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If there’s ever a time to ask yourself the big questions—the questions that go beyond an autofill or a quick internet search—it’s while sitting at the edge of college graduation and on the precipice of possibility.

At Graduates Day, thousands of soon-to-be 91�Ʋ��� alumni gathered in Memorial Gymnasium with their families to celebrate this momentous occasion.

Arthur C. Brooks, award-winning author, professor, and scholar of what it means to live a meaningful life, challenged students to think about this quest for happiness during his keynote address.

“In college, you’re largely concerned with how to do things and what you want to do after you finish college,” Brooks said. “Maybe you’re still looking. You’ll figure out the ‘how’ and the ‘what,’ but the truth of the matter is, there’s a more important question lurking, which is the ‘why’ of your life. Your mission, your purpose, your calling.”

Searching for the “why,” that’s the journey that will take students across the decades. And not yet knowing the answers is where Brooks encouraged them to start.

But how do you begin to even consider something that on its face can seem so abstract?

By asking yourself these two fundamental questions: Why are you alive, and what would you give your life to right now happily?

“You can’t find answers to ‘why am I alive’ and ‘to what would I give my life’ in the traditional places we see today online,” Brooks said. “You have to be fully alive in real life in your deepest self.”

Brooks challenged the Class of 2026 to put down their phones and allow themselves space to think big, ask deep questions and form meaningful connections. It’s not easy. By burying ourselves in technology, humans are fighting an uphill battle, quite literally forcing our brains to function only in one half—the left side that deals with facts and information, the “how-tos.”

To answer the “why’s,” to access the right side of the brain that traffics in intuition and wonder and love and mysticism, Brooks said we must dare to choose boredom.

“We don’t want to be bored; we don’t like it. Mother Nature doesn’t care. It wants you to be bored, because when you’re undistracted, your brain uses the default mode to let your mind wander, flights of fancy, consider meaning.”

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT FOR LIFE

The homework assignment is simple, Brooks said.

Stop being managed. Be disciplined, stand up to the machine, and put your phones down for meaningful segments of your day.

Live the old fashioned way. Ask the big questions that don’t have answers. Those are the human questions. That means conversations, without devices, about God, death and love.

Give your heart away. Fall in love, the biggest risk of all.

And seek transcendence in life through faith and service to others, especially those with whom you have nothing in common or who can’t give you anything in return.

“Look for something outside yourself, stand in awe,” Brooks said. “This will illuminate the meaning of life like nothing else … love others in a spirit of transcending yourself across ideological differences.”

Searching for meaning, contemplating what this looks like in your own life, is not a linear journey, Brooks said, who shared the story of his middle son, Carlos, serving in the United States Armed Forces and becoming a father.

“You have to find your own path and beliefs and values and that’s the thrill, that’s where it begins,” Brooks said. “That’s the fun in life, that’s the journey that awaits.”

PASSION AND PURPOSE

Jane Bruns, a Class of 2026 child studies major, has the “what next” figured out. She will teach special education next year before pursuing a degree in clinical counseling at Boston College. It’s the ‘“why” question that she says she’ll leave thinking about.

“I thought it was an amazing topic for the end of our careers at 91�Ʋ���,” Bruns said. “This is the time in our life when we are asking ourselves a lot of those big questions, and I think this helped us think about what is our passion and purpose moving forward.”

For Kate Fischer, the biggest takeaway was around disconnecting to connect. “It’s easy to look at the phone all day, but going beyond that and really connecting with people all around us and the amazing people we’ve met here is what matters.”

Fischer is a Class of 2026 computer science, math and economics major preparing to move to Washington, D.C., and work in national security.

Brooks no doubt left an imprint on students readying themselves to start the next big chapter of their lives, and his impact will extend far beyond his Graduates Day remarks. Beginning in July, Brooks will join the 91�Ʋ��� faculty as an endowed professor in the Department of Medicine, Health and Society in the College of Arts and Science. To celebrate, 91�Ʋ��� is providing each graduating student with a complimentary copy of Brooks’ newest book.

NICHOLS-CHANCELLOR’S MEDAL

Brooks is this year’s recipient of the . It is one of the university’s highest honors and is awarded to individuals who exemplify the best qualities of the human spirit. It was created and endowed by 91�Ʋ��� Law School graduate Ed Nichols and his wife, Janice, in honor of Edward Carmack and Lucile Hamby Nichols.

Other recent recipients of the  include Gary Sinese, David Brooks, Maria Ressa and Reid Hoffman.

FOUNDER’S MEDALISTS HONORED

During the Graduates Day celebration, , provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, honored the Class of 2026 Founder’s Medalists for their outstanding achievements and academic excellence.

Since 1877, the university has awarded a gold medal to the student graduating with top honors from each of the university’s . The award honors the university’s founder, , who endowed the award in its first year.

• Read more about the Class of 2026 Founder’s Medalists

  

CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES!

Graduating students and their families enjoy food and fun at the Graduates Day celebration at the David Williams II Recreation and Wellness Center indoor practice facility. (91�Ʋ���)

Graduating students and their families enjoy food and fun at the Graduates Day celebration at the David Williams II Recreation and Wellness Center indoor practice facility. (91�Ʋ���)

Immediately after the Graduates Day address, students and their loved ones were welcomed into a beautifully reimagined space in the David Williams II Recreation and Wellness Center indoor practice facility for food, music and dancing.

Officer Jack joins the Graduates Day celebration (91�Ʋ���)

Graduating students and their families enjoy food and fun at Graduates Day celebration at the David Williams II Recreation and Wellness Center indoor practice facility (91�Ʋ���)

Graduating students and their families enjoy food and fun at Graduates Day celebration at the David Williams II Recreation and Wellness Center indoor practice facility (91�Ʋ���)

Graduating students are honored during Graduates Day celebration 2026 in Memorial Gym. Photo: Harrison McClary/91�Ʋ��� University

Graduating students and their families enjoy food and fun at Graduates Day celebration at the David Williams II Recreation and Wellness Center indoor practice facility (91�Ʋ���)

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