Dean Cornelli’s message to the Class of 2025: “Your ideas will change the world.”
Convocation 2025
Dean Francesca Cornelli
June 15, 2025
Distinguished graduates, family, friends, faculty, and administrators, on behalf of the trustees of Northwestern University, President Michael Schill, Provost Kathleen Hagerty, and the faculty and staff of the Kellogg School of Management, it is my honor to welcome you to our June 2025 commencement exercises.
Class of 2025, I hope you will all join me in a Kellogg tradition. Everyone, please stand up, turn around and take a moment to acknowledge the network that supported your journey – your partners, spouses, children, parents, friends and mentors who have been your champions!
Today, we honor 1,218 graduates from our Two-Year, One-Year, Evening & Weekend, MMM, MBAi, MiM, JD-MBA, MD-MBA and PhD programs.
Together, you represent more than 49 countries and 35 states nationwide — and speak more than 51 languages.
I can honestly say it’s been such a privilege having you here, to meet you, talk with you, sit with you at Kellogg Table, and watch you run to one of your many events — day or night.
You have filled our lives with your enthusiasm, energy and optimism. I see how you always lean in, always push forward: one more class, one more meeting, one more party, one more hug with a classmate.
Despite challenges, side steps, uncertainty, you remain committed and optimistic about the future. And with your attitude, you pushed us forward, you made us committed and optimistic about the future.
And that is because, looking at you, Class of 2025, I see are the leaders that we need today.
We live in a world where we are often pulled apart, asked to join a cause, polarized.
But at Kellogg, we lead with empathy. We know it is OK to disagree. That it is OK to feel passionate about your point of view. We taught you to share your ideas and voice your disagreement, but without demonizing or demeaning the other side.
Make no mistake, I did hear your disagreement when you did not agree with me! But you always understood there was not only one side, that people could have different opinions about what we should do.
And every minute of my life as a Dean reminded me how lucky I was to lead this special place, to be among such special people, you, the leaders of tomorrow.
Please never forget how you felt here, how you made connections, how you made friends with people coming from very different paths, different backgrounds, different countries, and that enriched you, opened your mind to different ways of thinking, of approaching a problem.
Throughout your time at Kellogg, you found so many opportunities to lead: a club, an event, a KWEST expedition. … I am sure you experienced the dilemma of reconciling different opinions.
This happened in a wonderful environment, Kellogg — the perfect opportunity to learn how to lead in a world of contrasting opinions.
As you leave Kellogg, you are more likely to be among people who don’t share these values — or who perhaps haven’t been in an environment that encourages understanding and collaboration.
Please do not forget your time here. Double down on the experiences you had here — which exposed you to different perspectives and sparked different ideas — perhaps inspired by a speaker, faculty member, alumnus or friend.
I hope you will remember Kellogg as a place of ideas.
Because I still believe in the power of ideas.
I believe ideas are the sparks that ignite change and evolution: humanity prevails because of our ideas — your ideas. In this polarized world, we have the impression that ideas separate us, but I believe that big ideas, great ideas, ultimately bring us all together.
But big ideas take time to evolve and mature.
Take AI for example. Today everyone is talking about it and how fast it is moving. But we should not forget how it started a long time ago, in the 1950s, with people asking big questions.
First with Alan Turing in the UK and then a group of mathematicians in a summer workshop in New England asking themselves the question: “Can machines think?” What a funny idea at the time, so abstract, so far away from any possibility.
But it was a big idea. That initial idea failed and was resurrected many times, but as it collided against and merged with other ideas, like neural networks, it evolved and laid the foundation for the AI revolution we are experiencing today. A revolution over 70 years in the making.
Sometimes it is difficult to remember when the first spark was ignited. Sometimes the original idea is so far away from where you end up.
As Rainer Maria Rilke, the famous Austrian poet wrote: “I live not in dreams but in contemplation of a reality that is perhaps the future.”
But we cannot forget the initial spark, we need to recognize it and celebrate it and learn from it. Only in this way, we can continue to create, to have new sparks, to evolve.
I still believe we can build a better world, one that is better for everyone. That is why we are here, and will remain here, so do not forget us, do not forget what we mean. Like an Ariadne’s thread, you can walk back the years, back to the moments of inspirations, and the little seeds, and at the end you will find us. Kellogg. Your community. Your inspiration. Your friends, faculty, parties, lessons, conversations. Your world of ideas.
We don’t want to be just a place where you learnt important skills. We want to be in your heart and in your mind. We want to be the ones that gave you your values and your northern star. We want to be with you in every step of your life.
This is our impact: you are our impact, you are the people we send out in the world, you are the sparks of change. And do not forget our faculty, who take time off from their research because they wanted to teach you their ideas, so that you can bring them in the world
No matter what lies ahead, just remember how far you’ve come. Some of you started feeling slightly worried and maybe with impostor syndrome. (Only some of you ... others never had any impostor syndrome, and you know who you are…!) And look at you now. Whatever obstacle was thrown at you, academic or experiential, you overcame it.
Bring with you the lectures where faculty challenged you to understand abstract principles. Take with you the late-night group discussions trying to figure out the correct solution. Remember the ideas sparked by interesting speakers, alumni, or coursework.
I have seen your confidence grow, and I have watched you lead through conflict and uncertainty to bring new ideas to life.
You are ready.
As you head towards your future, never forget the ideas, the aspirations, the dreams you had here. Don’t forget the friends, classmates, and faculty that you met here.
Kellogg will be on your CV forever. Kellogg will be your alma mater forever. At the end of today, you are not done with Kellogg but instead joining an incredible community of 71,000+ Kellogg alumni.
My commitment to you is that we will constantly strive to be an institution that you are proud of.
We often ask you to think about the impact that you will have on the world.
You are the impact that Kellogg has on the world. You are the people we send out in the world, to lead, to serve and make an impact. You are ready. You are Kellogg leaders, and I know you will make us proud.
On behalf of the Kellogg School of Management and Northwestern University, Congratulations!
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