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Carnegie Mellon University conferred more than 5,800 undergraduate and graduate degrees at its 128th Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 10.
Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, served as the keynote speaker and received an honorary Doctor of Science and Technology degree. In his remarks, Huang said graduates are entering “the world at an extraordinary moment,” with “a new industry being born” and “a new era of science and discovery.”
Huang told graduates that AI will “accelerate the expansion of human knowledge and help solve problems once beyond our reach,” and urged them to act with urgency. “We are all standing at the same starting line. This is your moment to help shape what comes next. So run. Don't walk,” he said.
He drew on more than three decades at NVIDIA, describing the company as a foundation for advanced AI and accelerated computing. Huang also met with Carnegie Mellon students before the ceremony to learn about their interests and research projects.
Carnegie Mellon University President Farnam Jahanian introduced Huang, praising him for advancing a vision of technology as a tool for amplifying what people can create, discover and achieve.
Jahanian urged graduates to be “actors, not spectators,” and to shape the future through lifelong learning, open dialogue and faith in humanity. He also offered a closing message to the Class of 2026: “When the landscape shifts beneath you, make the world your classroom; your canvas; your laboratory; and your stage.”
He added that graduates should consider the people who contributed to their success and “remember to enrich the lives of others in the same way.”
Simi Olusola-Ajayi, a graduating master’s student in Human-Computer Interaction who represented her class at the ceremony, described her experience at Carnegie Mellon as finding “the space between who we thought we would be and who we are becoming right now.”
Olusola-Ajayi said she does not know what “middles” may come next, but that she will be prepared. “We get to show up in every room, in every middle, in ways only a Carnegie Mellon education could have prepared us for,” she said.
Keenan Norton, a newly minted alumnus and Fulbright Scholar with degrees in chemical engineering, environmental and sustainability studies, and Hispanic studies, said he is equipped with “cultural and political humility” needed by future engineers to “fight for good” in ways that are meaningful for all stakeholders.
Beverly Da Costa, the first recipient of Carnegie Mellon’s Bachelor of Science in Robotics degree, reflected on her time at CMU as building “resourcefulness” through problem-solving across classes. She said lab research exposed her to the complexity of real robotic systems, including “wiring and electronics to code, testing and failures,” while classes reinforced those lessons through hands-on learning.
“That bakes the memories and lessons into your brain in a way that sticks, especially the mistakes,” Da Costa said. “I feel ready for what's next.”
In addition to celebrating its newest alumni, Carnegie Mellon University recognized four prominent leaders during the ceremony. CMU Provost James H. Garrett Jr. conferred honorary degrees upon Huang, as well as 2026 Tony Awards Nominee Broadway producer and CMU alumna Jamie deRoy, International Poetry Forum founder Samuel Hazo, and Nobel laureate in economic sciences Thomas Sargent.
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