Actor Henry Winkler Delivered the Commencement Address to Emerson College Graduates in Boston on May 10, 2026

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Henry Winkler graduated from Boston’s Emerson College in 1967. On May 10, 2026 he delivered a nine-minute commencement address there. The YouTube video is titled Henry Winkler Delivers Commencement Address to Emerson College 2026 Graduates.

 

At 4:16 he said that:

 

“I live by two words: tenacity and gratitude. Tenacity will get you where you want to go, and gratitude will make you enjoy the journey, no matter how bumpy.”

 

And at 7:10 he concluded:

 

“It was said in Washington not too long ago, America. The problem with America, we have too much empathy. Well, you can live a life, you can accomplish, you can accumulate a lot of stuff. You can fill your house and then fill your garage and fill your basement. But you cannot live a rich life if you don’t have empathy.

 

I will end with this. Every one of you is powerful. Some of you know your power. Some of you are scared of your power. Some of you haven’t touched it yet. You’re not aware it’s even there yet. And I want to tell you, you are powerful and in you is a great gift. And your job is to figure out what your gift is, because the world needs every single one of you, and your job is to find that gift and give it to the world. It doesn’t matter what it is, we need it. Go!”  

 

There is an article by Scott Stump at TODAY on May 19, 2026 titled The 2 Words Henry Winkler Lives By, According to the Heartfelt Commencement Speech He Just Gave.

 

A 2024 image came from Wikimedia Commons.