Stanford celebrates its largest graduating class ever at Commencement 2025

When swimmer Katie Ledecky, ’20, was a kid, her father taught her that swim races could be decided by just fractions of a second – some by just one one-hundredth of a second. To demonstrate, he gave her a stopwatch and told her to start and stop the watch as fast as she could.

“I could never do this in faster than a tenth of a second, which revealed to me just how short one one-hundredth of a second really is,” Ledecky recalled in a speech at Stanford’s 134th Commencement ceremony on Sunday. “In some ways, that exercise also taught me how fast time flies by.”

Ledecky, 28, acknowledged that she’s not much older than most of this year’s graduates and, like them, has much to learn in life. But as a distance swimmer, “one thing I do feel like I have expertise in is distance.”

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In her address, Ledecky offered insights as to how to go far in whatever field or life one chooses. “In my experience, there are three elements to going the distance: pacing, process, and time,” she said.

Sunday’s ceremony took place at Stanford Stadium, where an estimated 21,000 attendees gathered to celebrate members of the Class of 2025 – Stanford’s largest graduating class ever. The celebration kicked off with a formal procession of university leadership, followed by graduates’ Wacky Walk into the stadium. The event included performances by the Stanford Chamber Chorale, the Stanford Jazz Workshop, and the Incomparable Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band.

Provost Jenny Martinez presented the President’s Award for Advancement of the Common Good, as well as the Cuthbertson, Dinkelspiel, and Gores awards.

Going the distance

Ledecky enrolled at Stanford in 2017, competed for the Cardinal, and graduated in 2020 with a major in psychology and a minor in political science. She is a 14-time Olympic medalist and 21-time World Championship gold medalist, the most decorated U.S. female Olympian and the most decorated woman in World Championships history.

In her address, Ledecky recalled winning her first Olympic gold medal at just 15 years old for the 800m freestyle at the London 2012 Olympics. Her coaches advised her to be cautious, not to start off too fast, given the excitement she’d feel swimming next to the reigning Olympic champion. “I didn’t quite listen to that advice,” she said. “I took the lead from the start, and I kept expanding on it.”

After winning the race by more than four seconds, she watched the replay and heard the announcers second-guess her strategy. “Can you imagine what it would have been like for me if I were hearing that commentary the whole time I was swimming? I’d be thinking hmm … maybe they’re right. I should probably slow down.”

She told graduates to listen to their coaches, families, mentors, and bosses, “but also listen to yourself. Don’t be afraid to take the lead. Sometimes you just have to go for it and find out what you’re capable of.”

You don’t have to win ‘the’ race. You just need to win ‘your’ race. And winning your race means falling in love with the process. Fall in love with the process, not the podium.”

Katie Ledecky

Ledecky said there’s no secret to her success. She sets goals that aren’t about winning – which is inherently about comparison to others – and instead are based on her own performance. She focuses on her pacing, technique, and the effort it takes to reach those goals. When reflecting on her races, she’s most joyous about the goal being reached.

“You don’t have to win the race. You just need to win your race,” she told graduates. “And winning your race means falling in love with the process. Fall in love with the process, not the podium.”

Finally, Ledecky said that when she competes, she often thinks about the people close to her, like her grandparents – one of whom will turn 100 soon. “We don’t know exactly how long our ‘distance’ in life will be. Whatever it is, we need to spend that time in a meaningful way.”

She said it’s not possible to go the distance alone. “Continue to surround yourself with people who will challenge you, support you, and make you laugh. Make sure you spend time with the people who matter to you.”

The value of university

In his first Commencement address as university president, Jonathan Levin acknowledged the significance of the moment for the graduates but also for the institution they were leaving behind.

“You are graduating at a time when people are questioning the value of universities and what happens here on campus,” he said. “It is essential for those of us who will remain at Stanford, and for you who are leaving, to answer those questions.”

Stanford has been the birthplace of novel insights about American history and comparative literature, pioneering studies of social networks and financial markets, and visionary scientific advances such as the recombinant DNA techniques that are the foundation of biotechnology, the TCP/IP protocol on which the internet operates, and the tools of optogenetics that have revolutionized neuroscience.

 “Universities exist for the purpose of discovery and learning. The knowledge that is created here, and on other campuses, illuminates our understanding of humanity, the physical world, and what it is possible to create.”

He reminded the audience that the most profound ideas – especially in the humanities and social sciences – often take time to reshape public thinking: “Only in the fullness of time do we appreciate how fundamentally they have shaped our thinking.”

The pursuit of new ideas at a university is different than in a company or government agency, Levin said. “University research is driven by curiosity, and we publish it openly, so there can be many paths to application.”

But he acknowledged criticisms of campus culture, noting that while some concerns are valid, a great university remains “an unparalleled place for freedom, truth, and enlightenment,” and a place “to encounter different people and ideas, and to ask hard questions without assuming to know the answers.”

The knowledge that is created here, and on other campuses, illuminates our understanding of humanity, the physical world, and what it is possible to create.”

President Jonathan Levin

Above all, he said, the most valuable part of universities, he said, is the graduates. “Our greatest contribution is what we are here to celebrate: the qualities and potential of the people who leave here.”

As he sent off the Class of 2025, Levin urged them to be open-minded, fearless in their explorations, and optimistic – “not in a naive way but a realistic one, in the way that fuels persistence, and will allow you to tackle the hardest challenges.”

He closed with a quote from Wallace Stegner, founder of Stanford’s creative writing program: “One cannot be pessimistic about the West. It is the native home of hope.” Then added, “I encourage you to take the open-minded, exploratory, optimistic spirit of Stanford with you into the world, and share it with the people around you.”

Enduring traditions

Relatives and friends traveled from across the country and the world to see their graduates receive their Stanford diplomas. Families held up large printed photos of graduates’ faces, and some parents wore “Stanford Mom” and “Stanford Dad” shirts.

During the Wacky Walk, Stanford’s traditional, irreverent procession of costumed graduates into the stadium, one group formed a pirate’s ship labeled “Jane Stanford’s revenge,” while another student wore a full pope costume and was flanked by classmates dressed as cardinals. Others sported mortarboards decorated with campus street signs or carried swim floaties in honor of the keynote speaker.

Before entering the stadium, Isis-Kohle Jackson, graduating with a dual major in fine arts and human biology, reflected on her four years at Stanford. “Stanford education to me meant a lot of freedom to find yourself, find your crowd, and experiment with who you are, with what you like, with what you dislike. It just felt freeing to come here and to try out different things,” Jackson said. “Everybody is a Renaissance person here, so they are always down to try something new. And that’s what Stanford has been for me this entire time.”

Andrew Bechdolt, who received a master’s degree in electrical engineering and will remain at Stanford to pursue a PhD, also expressed gratitude for the community. “The number of people I’ve been able to meet that are just super smart, super capable, like tops of their fields, and the fact that they have the time to either teach or just sit down and share a little bit of what they know has been just an amazing opportunity,” he said.

For symbolic systems major Saniya Vashist, what made her Stanford experience special were the people who pushed her to grow. “I think the majority of my learning came from the people I met, not only the way they lived their lives and conducted themselves, but also the way they challenged my viewpoints on certain things or exposed me to different ways of thinking,” she said.

Jesus Sarabia, who drove from South Texas to see his son Luis Fernando Sarabia graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering, expressed pride in his son’s journey. “This started out 18 years ago from the first day we took him to his pre-K class. He’s been an excellent student ever since. Never wanted to miss school, always wanted to keep on learning,” he said. “I think that the whole future – the whole world – is open to whatever he wants to do.”

Class of ’25 profile

On Sunday, Stanford awarded 2,140 bachelor’s degrees, 2,655 master’s degrees, and 1,010 doctoral degrees.

Of those students who received bachelor’s degrees, 365 graduated with departmental honors, 347 graduated with university distinction, 118 satisfied the requirements of more than one major, 31 graduated with dual bachelor’s degrees, 665 completed minors, and 471 graduated with both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree.

The graduating class includes 202 international undergraduates from 90 countries and 1,330 international advanced degree students from 118 countries.