Inside, keynote speaker Sean Astin, the award-winning actor, mental health advocate and UCLA alumnus, spoke about the tough road the newly minted graduates had traveled.

“You are a storied group, the ones who came of age during the most extraordinary time, when so much of the planet seemed to slow to a near stop. The COVID pandemic … stole from you a proper sendoff from your high school experience,” he said. “You deserve today, you have earned today, today is your day … This is your moment, and I am so happy to bask in it with you.”

Astin, a Westwood local who graduated from UCLA in 1997 with a double major in English and history after attending Los Angeles Valley College, went on to talk about his deep connection to the campus, where he rode his bike as a child, where his aunt and uncle were longtime professors and where he and his wife studied, often with their infant daughter, born during Astin’s junior year, in tow.

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” Photo Credit: David Esquivel/UCLA

His life, Astin said, had “been animated by this place, by the values of excellence and compassion and learning and intellect.” Acknowledging recent events on campus, he stressed the importance of togetherness, understanding and mutual respect.

“You are surrounded by people with a shared experience, one that you will carry for the rest of your days,” he said. “Look at each other. You are together. We must protect each other. We are a team, whether it’s hard to remember at any given moment because we are filled with moral outrage or political animus. We are a family.”

Student speaker Lauren Kobashigawa, graduating with a degree in communication studies, spoke of the turmoil the COVID-19 pandemic had wreaked on the class of 2024, both in high school and college. “This may be your first time donning a cap and gown and walking across a stage to receive you diploma,” she said. But she echoed the importance of the sense of community she ultimately found — and the strength she and her classmates developed through difficult times.

“UCLA students come from all around the world but are unified through this special Bruin community,” she said. “There truly  is no other school or community like this place.

“We are a class that has learned how to adapt and handle any obstacle thrown our way; we are pioneers, changemakers and innovators,” she added. “While we may not have had a traditional college experience, we have created our own narrative.”

Laura de Beer, also a student speaker, who was earning her bachelor’s in business economics, likewise mentioned the pandemic but said that amid the challenges, there had also been remarkable achievements, from sustainability efforts and fundraising for AIDS research to the launch of the campus’s disability studies major. She urged her fellow students to continue learning from setbacks in life, emerging stronger and wiser than before, and to focus on what is important.

“Success is not measured solely by accomplishments or accolades,” she said. “It is found in the lives you touch and the values you uphold. As you pursue your goals, never lose sight of the importance of empathy, compassion and integrity. Use your talents not just to advance your own ambitions but to serve a greater good. Be a voice for those who are silenced, a champion for those who are marginalized and a force for positive change.”