Vance-Granville Community College Commencement Address

Thank you, Xavier. I’m honored to be part of this event. Let me first thank the graduating class for inviting me to speak today. You had absolutely no say in it, I’m sure, but I am grateful nonetheless.

Before I start, I am required to caution that what I share today are my opinions, or better said my life lessons, and not those of my colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committee or in the Federal Reserve System.

The Federal Reserve has two goals: stable prices and maximum employment. In pursuit of those goals, we pay particular attention to the labor market. Who wants a job but can’t find one? Which employers want to hire workers but can’t find them? And importantly, what efforts are underway to help both groups find what they need?

The mismatch often comes down to skills. The workers that are available don’t have the skills necessary to fill the jobs that are available. As the U.S. population ages and our labor force shrinks in years to come, it will become ever more important to minimize this mismatch. That sounds simple in theory, but it’s quite challenging. Jobs change, and the skills needed to succeed in them do, too.

Community colleges like Vance-Granville help us hit that moving target. They help students like you build their skills relatively quickly and cost effectively. They use their deep roots in communities to stay informed on what local skills are in demand and adjust accordingly. And, as you can see among your classmates, they serve a broad set of students with a wide range of goals.

Because of this, we at the Richmond Fed have taken a keen interest in community colleges. We’ve even launched a survey to better capture their contributions — to make sure they can better tell the stories of their successes. Of course, by successes, I mean all of you. That’s what makes me so excited to be with you here today to celebrate your achievements.

For some of you, this is an early step in a longer educational journey. For others, this is a celebration of a new door opening in your career allowing you to pursue new positions, new promotions or even an entire new field. For all of you, this is a significant milestone.

Many of you finished your program while keeping up with other responsibilities: family, work or even the unenviable drama of high school. Congratulations on getting it done. You should be proud!

Congratulations also to the support systems in the audience — the parents, partners, kids, siblings, instructors, mentors and friends who are here. You were all a part of this journey and should share in this moment of celebration.

I am sure your journey to this ceremony was not a smooth, linear one; few worthy ones in life are. There are always stops and starts, peaks and valleys. I thought today I could share a few pieces of advice on what I’ve learned about navigating life’s ups and downs. Given this is a celebration, I’ll focus on the “ups” — six of them, specifically, for those of you counting down how much is left in my speech.

First up is Keep Up. The world changes fast. While this may not shock you as much as it shocks me, I graduated college 42 years ago, in 1983. At that time, there was no easily available personal computer or internet. No smartphone. No streaming. No Google. No PlayStation. Yes, I know, that life sounds pretty boring.

The worker I was prepared to be became obsolete soon after graduation. I had to learn, adapt and keep up many times over, and so will you. You’ll need to continuously invest in yourself to stay current. You’re on the right path by being here today, but believe me, your learning journey is not yet complete.

Second is Meet Up. Relationships matter. Stay connected to the friends you’ve made and constantly invest in making more – in and outside of work. A strong network of relationships helps open up opportunities, builds a support system when you need one and frankly helps make life more fun.

You will build stronger relationships if you treat people well. I often see employees on a mission to get the job done. That’s important, of course. But how you do things matters as much as what you do. No transaction is worth a good relationship. Be aware of the pressures on others. Recognize the world doesn’t work on your clock; this is as true when you are reporting to someone as it is when you are managing others.

Third is Look Up. Find someone who has had a life you admire and figure out what they did to get there. Find your Yoda or Dumbledore. If it’s your boss, watch and learn from them. Understand what he or she does, how they make decisions and what makes them good at their job. It’ll prepare you to step in once it’s your turn. How do you ensure your turn comes? Ask for feedback, be receptive to it and actually use it to make yourself better. When you succeed, ask why. When you fail, ask why. And, importantly, step up when you are given the chance.

Fourth is Free Up. And here, I’m talking about time. If there’s one cliché lesson that rings true as you age, it’s that there’s simply not enough of it.

Know your passions and protect them. For me, that means reading and sports, and family and lifelong friends. For you, it might be working out; obviously that isn’t a priority for me. On the margin, doing what energizes me sometimes requires a little less sleep, or an extra flight, or some courage to draw boundaries or move work to less costly parts of the week. It means deprioritizing low-value tasks. Yes, I’m talking about you, TikTok. I study personal productivity and am constantly seeking to learn how I can get more done in less time. It isn’t easy to balance the personal and the professional, but you can do hard things. Being here today proves it.

Fifth is Save Up. Pay down debt and be cautious on taking out any more. Spend less than you make. Save money and invest smartly. All these aren’t about how to become rich, though it won’t hurt. They’re about how to create personal freedom: to have what you need, to support yourself and your family in times of crisis and to keep a healthy attitude toward work. Money in reserve gives you resilience in downturns and the ability to walk away when needed. I always found that freedom gave me confidence and allowed me to make better decisions.

And finally, Keep Your Head Up. Life is long and, as I said at the beginning, has both ups and downs. As the “Great” Dory once said, “Just keep swimming!” Do more things that energize you and fewer that don’t. Be with more people who give you positive energy and avoid those who bring you down. Tackle barriers and problems with commitment and diligence. But don’t try to solve problems you don’t yet have. The ones you have will keep you busy enough.

There is a whole literature about the personal behaviors of lucky people that I would summarize as “they make their own luck.” They have the resilience to turn lemons into lemonade, problems into opportunities. As another great once said, they know to “Shake it Off!”

So, keep up, meet up, look up, free up, save up and keep your head up. I was tempted to close with one more “up”: wake up to those who may be drifting off to sleep. But instead, I’ll just say this: Bottoms up. Cheers to you and your loved ones. I’m excited to see where you go from here.