IT Stars and Technology Gurus Rule College Commencement 2011
When it comes to choosing a college commencement speaker, some notables are a shoo-in: President Obama and the First Lady, of course. Former President Bill Clinton is a popular keynoter, too, as is Bill Cosby. But beyond the traditional lineup of politicians, actors, and even musicians, a newer trend is emerging – one of inviting innovators in the IT realm to dispense wisdom to newly minted college grads.
Check out College Commencement 2011’s tech guru picks for some all-around career and life inspiration.
The Goddess of Google Google VP Marissa Mayer, the corporation’s first female engineer, delivered the keynote address at Harvey Mudd College this spring. Though she’s an alumna of a different prestigious California school (Stanford), I doubt there were any complaints about her being chosen to speak. Mayer illustrated the importance of being open to change by sharing stories of her own journey: though she originally intended to become a doctor, she took an intro computer science course at Stanford and ended up hooked on IT instead. I wonder how many grads wished they had heard her speech when they were freshmen.
A Bite out of the College Apple Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak graced the stage at Michigan State University this year, delivering an inspiring (if not cautionary) commencement speech. He talked about his own college experiences – yes, he went back to school to earn a degree even after he made it big! – and urged grads to do what they love, not just what will make them rich or famous. The Woz also warned that computers are doing more and more of our work for us, making human beings less and less relevant. Hmm… sounds like someone’s having second thoughts about his own creation.
Three Cheers for Foursquare The success of one of the coolest new social networking platforms scored Dennis Crowley an invite to speak at the iSchool convocation ceremony at his alma mater, Syracuse University. And, get this: The Foursquare co-founder and CEO claims he couldn’t get into computer science courses when he was a student at Syracuse because he was so bad at math! He learned how to program out of a book in his spare time later on. If that’s not an encouraging word to those who are unsure if they fit the “typical” IT career mold, I don’t know what is. (Incidentally, Crowley had a stint at Google, too.)
Much Ado About Twitter Biz Stone has always been an innovator, from starting a lacrosse team in high school to designing book covers after dropping out of college. In his commencement speech at Babson College, the Twitter co-founder and creative director shared four succinct (though longer than 140-character) stories that illustrate his view of business, happiness, and success. He also encouraged grads to develop a strong sense of empathy and to recognize value before profit. And yes, even as he was speaking, the crowd was tweeting about what a great speech it was.
More Face Time for Facebook The women of Barnard College got a two-time tech star when they welcomed Sheryl Sandberg to speak at their graduation ceremony. Currently the chief operating officer of Facebook, Sandberg was once a Google VP. (Does it ever seem like all IT roads go through Google?) In her honest, inspiring address, Sandberg encouraged women to ask themselves, “What would I do if I weren’t afraid?” and then to go do it. Before women can close the achievement gap, she said, we must first close the ambition gap. And then we’ve got to “own our own success.” Sign me up for one of her motivational speeches any day.
I wonder… do you think the wave of tech speakers at commencement is signaling a new kind of celebrity?
