Undergraduate student speaker Mason Shaver, who earned a degree in educational studies and in political science from Arts & Sciences, 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 Shaver’s prepared remarks to the graduates.
Good morning, Class of 2026!
Congratulations, we have made it.
On behalf of all my classmates, I want to say that none of this would have been possible without the people who supported us along the way, many of whom are here today or with us virtually. Please give them a warm round of applause.
Thank you!
My name is Mason Shaver, and for those of you who do not know me, I am from St. Louis, born and raised. I can talk all day about why St. Louis-style pizza is the best. How gooey butter cookies are undefeated (especially my personal recipe), how everyone here is a sports fan (even when our teams are losing, which has been a lot recently), and how St. Louis people are among the most caring and kind you will come across.
And while I love St. Louis and I hope many of you have come to love it, too, it was all I knew before coming to WashU. I felt my worldview was small. When I came to WashU, I thought I had little to offer. I am a first-generation college student from a low-income background. I never traveled much growing up. In fact, at that point I had never even been on a plane. I looked around at all of my peers, who were so accomplished, talented and worldly, and wondered what I was doing here. I did not feel I belonged.
But over the past four years, that changed. WashU showed me what was possible. I had the privilege of taking classes and conducting research with some of the world’s best professors. I got accepted into competitive programs and fellowships, which enabled me to be involved in my community and give back. I was able to travel both within and outside the United States, visiting more than 10 countries and over 20 states, going on more journeys than younger Mason could ever have believed possible in a lifetime. In other words, WashU taught me that I was part of a bigger world and that excellence was within my reach. That I belonged.
But here’s the thing that really surprised me. Here, among all this wealth, all this privilege, among all these impressive, accomplished people, is where I learned that my background was not something I should strive to overcome, but instead, something that made this place better.
My unique perspective and my many, many questions were not liabilities here at WashU. They were contributions. But my ability to see that, to even believe that, would not have been possible without all of you. I didn’t learn to believe in myself from a book or a lecture or a lab experiment. I learned to be proud of my authentic self because you all were willing to share yourselves with me. We all have had different, transformative college experiences, but what we share is that we owe our growth to each other.
Our growth, our success, our failures and our ability to bounce back from those failures would not have been possible if we were not vulnerable to one another and eager to learn what we did not know. For instance, we learned to step away from the pressure of school and simply enjoy where we were through conversations in freshman dorm lounges, late-night study sessions in Olin and weekend nights when time felt both slow and fast. We learned to appreciate and celebrate one another’s differences through cultural shows like Lunar New Year, Diwali, Black Anthology and Carnival, moments that invited us into each other’s worlds, even if just for a moment.
We learned to stand firm in our values while still making space for others in moments of tension, when we protested, when we spoke up, and when we had difficult conversations. And we learned how to navigate life itself through friendships, breakups, losses and celebrations, through the moments that challenged us, changed us and ultimately shaped who we are today. We learned all of this and more because we all chose to bring our authentic, amazing selves to WashU.
Now, please take a moment and reflect. Reflect on the people who have impacted you. Look around. Maybe it’s a freshman-year roommate — for some of you, the first time sharing a room with someone. Maybe it’s someone you met in a random class you decided to take on a whim. Maybe it’s a friend you met in a club you joined, thinking you would enjoy it, but hated it. Maybe it’s a professor, a mentor who shaped how you view the world and how you want to affect change in your future career. Maybe it’s the friends and family that, no matter how hard and complex life gets, will always have your back and are always one call away.
All of these relationships, these memories, were only possible because you showed up as yourselves. You shared your identity, your childhoods, the stories your families passed down through generations. You told me about growing up in a small rural village in India, where daily life looked nothing like my own, yet your ambitions sounded just like mine. You told me about your family facing persecution in Germany for being Jewish and how that history still lives with you. You told me that growing up in New York City with a single parent meant navigating challenges and responsibilities most people never see. You shared your fears surrounding your immigration status and how even something as simple as sending your younger brother to school carries uncertainty because of ICE’s presence.
We trusted one another, and in this trust, I felt safe enough to tell you about my background living in St. Louis. Stories about my family’s struggles with substance use, but also their resiliency. Stories about the moments I’ve struggled to forgive and what it has taken to move forward. Stories about my younger sister, who is graduating from eighth grade this year, and how proud I am of her, even when I don’t always say it enough. We shared our deepest regrets and the moments we are most proud of. We shared stories that keep me up at night — and the hopes and dreams that keep us going. We shared. We listened. We grew.
Through those conversations, we realized how much we had in common. And because of this, we felt more comfortable in our place in the world and that we were together.
When I came to this place, I felt I had little to offer; many of us may have felt this. Yet I am leaving proud of my St. Louis roots. Proud of my public school education. Proud of my family. Proud of being the first in my family to go to college and coming from a low-income background. Proud that WashU has been a part of my journey and proud of all I have achieved, looking forward to all I will achieve and determined to make sure students who grew up like I did don’t have to wonder if they belong in places like this and that they can.
We came here wondering if we belonged. We leave knowing that we always did.
I hope you will remember this wherever you end up next. Don’t be afraid to be the person who shapes the culture in your workplace, the one who tackles the issues you care most about with grace, the one who is up for the difficult conversation and willing to learn. Be vulnerable. Be you. That is your strength.
You are what has made WashU excellent, not the other way around.
Congratulations, Class of 2026.
