At New York University’s 2022 commencement at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, Taylor Swift showed up to deliver a speech for the graduates.
The 11-time Grammy winner showed up to toast the classes of 2020, 2021, and 2022 for their accomplishments in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the ceremony, Swift received an honorary degree alongside NYU’s Class of 2022, giving her the title of Doctor of Fine Arts.
“Hi, I’m Taylor. Last time I was in a stadium this size I was dancing in heels and wearing a glittery leotard,” she joked as she opened her speech. “I would to say a huge thank you to NYU’s chairman of the board of trustees, Bill Berkley, and all the trustees and members of the board. … As for me, I am 90 percent sure I am here because I have a song called ‘22.’ And let me just say, I am elated to be with you here today as we celebrate and graduate New York University’s Class of ’22.”
During her lengthy speech, Swift stressed the importance of supportive friends and family while thanking her own. She also cracked plenty of jokes, and made many references to her music.
“How do I give advice to this many people about their life choices? I won’t,” she said. “Scary news is, you’re on your own now. Cool news is, you’re on your own now. I leave you with this: We are led by our gut instincts, our intuition, our desires and fears, our scars and our dreams. And you will screw it up sometimes. So will I. And when I do, you will most likely read about on the internet. Anyway…hard things will happen to us. We will recover. We will learn from it. We will grow more resilient because of it.”
The school previously launched a course on Swift taught by Rolling Stone journalist Brittany Spanos. The course “deconstruct[s] both the appeal and aversions to Taylor Swift through close readings of her music and public discourse as it relates to her own growth as an artist and a celebrity,” per an official description.
Watch Taylor give her speech above, and check out the full transcript below.
Hi, I’m Taylor.
