May 14, 2012 - Claremont, Calif. -

Harvey Mudd College conferred bachelor of science degrees upon 177 students at its 54th commencement ceremony in Mudd Quadrangle on Sunday, May 13.

Bill Nye, science educator

Science educator Bill Nye delivered the commencement address, sharing how scientific discoveries have changed our world and our understanding of it. He highlighted the challenges we now face and urged HMC’s newest graduates to use their skills to tackle them.

“It is the challenge for you and your classmates to step out into the world and the workplace, a set of problems like no one before you has had to face, and solve these problems,” Nye said. “And I think you can. You’re brilliant. And I’m not kidding when I say I want you to change the world.”

As an environmentalist, Nye is a fan of having more by wasting less, but said that humans can’t just “do less.”

“We have to lead the world on new paths, new ways to provide electricity, new types of transportation, new approaches to doing business,” he said. “As Mudders and graduates, you are among the very best in the world at thinking about new things, new arrangements, new tools… that’s what I want you to do for us. I want you to change the world.”

Graduating senior Christopher Beavers delivered the senior keynote address. He told his class that instead of praising them, he wanted to give them a far more important and radical message: “You are stupid.”

Christopher Beavers '12, student speaker

Beavers went on to explain the value of feeling stupid, emphasizing how it can motivate people to learn new subjects and gain knowledge outside their specialization. He credited the broad core curriculum at HMC, which requires students to take courses in all eight departments, for teaching him how to tackle completely unfamiliar disciplines. “The point of our core education is to make us feel stupid in as many different ways as possible,” he said, spurring resounding laughter from his classmates. “You often don’t really force yourself to learn until you find within yourself a feeling of stupidity that you simply must overcome…I invite you to embrace stupidity…challenge yourself…never stop trying to learn new things. If you’re not feeling stupid, you are doing something wrong.”

President Maria Klawe and Thomas Aldrich '12

Addressing the Class of 2012, President Klawe described her passion for making science and math education more supportive and welcoming for all, and her strategies for making change happen. These same strategies are part of the skill set students acquire at HMC, she said.

“Every student who attends Harvey Mudd College has outstanding ability,” Klawe said. “My advice to the Class of 2012 is to keep on doing what you’ve learned to do: one, pick important problems to work on; two, work hard and persist in the face of great difficulty; three, regularly re-evaluate your strategy and be prepared to make changes; four, build teams and alliances; and, five, ask for help. Every one of our Class of 2012 is capable of doing great things, and I know that you will do great things.”