MIT Commencement 2018

The 2018 MIT commencement ceremony was held in the Killian Court on June 8, 2018. Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg was invited to be the guest speaker. The Facebook COO shared her experience of transitioning from a student into the working world, and her advice for the Class of 2018.

She said everyone should ask his/her potential employer: "Are you doing good?"

"We are accountable to the people who use what we build, to our colleagues, to ourselves and to our values, … If you are thinking about joining a team, an NGO, a startup or a company, ask if they are doing good for the world."

Furthermore, Sandberg cited research from her alma mater, Harvard. That is, people become more creative when they ask themselves the question, 'Could we?' and become more ethical when they ask, 'Should we?' She said the best solution is to ask both.

MIT President Reif drew analogy between MIT graduates and Olympic athletes in his commencement speech. “One obvious connection between Olympic athletes and MIT graduates is that you are all trained to be fearless.” “At the Olympics, some people raise the bar for everyone who comes after. Similarly, those of you who leave us today have set a very important new standard.”

Then, President Reif encouraged graduates to go out to make the world a better place. “Individually and together, you helped us see that, if we truly aspire to make a better world, we also need to make a better MIT. And then, through your compassion, creativity and leadership.” “After you depart for your new destinations, I want to ask you to hack the world … More daring and more passionate. More rigorous, inventive and ambitious. More humble, more respectful, more generous, more kind.”