MUScoop Wiki

This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong.
====== 2023 Commencement Speech: Marlee Matlin, Academy Award-winning actress ======

**//[[https://www.youtube.com/live/gWyVYu87cEs?feature=share&t=2021| A recording of the commencement speech can be found online.]]//**

I don't need this (moves microphone out of the way), that is what I have an interpreter for.

Can you see me, alright? Okay.

What a glorious day! I'm going to breathe. I'm shocked that my son came up and actually presented me with this. He likes to surprise me. Okay

Thank you Dr. Feldner for that kind introduction. And same to Dr. Lovell too.

I really am deeply honored to be with you all here today.

Dr. Lovell, VIPs, Board of Trustees, faculty, staff, graduating students, your family, your friends and most especially my family who is here today as I share this honor of being your commencement speaker.

But let me say, I am most proud to be honored here as a mom, proud of my son Brandon who is graduating today.

Now don't worry Brandon. Where did you go by the way, where are you? 

Okay, there you are! Way over there.   

I won't get all crazy talking about you here like I would if I was an over protective, classic TV sitcom Mom.

Because, unlike a catch phrase a sitcom Mom might intone, I failed as a mother. I clearly have not.

You know what I'm talking about.

I and my husband have not failed, because we have a son who will soon be a graduate of one of the nation's top 100 colleges, Marquette University. What a wonderful day this truly is.

Be the difference. I love this motto of Marquette, because if there is everything my life has been about, it is about being different. 

Different as a women who grew up deaf. Part of a vibrant culture of millions of Americans who communicate in beautiful American Sign Language and far from the stereotypical image of someone who is deaf and lives in a world of silence, my world is not much different than yours.

As my kids will tell you, I am loud and silence is probably the last thing you'll ever hear from me. 

And by loud I mean my thoughts and opinions are loud; about injustices and all the -isms that are out there in the world. Ageism, racism, ableism, autism. Instead, I'm all about idealism, individualism and best of all optimism 

A belief that if we embrace the philosophy that all of us are to be treated equally with love and respect, then all will be right in the world. 

And fortunately, my hair is not right today by the way. And fortunately I have my parents and mentors to thank for believing in all that. It began with a Midwest upbringing just about an hour south of here in Morton Grove, Illinois. Where every day my parents opened the front door and encouraged me to explore the world despite my differences. 

Eventually I was able to land an education in the Chicago Public School system that was ahead of its time, where those of us who were different, were welcomed into mainstream classrooms and in my case, deaf programs in hearing schools. 

Eventually with that perspective of nothing being impossible despite what some people thought, a young girl who was deaf couldn't do, I followed my passion and became an actor. 

Performing as a young girl alongside other deaf kids in theater in Chicago and throughout the Midwest 

And on a momentous day when I was 12 years old, I had the opportunity to meet a person who was practically the most famous man in America, more famous than the President, the actor Henry Winkler. 

And I know, you know who he is I'm sure. There is a statue of him - the Bronze Fonz - right here on Milwaukee's riverwalk. 

Henry was the one, who when I told him I wanted to be an actor just like him, told me to follow my dreams and follow my heart no matter what anyone said. And eight and a half years later, I was standing on a stage in Hollywood with an Academy Award in my hand thanks to his encouragement and support. 

And even the day after the Academy Awards when critics said the morning after I won the Oscar, that I won out of pity. And that I didn't deserve the Oscar because I was a deaf person in a deaf role. I was able to rewrite the formula for success and access for someone who is deaf. 

Looking beyond the critics who doubted me and eventually proved them wrong. And how did I do it? Simply by speaking my truth, refusing to give up on my dreams and continuing to work and it all culminated 35 years after Hollywood labeled me DOA - deaf on arrival - when I returned to the Oscar stage once again standing alongside my deaf co-stars as we celebrated Hollywood's highest honor, the Academy Award for Best Picture for our film Coda.

So, my big question for the day is as you go out into the world, what will you draw upon that will allow you to overcome the barriers that you may face.

How will you take charge? 

By taking charge I don't mean just your personal and family life. I'm talking beyond that, helping out a friend or neighbor take charge. Giving back by reaching out to a charitable organization in your community that serves the underserved. 

Because remember if you take the time to reach out and remove barriers you may be helping a young girl like me, like Henry Winkler and my parents did for me as I realized and achieved equality. In the end you will gain by giving.        

By the way, despite all the focus on the pomp and circumstance today celebrating the end of your studies I'm afraid to tell you that you have a lot more to learn. 

That is because the life waiting for you after you leave Marquette is still a classroom.

What you began here, continues out there. And while you are at it, accept no labels, discard all negatives and consider only the positives. 

If you recall, I said earlier that I was a proud member of a vibrant deaf culture. The language we use, American Sign Language, is more wondrous than any spoken langue. It is a means of communication that goes beyond the spoken word. It involves eyes, face, hands and the body to convey time, place and emotion often times simultaneously. Can you think of any spoken langue that holds that kind of power, literally in your hands. 

Well, as a means to get real and relatable, I'd like to put the power in your hands. Just one more lesson before you leave today. 

If you wouldn't mind, put down your phones for a moment. Those selfies and uncomfortable videos of me you'll be posting on TikTok can wait until later. And I want you to sign with me. Everyone here.

Sign with me. Ready, all of you.

Courage. Wow. Courage.

Dreams. Dreams. 

Success. Success.

Okay, you can stop signing now. 

Courage + Dreams = Success 

My life has been defined by the courage, that my parents, who defied the doctors, who understood that the real handicap of deafness does not lie in the ear, but in the minds of those who wish to handicap me.

And along with mentors like Henry Winkler, I was encouraged to believe no dream was impossible despite my differences. Eventually those dreams lead to me realizing my success. 

That is what life has been all about for me and I hope for all of you as well.

I see my beautiful family there. Thank you for the honor of the Doctor of Fine Arts and allowing me to share a little bit of my wonderful day that you are all having today.

And thank you to the faculty. Thank you to the staff, family, friends. You have made my mother and father, wherever they are very, very happy. We have another doctor in the family!

I promise that wherever I go in the world, I will hold up my title from Marquette University proudly. 

Lastly, remember that your future is what you make it. The real trick is not to be in the know, but to revel in the mystery. A world of  possibilities is waiting for you. So go out and grab it. And as you continue to grow and learn,  I hope you realize that you are more than what people think you are and much more even than that.

Most of all, don't forget to be authentic, be real, be kind. Take time to volunteer, pay your taxes, make your bed, I'm looking at you Brandon. To laugh and to love and most of all listen. Oh by the way, thank you parents. Most of all, listen to your hearts,listen to the hearts of others.

Be the difference. And be loud! Thank you!
MUScoop Wiki

User Tools

Site Tools

Page Tools
