Emmy Award-winning host, producer and author Andy Cohen delivered a message to the Class of 2026 at Washington University in St. Louis during the May 15 Commencement ceremony on Francis Olympic Field.
Below are Cohen’s remarks to the graduates.
Good morning everybody. Good morning, graduates. Thank you, Chancellor. Graduates, I have been immersing myself in WashU. Last night I did shots with Chancellor Martin. I had a chance to meet some of you at the Shamrock downtown and at Blueberry Hill, and my assessment is, Class of 2026, you are brilliant!
This isn’t my first WashU speaking gig. Years ago, I was hired by a news anchor to write a speech she was delivering right here at WashU. I don’t remember what it was about, but I remember the paycheck, and I remember that my mom had friends in the audience who described it as “stupid” and “the most boring thing they’d ever heard.” For the last few months my mom — graduate of the WashU class of ‘58 — has been telling me that today’s remarks better not be stupid or boring because I can’t fail twice at WashU. So thanks, Mom, for the encouragement! Here’s hoping for the best. And if you don’t like the speech, blame me, and not Claude. AI had nothing to do with any of this. As it turns out, our brains work just fine!
I actually come from a long line of Washington University graduates. In 1929, just shy of a hundred years ago, my grandmother Ruth Sachs received a bachelor of arts degree from Washington University. In the audience this morning are my mom, class of 1958; my uncle Stanley Allen, class of 1962; from the class of 1968, my uncle Robert Cohen; and my sister Emily Rosenfeld, who received her MBA in 1995.
You’re probably thinking, What happened to you, Andy? Well, I was just a few blocks away. Somewhere in Clayton, partying. Was I too dumb to get into WashU? Perhaps I was. Was my mother’s greatest fear about me at that time that I would “grow up to be an airhead?” Yes! It was. But today, this airhead is walking away with an honorary degree from a university referred to as the “Harvard of the Midwest.” And ranked as number one in best college dorms by Niche.com! I’m a doctor, everybody!
It took a weird route for me to get this degree, but sometimes the weird way to success is the right way to success. Success is the thing you all graduate wanting. And today I want you to redefine what that means. Take a little of the pressure off yourselves and broaden your scope of what success is. Success isn’t about becoming a CEO in your twenties. It’s not having a million followers on TikTok. It’s not even having an exact plan for your future. Success from today forward will instead come from knowing who you are, who your friends are, and following your dreams.
One of the great successes of my life has come from the community I have built around me. Now, graduates, your life’s community has already started, and the people around you will hopefully remain with you for many years to come. I started my community down the road at Wydown Junior High and then Clayton High School. Then, on my first day at Boston University orientation, I arrived to my dorm to find that my roommate had already come and gone. “Who is this person?” I wondered. There was one way to find out. I immediately started going through his luggage. I found that he liked boxer shorts and he seemed preppy. That seemed like a match. I left to go explore campus. When I came back to the room a few hours later, my boxer-loving roommate greeted me. “Hello Louis!” he said, having also gone through my luggage and thought the name on the tag — my dad’s — was mine. Worth noting that he found my boxers too and thought it was also a good sign. I’m not sure why having the same taste in underwear resonated for us, but here we are. I tell this story because that roommate has remained like a brother to me, and today his daughter is out there graduating with all of you. And I love a full-circle moment.
Success is building a community and keeping that community close. Cherish that community. It will become the fabric of your life. Nurture your friends and acquaintances. Stay in touch. Be kind. Reach out. Check in. Be the person who is there for others. Show up. This will come to benefit you, and sometimes the most random people will reappear in your lives in magical ways.
When I was your age, I knew I wanted to work in TV. I wanted to be on TV. But I wasn’t sure how to get there. I moved to New York planning to wait tables until a job opened at CBS News, where I’d interned. I got lucky and became a production assistant there within a month’s time. I was making very little money and getting by working lots of overtime, but man, when I got that first check with the CBS eye on it, nobody could tell me that I was not a success. I felt like I’d made it. And in every job I had over 10 years there, I felt successful. Because I was having fun. I was not on TV, but I was living a good chunk of my dream, having capital F-U-N, fun. Creatively stimulated, working in a medium I loved. I wasn’t getting any sleep. But nobody moves to New York to sleep. I was happy though. And happiness is success. It is invaluable. I knew a lot of people who were making a lot more money than me, but none who were having half the fun that I was.
One thing that I know fuels success is curiosity. Be nosy. There was not a door at the CBS broadcast center that I didn’t open, just to see what was inside. There was not a question I didn’t ask. Being nosy is an underrated trait. Now, I’ve got to tell you, people from St. Louis are inherently nosy, so I was born with it. I challenge you to be nosy now more than ever. Be nosy about figuring out what’s true. Think independently, and don’t allow yourself to be gaslit by people telling you one thing when you can plainly see through it.
Success is taking opportunities offered to you. Say yes. After 10 years at CBS, I was offered an opportunity that took me out of my comfort zone but led me to becoming head of programming at Bravo.
I have always been something of a know-it-all. But at Bravo, I learned that leaning into your failures can lead to success. I was certain that the first show I produced for Bravo was going to be a huge hit. It was a huge bomb. We did research to figure out why it bombed when we had been so sure otherwise. We learned that it probably would’ve been a hit on one of our competitors, but it was off brand for us. This led us to work hard to rigidly define what our brand was and program into it — which, no surprise, led to success.
The biggest success of my career will be my involvement with creating and producing “The Real Housewives.” But it didn’t start that way. As we were shooting Season One, it all seemed to be going so wrong that I — the head of programming for the network — was hoping my boss would kill the show, take a loss, and take this mess off my plate. She didn’t. She said, “We are sticking with this show.” And not only that, she said, “We are changing the name from ‘The Real Housewives'” to ‘The Real Housewives of Orange County.’ In case we ever decide to do it in another city.” I remember saying, “This is the dumbest title of a show I’ve ever heard, ‘The Real Housewives of Orange County.’ What did that mean? Housewives of Orange County? And where on earth else would we ever do this show?” Today, we are celebrating 20 years of the “Housewives,” which has become a worldwide hit with 10 versions alone in America. Don’t sleep on “The Real Housewives of Rhode Island,” people.
I’ve learned a lot about success from “The Real Housewives.” And you can too! The housewives can get scrappy, but their ability to forgive is regenerative and a lesson for all of us. Success for a real housewife is learning how to laugh at yourself, and own when you’re wrong. Lean into it, and you can stay in control.
I’ve learned a lot about branding from housewives who have brilliantly branded and monetized hobbies, passions and things they’ve said. They’ve also failed spectacularly at branding. I shudder to think of the warehouses of sparkle dog food — it’s pink and sparkly! Which, now that I think of it, maybe doesn’t sound like such a bad idea. But the ones who started small and leaned into what they’re good at or known for have succeeded.
Finally, “The Real Housewives” are brilliant at finding a look that works for them and sticking with it. Get your look and your glam right, graduates, and you will go far! Yes, I said that. Get your glam right, WashU.
The housewives are always entertaining when they’re saying something totally outrageous at the wrong time, but that’s also about making great television. Graduates, one thing I can be sure of is that knowing how to navigate social situations is going to bring you real success.
I spoke earlier about saying yes at the right time. But get comfortable with the idea of saying no. There is a great power in saying no. And to the nosy people who ask “Why?” “Why can’t you come to dinner? Why?” You mainly don’t owe anyone an explanation. “I can’t” works great! That’s as far as you need to take it. Saying no gives you power over your destiny to stay out of situations you don’t want to be in.
You are an impressive bunch — and I hope all of you have an impressive brunch after graduation today! — and you’re going to come in contact with very successful people. Folks you may be intimidated by or people you want to make a good impression in front of. My advice for having success in these situations is to ask questions. People love talking about themselves. Look at me, I flew all the way from New York City to yammer about myself to you this morning! Fearlessly ask questions and keep the ball in the air.
If I can leave you with one last marker of success, graduates, this is so important, it is to always maintain your clean, fresh-smelling breath. No one wants to smell gas coming out of your mouth. And nobody forgets someone with bad breath. It’s a stink you cannot shake! Good breath equals success! I swear it!
Have a great, happy and successful life. I will see you at Blueberry Hill! Go Bears!
