Crow exhorts new graduates to look to future with optimism: 'We're here to create wondrous things'
Information technology major Michael Jugador waves to his family during Undergraduate Commencement at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe on Dec. 11. Photo by Samantha Chow/Arizona State University
Editor’s note: This story is featured in the 2023 year in review.
Thousands of new Arizona State University graduates were urged to be “soldiers for the future” as they celebrated at their degree ceremonies on Monday.
ASU President Michael Crow gave that message at the graduate commencement at Desert Financial Arena on Monday morning and at the undergraduate ceremony at Mountain America Stadium in the afternoon.
Overall, more than 11,000 ASU students graduated this fall, about two-thirds undergraduates and the rest earning graduate degrees. Of the total, nearly 1,500 are international students, an 11% increase over last fall, and over 4,600 are Arizona residents. About 5,800 of the new degree holders took classes through ASU Online, including nearly 1,000 graduates of the Starbucks College Achievement Plan.
MORE: Meet some of ASU's notable fall 2023 grads
At the undergraduate commencement, Crow told the graduates that their families and friends are counting on them.
“They want you to go out and to do better than what has been done up to this point,” he said.
“We're here to understand the past, to learn from the past. We're here to enable human advances. We're here to create wondrous things.”
Crow told the graduates to think of the achievements of their ancestors.
“Think about all of the generations that came before you, all the sacrifices, everything that's been done to build this country and beyond this country to advance this planet,” he said.
“Think about all of these individuals that you've heard stories about — your great-grandparents, your great-great-grandparents, your great-great-great-grandparents — all the things that have happened, all the things that have been solved, and all the things that have been achieved and focus on that going forward.”
-
Rona Chen, from Taiwan, gets help with her graduate hood — which honors her work in engineering (computer science) — from her boyfriend, Douglas Teng, before graduate commencement on Monday, Dec. 11, at Desert Financial Arena on the Tempe campus.
Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News
-
Gonfalons lead the processional at the start of graduate commencement on Dec. 11 at the Desert Financial Arena on the Tempe campus.
Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News
-
ASU President Michael Crow greets Outstanding Graduate Charles Yellow Horse, a member of the Navajo Nation, as he crosses the stage to be recognized during graduate commencement on Dec. 11. Yellow Horse earned a master's degree in global health this fall.
Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News
-
Tamara Underiner, assistant dean of the Graduate College, hands out diploma covers to new graduates as they walk across the stage during graduate commencement.
Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News
-
Professor Wei Shen places a doctoral hood on Ziyan Cao, who is receiving a Doctor of Business Administration as part of the W. P. Carey School of Business' international program in China, during graduate commencement.
Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News
-
Members of the Doctor of Business Administration China cohort (from left) Ziyan Cao, Yujia Miao and Yongquian Liu watch their colleagues cross the stage during graduate commencement.
Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News
-
Engineering graduate Ashley Phillips receives her hood from fellow graduate Constance Shirley during graduate commencement. Philips earned her degree in human systems engineering, and Shirley earned hers in user experience design.
Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News
-
From left: Kristen Peña, Nadine El-Awar and Megan McKenzie Bettis celebrate the balloon drop after graduate commencement on Dec. 11. The three grads received a doctoral degree in education (leadership and innovation).
Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News
-
New graduates leave Desert Financial Arena after being honored at graduate commencement on Monday, Dec. 11.
Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News
-
Thierry Mbieuley snaps a picture of his wife, Gift Okoli, as he holds their 2-month-old son, Shawn Mbieuley, following graduate commencement. Okoli earned a Master of Science in criminal justice through ASU Online. The family lives in Maryland.
Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News
Crow said that many people are making a lot of money by sowing hatred and divisiveness on social media, but that the graduates should not buy into it.
“Hang out with people who are trying to design a better future. Find a way to make your life a part of all that, and we'll all be better off,” he said.
Fred DuVal, chairman of the Arizona Board of Regents, told the graduates that a college degree demonstrates their ability to question information and to search for the truth.
“The social media that pervades our lives, by design, reinforces things we already believe in rather than questioning them and broadening our perspectives,” he said.
“This place — higher education — is the antidote to these informational cul-de-sacs.”
At the graduate commencement, Crow gave the new advanced-degree holders a similar message: “You wouldn't be sitting here today if you didn't believe in the future and in all that it has to offer,” he said.
“You can't be discouraged. … You can't be beaten down.”
He exhorted them to counteract negative social media and news.
-
Left to right: Nursing graduates Matthew Milano, Emilie DePint and Lauren Welsh take a selfie before undergraduate commencement at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe on Dec. 11.
Photo by Samantha Chow/Arizona State University
-
Anthropology graduate Jennifer Minish checks her earrings in mirror before undergraduate commencement.
Photo by Samantha Chow/Arizona State University
-
Marketing and sports business graduate Kevin Lee (right) helps supply chain management graduate Blandin Nimenya adjust his sash before undergraduate commencement in Tempe on Dec. 11.
Photo by Samantha Chow/Arizona State University
-
ASU President Michael Crow addresses the fall class of 2023 during undergraduate commencement at Mountain America Stadium on Dec. 11.
Photo by Christopher Goulet/Arizona State University
-
Grand Marshall Greg Stone, associate professor in the Department of Psychology, sets down the ceremonial mace during undergraduate commencement.
Photo by Christopher Goulet/Arizona State University
-
More than 7,000 undergraduate students received degrees this fall semester.
Photo by Samantha Chow/Arizona State University
-
Nursing major and veteran Stephanie Bollinger cheers during undergraduate commencement on Dec. 11.
Photo by Samantha Chow/Arizona State University
-
Construction management graduate and veteran Ray Martinez waves to his family during undergraduate commencement held at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe on Dec. 11.
Photo by Samantha Chow/Arizona State University
-
Communications major and Starbucks College Achievement Program graduate Savannah Assenti shows off her graduation cap at undergraduate commencement.
Photo by Samantha Chow/Arizona State University
-
Community health major Jimmina Mike listens to a speech during undergraduate commencement on Dec. 11.
Photo by Samantha Chow/Arizona State University
-
Nursing major Julia Kaplan looks for her family during undergraduate commencement.
Photo by Samantha Chow/Arizona State University
-
Sports journalism major Kaitlyn Parohinog (left) and journalism majors Kylie Werner (center) and Rebecca Striffler stand as the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication is called out during undergraduate commencement.
Photo by Samantha Chow/Arizona State University
-
Art history major Danielle Berkowitz cheers during undergraduate commencement on Dec. 11.
Photo by Samantha Chow/Arizona State University
-
Graduates celebrate the end of undergraduate commencement by turning the tassels on their caps.
Photo by Samantha Chow/Arizona State University
-
Nursing major Esperanza Biggs celebrates as the confetti goes off at the end of undergraduate commencement.
Photo by Samantha Chow/Arizona State University
“Do something meaningful. Build something. And stop the idiocy.”
More Sun Devil community
Photos: 2025 Downtown Phoenix Open Door
Arizona State University's 13th year of Open Door events kicked off on the Downtown Phoenix campus on Feb. 1.From a newsroom tour to a mad food-science lab, learners of all ages got a taste of what…
A lifetime of experiences prepared Jamea Jackson to be ASU women's tennis coach
It was August, 2009. A Tuesday, Jamea Jackson thinks.Jackson, Arizona State University’s new women’s tennis coach, had decided to retire from the Women’s Tennis Association Tour in part because of a…
ASU Open Door to kick off its 13th year in February
Where can you operate the controls of a flight simulator, have a virtual reality adventure and even learn how Taylor Swift affects public policy?At Arizona State University’s Open Door events, which…