Joan Chen's Speech at NYU Shanghai's 2026 Commencement Ceremony

Описание: Acclaimed actor, director, and author Joan Chen served as this year’s commencement speaker.

After receiving the NYU Shanghai Chancellor’s Medal of Honor from Chancellor Tong Shijun, Chen addressed the graduates. She encouraged students to look beyond conventional definitions of success and happiness, and instead cultivate an inner life enriched by literature, nature, wonder, and love.

Drawing on her own experiences through hardship and achievement, she urged graduates to preserve their curiosity, seek their own understanding of happiness, and remain open to beauty and emotional vulnerability in an unpredictable world.

“Find what enchants you,” she told the graduates, “what sustains you spiritually -- what allows you to merge with your destiny.”

Read Joan Chen's full commencement address:
https://shanghai.nyu.edu/news/joan-ch...