Editor’s Note: In this inspiring commencement address at Fordham University, veteran journalist and Today Show co-anchor Hoda Kotb delivers a heartfelt and humorous roadmap for the graduating class of 2026. Drawing from her own early career struggles, including enduring 27 professional rejections over 10 days, she emphasizes that success requires finding just one person who believes in your potential. Kotb shares foundational life lessons ranging from running your own race to choosing a cause greater than yourself, ultimately encouraging graduates to claim their place on every mountaintop and in every boardroom. The speech concludes with a moving tribute to the families in attendance, reminding the new alumni to stay connected to the loved ones who supported them along the way. (May 19, 2026)
TRANSCRIPT:
Hoda Kotb’s Commencement Address
HODA KOTB: Heyo! Hi! How are you guys? Oh my God, I’m so happy to be here. I am so happy to be here. I want to say thank you to President Tetlow. I love Tania deep in my soul. I’ve known her for many, many years, and I’m so happy to be here with you. Distinguished faculty, families of loved ones, and students, the graduating Class of 2026, heyo! Okay, I’m proud of you.
I looked back and I was trying to remember who my commencement speaker was. No idea. I mean, maybe I was hot like all the people sitting on this side. Maybe I was a little hungover. I don’t know what it was, but I do not remember who they were. But the truth is, I’m going to try to give you guys a couple of life lessons to take with you.
Life Lesson Number One: Don’t Worry If You Don’t Have a Job
All right? Number one, raise your hand if you have a job. Show offs. Okay, good for you. Good for you. Raise your hand if you do not have a job. Okay. I want to say something to you guys. Do not worry, okay?
When I graduated college, I did not have a job. I had a single interview. All my friends were bragging about benefits, vacation time. I had none of that. My plan was I was going to drive an hour from my house to a television station close by in Richmond, get a job, come home, pack my stuff. So I said to my mom, “Mom, can I borrow your car? I’m going to drive to Richmond. I’m going to get a job.” She goes, “Go for it.”
I roll up to Richmond. I meet the news director. I’m like, you know what? I’m going to work here. I can feel it. I hand him my resume tape. He puts it in the machine. He plays it and he stops it. He says, “Hoda, my God, you are so not ready for Richmond. I mean, you are green and inexperienced. Good luck, bye-bye.”
And as I was walking out, I was like, wow, this is not good. And the guy says, “Wait, wait, wait. I got a buddy of mine who’s hiring in Roanoke, Virginia, three hours from here. If you drive now, I bet you he’ll hire you. Do you want me to call him and tell him you’re coming?” And I said, “Yes, call him and tell him I’m coming.”
I called my mom. “How is Richmond?” I’m like, “Mom, I don’t want Richmond, man. I want Roanoke. I am driving to Roanoke.” I drove three hours, got to Roanoke. And the news director took my tape, put it in the machine, played it, stopped it, and said, “Hoda, you are so not ready for Roanoke.” I was like, who in the hell is not ready for Roanoke? My God. But okay. He’s like, “I want to wish you good luck.” And as I was leaving, he said, “I have a buddy of mine who’s hiring in Memphis, Tennessee. If you leave now and catch him, I bet you he’ll hire you.”
I drove across the great state of Tennessee. I handed my tape to that guy. He put it in. He stopped it. And he said, “I don’t know why they sent you here. You are so not ready for Memphis.”
I was in the car driving, getting rejected over and over and over. I got rejected in Birmingham, ABC, NBC, CBS. Does anyone know where Dothan, Alabama is? Okay. Good for you. I got rejected in Dothan too. And then throughout the whole Southeastern United States. Okay. At the end of it, 27 rejections, 10 days. And my mom needed her car back.
So I started driving home depressed. I had messed my life up, chose the wrong major. You know how they say, God gives you a sign. There was a sign that said “Greenville, our eye is on you, CBS,” but like a CBS eye.
Find Your Stan: The First Lesson
I was lost in Mississippi and I was going to go to that station, get a map after my rejection and go home. I walked in that place. There was a short little guy named Stan Sandroni and he said, “Hey, I’m Stan Sandroni. I’m news director. You know, I was sports director yesterday and they promoted me.” I was like, okay. He’s like, “What’s your name?” I go, “Hoda.” “Come on in, Hilda. Let’s look at that tape.”
He took my resume tape. He played it and he watched it. He watched the worst tape in the history of the universe. And when it was over, Stan looked at me and he said, “Hilda.” And I said, “Yes.” He said, “I like what I see.” And I exploded in tears and realized this first life lesson, guys: you don’t need everyone to love you. You just need one. Find your Stan. Find the one person who believes in you.
Lesson Two: Take the Opportunity Even When You’re Not Ready
Okay. You’re going to find Stan. Lesson number two: if you’re not ready and an opportunity knocks, take the opportunity anyway.
Okay. I was working in Mississippi, working on a story — Girl Scouts need more leaders. And Stan came in and he said, “Who has a blazer?” I said, “What?” “Who has a jacket?” I go, “Oh, I do.” “Good. Because you need to anchor the news because Ann is sick.”
I was like, okay. So the litmus test for who anchors the news in Greenville, Mississippi is whoever showed up to work with the blazer. I’m like, okay, I got it. I had never done it before. I was ill prepared. I was not ready. The teleprompter read this: “Good evening. I’m Hoda Kotb. Ann Martin is out sick.” Ann was the queen of Greenville. I was terrified. I’m sitting there. I’m like, come on, girl. You can do it.
All of a sudden, the red light flashes and I read, “Good evening. I’m Ann Martin.” I was like, oh, I just said I wasn’t my very own name to this group. I went through that newscast — worst in history — and at the very end of it, I thought to myself, well, that’s it. I’m fired and it’s over.
I walked to the grocery store to get something to eat — Ho-Ho’s, Twinkies, fill your soul — and as I was there, this lady came running at me and she looked at me and she said, “Oh my God, I just seen you on TV. I felt so sorry for you.” I was like, oh my God, this is the worst ever.
I went back the next day expecting to get fired and Stan said to me, “Well, I saw what you did. But Ann is sick again, so do you want to give it one more go?” I was like, one more go. If you’re not ready, do it anyway.
Lesson Three: Find What You Love and Get Paid for It
Lesson number three: figure out what you love and find a way to get paid for it. Simple. Figure out what you love and find a way to get paid for it. Okay? Here’s a case in point here. There was this guy named Ken Baring and he wanted to make a lot of money and buy a lot of stuff. He made a lot of money. He bought a house. He bought a car. He bought jewels for his wife. After a few months, he was unhappy again. He said, “You know what I need? I need more stuff.”
So he said, okay. So he bought a bigger house, a bigger car, bigger stuff. A few months later, that wore off. He wasn’t happy then either. So he’s like, “You know what I need? I need different stuff.” This guy bought the Seattle Seahawks football team. He was on the field fist bumping and just being all up in there. And after six months, he realized he was still not happy.
Then something happened. A friend of his said, “Come with me to Bosnia. I’m going to deliver a bunch of wheelchairs. Do you want to come?” And he said, “Sure.” So he goes to Bosnia.
They are setting up wheelchairs, and one by one, they are hoisting these disabled people and putting them in the chairs, one by one. So he picks up one person, a third one. The fourth one grabs his wrist, and Ken says to the young man, “Are you okay?” And the man says, “Yeah, I just want to memorize your face so that the next time when I see you in heaven, I can say thank you.” It was in that moment that Ken Baring found his purpose, his truth.
Lesson Four: Work for a Cause Greater Than Yourself
So lesson number four, work for a cause greater than yourself. Work for, and I know you guys are doing that.
Lesson Five: Don’t Use Your Phone as an Alarm Clock
Lesson number five, don’t use your phone as an alarm clock. Don’t do it. You know why? This is you. Oh my God, the world’s falling apart. It’s on sale. Oh my God, look at my friend. Don’t do it. Go to Best Buy, buy an alarm clock, take your shower, brush your teeth, get your coffee, let the world in when you are ready. The world’s trying to break into your life, right? Let it in when you are ready.
Lesson Six: Your Trip’s Not Someone Else’s Trip
Lesson number six, your trip’s not someone else’s trip. Don’t worry about who’s next to you. Don’t worry about if they get promoted before you. Don’t worry about if they get a house first. You run your race, okay? All of my blessings happened after 50. I know it sounds weird. All of them. I got the job of my dreams at the Today Show. I got the family I’ve dreamt of. I have two kids now. Your blessings come when they come, and they come right on time. Some people get all their blessings in their 20s, so sad, but some people get them later, so wait, because your blessings are definitely coming.
Lesson Seven: Life Is Where You Fix Your Gaze
Lesson number seven, life is where you fix your gaze. Whatever you look at, that’s what you’re going to be. I interviewed Cheryl Lee Ralph, who is this great actress, girl, Abbott Elementary, I love her. Don’t you love her? Okay, so Cheryl Lee Ralph says this to me. She won an Emmy, star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, all that stuff, and she told me a story about when she was a young actress, and she said Robert De Niro said this to her, these words. He said, “Cheryl Lee Ralph, you were a magnificent actress. It’s too bad there are not roles for black women. I mean, what a shame, what a pity.”
And I said, “Oh God, that must have hurt,” and she goes, “Why?” I said, “Because of what Robert De Niro said,” and she said, “Robert De Niro said I was a magnificent actress.” Full stop. Where do you fix your gaze?
Lesson Eight: Learn the Difference Between Happiness and Joy
Lesson number eight, learn the difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is going to the club, happiness is it’s my birthday, happiness is in Tahiti. Joy, joy is when you open your eyes in the morning and you’re at peace with who you are, where you’re going, and who’s with you. Remember, try to always find joy.
Lesson Nine: Look at Your Hands
Alright, guys, lesson number nine, we’re bringing it home. Lesson number nine, look at your hands, graduates, look at your hands. Those are the hands that your parents held when you were learning to walk. Those are the hands that held the handlebars of your first bike. They’re the hands that held the crayons and the pencils and the pens and the backpacks. They’re the hands that moved all your stuff into Fordham, and those are the hands that are going to hold a diploma soon.
So do me a favor, yeah, turn around, just blow a kiss to your loved ones back there with that hand. Blow a kiss to your moms, your grandmas, I saw lots of grandmas and grandpas here today, your aunts and uncles. And then when you carve out your new life, guys, use those hands to do something else. When you’re in your own apartment, you’re in your own city, use those hands to dial the phone and call the people who brought you.
Final Lessons and Farewell
Whether it’s your mother, your dad, your grandma, your aunts, call them because they’ve been standing on the sidelines with two pom-poms your whole life. Just let them know how you’re doing.
Our last lesson, kids, is this: believe in your ability to make it anywhere. You belong in every boardroom, every mountaintop, every C-suite.
There is a song, how does it go? What is it? Oh, if you can make it there, you’ll make it anywhere. Hold on, hold on. Come on, girl, let me find it. Spotify’s not as easy as it used to be, hold on. Yeah, hold on. Here we go. Hang on. Let’s see if it works. Hang on. Hang on.
Class of 2026, the world is waiting for you. Go get them. Love you guys.
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