As caps and gowns filled Arizona State University on Monday, Harrison Ford asked the graduates to carry their purpose into the world ahead. More than that, the actor urged them to go change the world themselves.
Harrison Ford gives a passionate speech at Arizona State University
After receiving an honorary Doctor of Arts and Humane Letters from Arizona State University, Harrison Ford gave a stirring, heartfelt commencement address.
The Indiana Jones star accepted the degree before his address at the University’s undergraduate commencement on Monday, May 11. As he addressed a crowd of over 14,000 undergraduates, Ford reflected on his time in college, admitting he “did not make good choices.”
Harrison Ford said that he wasted his college years on reckless living, which put him in serious academic trouble by his junior year. Hoping for an easy grade, he signed up for a drama class expecting to work the box office or build sets, but ended up discovering a love for acting.
However, Ford told the graduates that acting couldn’t pay the bills at first, and he relied on carpentry to provide for his family as it grew. Across 15 years, he had only four or five acting roles until Star Wars cast him as Han Solo. The role, he said, eased his burdens and created freedom and opportunity, but he stressed that passion and purpose are not the same thing.
Harrison Ford later discovered another passion through his work with Conservation International, a nonprofit environmental group. He told graduates that even with new science and policies, “we are still losing nature to profiteering, corruption, conflict.”
The Star Wars actor also told the graduates that they possess more power than they know. “And if you harness that power, if you find your leadership, your issues, your voice, the world will not be able to ignore you,” he added.
Wrapping up, Harrison Ford encouraged graduates to seize every opportunity, calling it the worst fate to reach life’s end without having lived fully.
“Congratulations,” the 83-year-old concluded. “Go change the world.”
Originally reported by Sibanee Gogoi on ComingSoon.
