Commencement speaker urges UC Berkeley Class of 2025 to 'serve,' highlights College Corps

An unnamed commencement speaker at the University of California, Berkeley's Class of 2025 ceremony urged graduates onstage to commit to public service and civic engagement, citing California programs such as College Corps as examples of how service can help pay for college and strengthen communities.

The speaker framed service as a remedy to political cynicism and social division, saying, “This story is total b s,” and urging graduates to “serve” in a range of settings from local government to the military. The address tied personal experience—including military service and local government work—to the broader argument that service builds unity and purpose.

Why it matters: the speaker credited a statewide push for service, saying, “thanks to governor Newsom, who created a cabinet level position for service and community engagement, that program has grown into College Corps.” The speaker said College Corps has helped “thousands of students across the state of California pay for college through service,” and that service corps now collectively provide “literally millions of hours of service to our communities.” These claims were presented by the speaker as context for encouraging graduates to pursue service opportunities.

Details and examples: the speaker suggested multiple pathways for service, including the California Service Corps, the Peace Corps, local government, teaching, health care, firefighting, neighborhood organizing and military service. The speaker also described starting a city-level program “to help students pay for college by serving together in their city” during their time as mayor of their hometown in Nevada, presenting that local program as antecedent experience to statewide service efforts.

The address mixed personal anecdotes—such as a college prank, meeting family at UC Berkeley, and military deployments “in Japan and in Gitmo”—with exhortations to act. The speaker repeatedly encouraged graduates to take concrete steps: “knock on doors in the Iowa snow, land on a nuclear aircraft carrier, teach 30 students in a classroom where English isn't the first language, run for office and beg your friends for $20 donations.”

At the close, the speaker returned to a single-word charge: “Go.” The remarks ended with a call that service can provide personal meaning and community benefit, and with applause for College Corps members in the audience.

The speech was delivered during the commencement ceremony and represents a public appeal rather than a policy decision or formal action by an agency.