With humility and humor, UW-Green Bay 2025 December Commencement class speaker, James Harris, a dual major in Political Science and Democracy and Justice Studies shared encouragement and hope for the future with the class of 2025 at UW-Green Bay’s morning Commencement Ceremony.
Harris spoke of the support he received from both family and faculty at UW-Green Bay, and the many opportunities he had to become involved as a student. Notably, he led a program called Bridging the Divide that helps people realize “…we all actually have a lot in common despite what our leaders and elected officials keep trying to tell us.”
He spoke of a world where a students’ only barrier would be the willingness to put in the work, and in closing, he encouraged his fellow graduates to change the world. “…nothing is more powerful than a few people who want to do the right thing. That drive and work ethic that got you to graduation gives each and every one of you the ability to change the world, and I can’t wait to see what you do with it.”
Please read Harris’ full remarks, below.
UW-Green Bay Morning Class Speaker James Harris’ full remarks
“Can you believe they trust me with a microphone?
I know what all of you are thinking. Who is this guy, and why do I need to listen to him bloviate? Hi, I’m James. I’m a dual major in Political Science and Democracy and Justice Studies, and I’m here because I’m probably going to graduate with a 4.0, as long as Professor Katia reads my final paper generously.
Besides the grades, I’m mostly here because I was really involved. I was blessed enough to do things like give a TEDx talk, fly to Boston, and present research. I also ran a program called Bridging the Divide that helps people realize we all actually have a lot in common, despite what our leaders and elected officials keep trying to tell us.
But none of what I’ve done would have been possible without my support system, including but not limited to my wife, mom, and dad. I mean that. Three weeks into my first semester, I was driving home one night and stopped at the back of a traffic jam. I reached down to grab my water bottle, and then woke up in the hospital. Turns out someone was texting, driving, and doing 80. But I only had to miss one day of class for that, because my family and the UW faculty helped me get to class and then a new car. I suspect a lot of you have similar stories. To the people who supported us and got us across the finish line, thank you. Can I get a hand for them?
But I have a confession to make. I have exactly one trick. I naturally read at somewhere between 6 and 800 words per minute. This isn’t something I practiced, earned, or learned. I’ve just always been able to do this. Because I read really quickly, I spent almost no time studying, and had plenty of time to pursue all the other things I’ve spent the last 4 years doing.
I’ve spent a while, and the more I think, the more I believe someone else deserves to be class speaker more than me. Someone like my friend Julie. She’s an older student that came into college reading at a 6th grade level, and not knowing how to use a computer. But she works so hard, it doesn’t even matter. I’ve seen her take 12 hours to write a one-page paper, listening to recordings of the lectures and typing very slowly with only two fingers. Most of her grades are As and Bs. I wonder how I would do in her circumstances, and I don’t think I would do very well at all.
It doesn’t feel right that I’m up here getting rewarded for literally not trying as hard as I could have, when some of you worked much, much harder than me and are sitting down there. First of all, if you gave it everything just to make it to graduation, give yourself a hand.
When my dad found out I was giving this speech, he told me, “Make sure you’re very humble, because there are people in the audience who got actual degrees, like engineering.” No offense to engineers, but God must love ‘em because they can solve their problems with math. You are all graduating with degrees in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. None of these degrees are an easy way to get rich quickly. Instead, these are the paths you choose when you care about making the world a better place.
I’m a non-traditional student. I graduated high school with a 2.1 GPA and spent the next 10 years getting burnt out doing factory jobs. One day, I woke up and realized that I wanted to do something different with my life. I applied to UWGB looking for a degree in engineering, which kicked off an absolutely absurd chain of events that somehow led to me standing here and getting a job as a mental health professional. I’m not quite sure how any of this happened, but I’m here for it. I thought college would make me smart, but the biggest things I’ve learned over the last four years are that there’s so, so much that I don’t know, and nobody really has the answers to all the world’s problems. But the one thing we can all agree on is that the world is not in a great place right now. Instead, let me offer an idea. There are people who are more gifted and harder working than anyone in this room, who never got to complete or even start their education because they didn’t have the money or support system. I like to imagine a step in the right direction would be a world where the only barrier to higher education is a willingness to put in the work.
If anyone can make this happen, it’s all of you. Making the world a better place isn’t about knowing all the answers or having the best ideas. It’s about putting in the work, and remembering that nothing is more powerful than a few people who want to do the right thing. That drive and work ethic that got you to graduation gives each and every one of you the ability to change the world, and I can’t wait to see what you do with it.
But the world and its problems can wait one more day. Today, celebrate. You worked hard to get here, you’ve earned it, and you deserve it. It’s been an honor. Congratulations.”