The best commencement speeches are often motivational and provocative, leaving graduates optimistic as they head out into the “real world.”
But for the Class of 2024 at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, the new graduates walked away with more than just a wealth of knowledge — they left their ceremony with an extra $1,000 in their pockets.
Last week, Granite Telecommunications founder and CEO Robert Hale Jr. spoke to University of Massachusetts Dartmouth graduates about their futures and shared a story about a time when his business suffered a $1 billion loss in just a day to explain the importance of perseverance through failure.
“It's okay to fail,” Hale told the graduates. “Life will give you challenges and if you take those challenges you will fail from time to time – don't worry about it… don't be afraid of failure, understand that it's just part of the process and if you use the fear of failure to motivate yourself, you'll be better for it.”
Then, as he finished, he shocked the audience by announcing that he would give each graduate $1,000 — but there was a catch.
“These difficult times have heightened the need to share, to care and to give,” Hale told the students. “Our community needs you and your generosity more than ever.”
The students were given two envelopes of $500 each – one meant for the students to keep for themselves and the other to give to someone else in need.
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“As graduation was about to begin, Hale stepped forward and told the graduates that he had another piece of advice for them. He told the eager crowd that for him and his wife, Karen, “the greatest joys we've had in our life has been the gift of giving,” UMass Dartmouth said in an announcement. “Hale informed the Class of 2024 that the two large duffel bags being brought up to the stage by security were filled with envelopes full of cash.”
There were approximately 1,200 students in UMass Dartmouth's graduating class of 2024.
Hale current net income it is about 5.4 billion dollars.