Student speaker to classmates: 'Let's go make something better, together.'

Remarks as delivered by Johns Hopkins University senior Dalhart Dobbs at the universitywide Commencement ceremony on May 22, 2025.

Congratulations to our honorary degree recipients—and a heartfelt welcome to families, friends, staff, honored guests, and, of course, the Class of 2025.

My name is Dalhart Thomas Dobbs III, and it is truly an honor and a privilege to address you here today.

Before I get started, I want to give a shoutout to my friends and family and to all the friends and families in the audience. Without all of you, our achievements wouldn't be possible, and to my family and friends, I love and appreciate all of you.

I could not have imagined this day four years ago. When I first arrived at Johns Hopkins, I must admit, I was intimidated.

But it didn't take long to realize that this new place wasn't defined by its name or its ranking, but by its people ... and that those people were more than their brilliant resumes. There were people who stayed up late to help friends prep for an exam. People who volunteered to do unglamorous work that contributed to groundbreaking research. People willing to ask the hard questions—the ones without answers in the back of the book. Questions like "What kind of person do I want to be?" or "What kind of community do I want to build?"

The community we have built at Hopkins is special, Class of 2025. We have challenged each other, supported each other, and showed up authentically, with our whole selves, collaborating, questioning, and learning to lead with empathy. Sometimes the people I met at Hopkins have believed in me even when I didn't.

It was because of that community that I became a campus tour guide, sharing Hopkins with thousands of prospective students. And more than pointing out buildings and sharing fun facts, I tried to share the soul of Hopkins: the people.

Because as the people at Hopkins taught me, the people make the place.

But as I stand here today, I realize that the place also makes the people. Because over these four years, Hopkins has made each of us the people we are today.

This place has given us something that no transcript can capture. Hopkins shaped us, not just through what we studied, but through the people we met, the experiences we shared, the questions we asked, and the values we shared, debated, and defined for ourselves.

And as we step into the next chapters of our lives, scattering across the globe to pursue the bold paths that our Hopkins education made possible, we may not always find ourselves in places like this, spaces that value collaboration and curiosity, empathy and equity, full of people who refuse to accept the status quo when we know it can be better.

Because at the end of the day, it is still about people … and the people still make the place. The real legacy of our time here isn't just what we achieved, but who we became in doing it, and in who we will continue to be for others.

We are not leaving Hopkins; we have become Hopkins. That means that wherever we go, we bring its spirit with us … not just in our careers, but in our communities, our friendships, and our everyday choices.

So don't call this an ending—because if we keep living out what this place truly stands for, it never really ends, but simply expands, person by person, into every corner of this world we touch.

Congratulations, Class of 2025. Let's go make something better, together.