When first asked to deliver the University of Michigan’s 2025 Spring Commencement address, Derek Jeter joked that he wasn’t sure he’d be able to share anything valuable because the graduates had made it further at U-M than he had.
Jeter was enrolled at U-M in the fall of 1992, but left in 1993 after he was drafted by the New York Yankees.
“But since I’ve had a head start on life, I’ll share insights into what’s to come,” said Jeter, speaking May 3 before a jubilant crowd of nearly 70,000 at Michigan Stadium under cloudy skies. “How you approached today, and every day, is a choice — your choice. Your life will ultimately be framed by the choices you make.”
Jeter, a Hall of Fame Major League Baseball player, entrepreneur and philanthropist, delivered an address about commitment and purpose, during the two-hour ceremony that also included remarks by student speakers, U-M administrators and faculty.
President Santa J. Ono urged graduates to use their education to positively impact the world, while Provost Laurie McCauley commended students on their compassion during times of undeniable tension. LSA Dean Rosario Ceballo encouraged graduates to become ambassadors and advocates for higher education.
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Of the approximately 15,000 students eligible to graduate, nearly 10,000 of them, plus almost 60,000 of their families, friends and supporters, claimed tickets to the ceremony. Jeter was presented with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. Other honorary recipients were Jeffrey E. Cappo, entrepreneur and philanthropist, Doctor of Laws; France A. Córdova, academic leader and acclaimed astrophysicist, Doctor of Science; and Victor J. Dzau, distinguished physician and medical researcher, Doctor of Science.
Themes of family and sacrifice were woven throughout the ceremony, as speakers discussed the importance of their parents and their parents’ sacrifices. Ono referenced his father’s decision to leave Japan and the family’s arrival in the U.S. with “a single suitcase, limited English and a deep hope for a better future.”
Ceballo discussed her family’s immigration from the Dominican Republic and their reverence for the American education system. “Like many immigrant parents, they always told me, ‘you can lose your money, your house, and all of your possessions. But once you’re educated, that is something you can never lose,’” Ceballo said.
Two types of choices
For his part, Jeter talked about the intentional choices, even small ones, he made early in his life, growing up in Kalamazoo, that helped pave the road ahead. In high school, friends invited him to go on a weekend fishing trip, but he also had practice. “When I mentioned it to my dad, he simply said, ‘If you want to be a fisherman, go. If you want to be a major league baseball player, you’ve got to go to practice.’ Ultimately, my dad left that decision up to me,” he said.
“My choice? I skipped the fishing trip, instead of skipping practice.”
Jeter also said it’s important to understand that there are two types of choices: your choices and those of other people. The latter, he said, may present in the form of peer pressure, family influence, professional standards or pop culture. That’s why it’s important to know your own mind and what you want to do outside of those external expectations.
“You owe it to yourself to think long and hard about what you want to do with your life. To think about what you value most,” he said. “It’s a choice. Your choice.”
Jeter’s choice was baseball. He encouraged the graduates to find their passions as well — something they loved so much it would drive them to keep at it even when times got tough.
“There may be unwanted side effects with those dreams, too. Side effects like doubt, criticism, endless hours at work. But that’s the price you pay,” he said.
Speedbumps, roadblocks and failing miserably
Having a plan, he said, is a key element of successfully pursuing a passion. For Jeter, that meant setting small goals: making the Little League All-Star team, playing on the varsity team as a freshman, being named to the all-district team in high school. Before every baseball season, Jeter’s mom asked him if he’d written down his goals.
“I never told her what was on my list. But identifying and putting those goals down on paper helped transform them from just ideas into actions,” he said.
Jeter also shared that anyone willing to pursue a dream should expect some failure.
“If I can promise you one thing for certain: You will fail,” he said
“I failed publicly. I failed miserably. There were days I literally cried because I was so bad. My first season as a professional, I made 56 errors. For the non-baseball fans, that’s hard to do intentionally,” he said.
The important thing, Jeter said, is to see disappointment as an opportunity to learn, not as a reason to quit.
“It’s your job to make sure that a speed bump doesn’t become a roadblock.”
Surrounding yourself with the right people will also help buoy you after a failure — and make your chance of success greater, he said.
While you may fail on your own, Jeter said, it’s nearly impossible to succeed alone.
For Jeter, the right people included his parents.
“I’d walk onto the field to warm up before a game, and I’d look up into the stands. People thought I was looking around and not focusing. I was really looking for mom and dad,” he said.
“It gave me comfort that I wasn’t alone, even when they physically weren’t present, I knew they believed in me, were rooting for me, were supporting me.”
Jeter also told the graduates that, while their goals and dreams may change or evolve over time, the process of pursuing them should not. Make a choice, then set goals.
In his final remarks, Jeter shared that what he values most about his many successful seasons as a New York Yankee is not all the accolades he and the team earned, but the lessons he learned off the field and the experiences he shared with people he cared about.
He then asked the graduates to pause for a moment and think about what they’d remember about their years at U-M.
“These past few years have been some of the best of your life. This place, the people who have surrounded and supported you and helped shape who you are. You will always be a Michigan Wolverine,” he said.
Looking ahead, Jeter challenged the graduates to follow in the footsteps of past U-M alums and become champions of hope, striving for a better tomorrow.
“Step up to the future ahead of you,” he said. “It is a choice. Your choice. Go Blue!”
Value of education, resilience and service
In his remarks, President Santa J. Ono shared a personal story to illustrate the power of agency — something he encouraged the graduates to consider as they enter a world that needs their intellect, compassion and commitment to progress.
“Many years ago, my father Takashi Ono made the brave decision to leave Japan and accept an invitation from Robert Oppenheimer to work at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He and my mother Sachiko arrived in North America with a single suitcase, limited English and a deep hope for a better future. Their journey was anything but easy – navigating a new culture, struggling with language and raising a family on modest means,” he said.
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In spite of challenging odds, Ono’s parents instilled in their three sons the values of education, resilience and service to community.
As they embark on life beyond U-M, Ono urged the graduates to think about how they would use their education to make the world better.
“As you prepare to begin this next chapter, know that you carry with you this remarkable legacy. The education you’ve received here gives you not just knowledge, but the tools to drive meaningful change,” Ono said.
“Wherever you choose to live or work, locally or globally, you will help shape the future of society and civilization. We often refer to our distinguished faculty as the brain trust of the university, and they are, but you, our graduates, are our beating hearts. You are the living promise of what comes next.”
Dare to dream
McCauley said, while she was pleased by the graduates’ numerous accomplishments, she was proudest of the compassion and kindness they’d shown in their years at U-M.
“Yes, we are living in a time of undeniable tension — but we are also living in a time of fellowship and solidarity,” she said.
“If there is one pervasive theme, it’s this: Our community of students believes in one another, even when they are strangers. The internet has taught us that anonymity can make people cruel and glib. But it can also make them kind. And I have seen it bring forth disarming, shocking stories of compassion for total strangers on our campus.”
Ceballo said she remembered her own college graduation and how her parents and grandmother had proudly attended, without understanding a word that was said.
Her parents and grandmother immigrated from the Dominican Republic to ensure Ceballo would be “American educated.” Ceballo told the Class of 2025 that a U.S. education is among the best in the world, and she hoped they would become ambassadors for it.
“When you hear attacks on the principles that underpin our institution, academic freedom, freedom of speech, our system of democracy, I encourage you to remember the powerful education you received here,” she said.
“We cannot take our educational system for granted. As graduates of the University of Michigan, I hope you will proudly protect our university and our country’s system of higher education.”
Lucas Solomon, a senior in LSA, and one of three student speakers — the others were Ava Smith and Emerson Krause — shared how his dream to attend U-M began Sept. 10, 2011, Solomon’s ninth birthday and the first night football game at the Big House. That evening, Michigan defeated Notre Dame, 35-31, and turned Solomon into a forever fan.
“I urge you — dream that dream,” he said.
“Because if that little 9-year-old boy hadn’t dared to dream, he wouldn’t be standing here today, telling you this story. And while one dream ends today, another commences, right here, back where it all began.”
