. Our education didn’t just prepare us to face the workforce; it prepared us to face a world that is often uncertain, divided, and sometimes even hostile.��

So, what do we do with the spark we’ve cultivated here - that ambition, that drive, and most importantly, that empathy we need now more than ever?��

In a time when the world feels polarized, we must remember the value of kindness. It’s easy to be swept up by anger, division, and fear. It’s easy to think that the loudest voices are the most important, and to dismiss those who may not share our views. But the truth is, the most important thing we can do moving forward is to approach the world with empathy, compassion, and care.��

It’s not enough to just "get ahead." We must ask ourselves: How can we make a positive difference in the lives of others by showing empathy for them? How can we elevate unheard voices by showing compassion in our leadership?�� How can we foster loving environments in our communities by caring for those around us?����

At the end of the day, people won’t remember how much we earn or what title we hold. People will remember the way we made them feel. That is our legacy. It’s about showing up for others when it’s hard, listening when it’s easier to ignore, and leading with integrity even when it’s not the popular choice.��

As we gather here today, on the precipice of our future, I urge you all to move forward with a commitment to kindness. Use your spark - your curiosity, your ambition, your passion - to create a world where empathy is the norm, not the exception. Now, more than ever, we need leaders who are willing to listen, to understand, and to act with love. How will you be the flame that lights the candle of those around you, no matter how strong the winds get, how heavy the rain falls, or how dark the world may be around you?��

Most importantly, before you embark on your adventures, take a moment to express your gratitude to those who supported you to this point. For me, my source of support has always been my mother and my sister, who’s unrelenting guidance and care for me made me the man I am today. Take the time today, in the spirit of celebration, to honor those who are here for you.��

We’ve been given the gift of education, but we’ve also been given the gift of connection - to each other, to our communities, and to the world. Let’s use that gift to make a difference, to choose community over conflict, and to make the world a better place for everyone. Congratulations, Class of 2025. Let’s go out there and show the world what it means to be a Buff. SKO BUFFS!��