Actor and conservationist Harrison Ford challenged the record-setting graduating class at Arizona State University to expand social justice and address severe environmental degradation during his undergraduate commencement address on May 11 at Mountain America Stadium.
The university recognized more than 14,000 undergraduate students during the ceremony, where Ford received an honorary Doctor of Arts and Humane Letters degree for his film contributions, humanitarian aviation, and environmental efforts.
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Ford reflected on his own journey, sharing that sliding college grades led him to take a drama course where he discovered his fit among classmates he previously considered geeks and misfits.
He then worked as a carpenter for roughly 15 years to support his family while securing occasional ambitious acting projects before landing his iconic role in "Star Wars."
"The load lightened. I had freedom, opportunity.
But something was still missing. Passion and purpose are not the same thing.
Passion brings you joy. Purpose brings you meaning.
Passion gets you out of bed in the morning, but purpose allows you to sleep at night.
And I hadn't found purpose higher than my job yet," said Ford.
His perspective shifted in the late 1980s after meeting the founders of Conservation International in Wyoming, an organization whose board he joined in 1991 to actively participate in global conservation work.
"Humanity is a part of nature, not above it," stated Ford.
The veteran actor emphasized that global ecosystems provide essential services to humanity that people cannot replicate for themselves, making planetary preservation a critical necessity.
"Nature doesn't need people. People need nature to survive," said Ford.
He warned that despite advancing science and modern policies, natural habitats continue to decline due to global conflicts, corruption, and profiteering.
"We have an essential mandate to protect 30% of the world's land and sea by 2030, to prevent the mass extinction, to slow the warming of our planet.
Still, despite new science, new policies, we are still losing nature to profiteering, corruption, conflict — including land that is already protected on paper.
These efforts matter, but they're not enough," Ford said.
Ford called for structural and cultural shifts to combat these issues, emphasizing the need to support marginalized populations who maintain a non-commodity view of natural resources.
"We need cultural change. We need to extend social justice.
We need to respect and elevate the Indigenous people that are being marginalized and, in many cases, killed in cold blood.
These communities have long understood that the trees, the mountain, water, soil are not commodities.
They are relatives to be cherished for following generations to embrace and protect," continued Ford.
He directly critiqued the environmental legacy left behind by older generations, acknowledging that the contemporary world faces severe ecological damage.
"We can all play a role by embracing that wisdom in our day-to-day lives, by loving the planet, by honoring nature's authority, her generosity, the bounty she affords us, the justice of her example, because the world you're stepping into, the world my generation left you, is a real mess," Ford said.
The actor encouraged the young audience to utilize their ambition to foster societal unity, construct new ideas, and advocate for vulnerable individuals.
"Find a place for yourself," Ford pleaded with the students. "Whatever talent or ambition you have, find some way to put it to work.
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Build something that didn't exist yesterday. Stand up for someone who can't stand up for themselves.
Bring people together that weren't talking before. That's leadership.
That's what moves the needle."
Ford concluded his address by urging the graduates to recognize their collective influence and actively shape their own futures without lingering regrets.
"Your generation has far more power than you may realize.
And if you harness that power, if you find your leadership, your issues, your voice, the world will not be able to ignore you," added Ford.
The call to action pushed the graduates to embrace the present moment fully as they transition into the global workforce.
"This is your time. Own it.
Enjoy every second of it.
Because what could be worse than getting to the end of your life and realizing that you haven't fully lived it.
Congratulations. Go change the world," said Ford.
Philanthropist and businessman Howard Graham Buffett also received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters at the undergraduate ceremony for his work in food security, conflict mitigation, and counter-human trafficking.
Buffett advised the graduates to ensure their daily actions would bring pride to their families and to remain open to changing their minds when presented with new information.
"When you get out of bed every morning and think about what to do that day, would you be proud if your neighbors and friends and family read about what you did in the newspaper?
...
And when you go to bed at night, think about something you did that made life better for somebody besides yourself," said Buffett.
Earlier in the event, Arizona State University President Michael Crow delivered a historical overview centered on the Declaration of Independence, telling graduates they would improve the nation.
"Only 250 years ago this summer, imperfect people got together and wrote the Declaration of Independence.
This is the preamble: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'
We fight every day — every day — for that to be the case. That these rights are immutable, indivisible, cannot be changed, cannot be taken away," Crow said.
"Each of you come from every type of family, every background, every family income, everything that you can imagine.
You're going to make this thing work. You're going to make this country better.
We're just getting started."
An ASU representative later noted to Fox News Digital that universities accommodate multiple perspectives, highlighting Crow's speech alongside Ford's remarks.
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"[U]niversities are not about one perspective or position," the ASU representative said.
