Jerome H Powell: Georgetown University Law Center
Commencement address
Address (via prerecorded video) by Mr Jerome H Powell, Chair of the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System, at the Georgetown University, Washington
DC, 19 May 2024.
* * *
Thank you, Dean Treanor, for the invitation to speak here today. I am very sorry that
circumstances prevent me from joining you in person.
I will start by acknowledging the parents, spouses, partners, other family members and
mentors who are here. Without your support, sacrifice, and encouragement, we would
not have so much to celebrate today.
And to the class of 2024-congratulations on earning your law degree. You are the most
selective class in Georgetown history, chosen from 14,000 applicants, and the most
well qualified as well. Among you are Fulbright scholars, military veterans, Peace
Corps, AmeriCorps and Teach for America alumni, student athletes, accomplished
musicians and even a medical doctor. An impressive group. This is also the most
diverse class in the 154-year history of the school.
I am especially proud today to say that there is a lot of Georgetown in my family tree.
My father graduated from the College in 1943 before serving in the U.S. Army in World
War II. After the war, he received his law degree here and practiced law in Washington,
D.C. I am fortunate to have two wonderful daughters; one graduated from the College in
2012; the other is a member of the Class of 2026 at the Law Center.
It seems like yesterday that I was in your shoes, receiving my degree, looking forward
with optimism and excitement, and wondering what lay ahead.
I cannot help but think fondly of my time here. For many years, friends from law school
have gathered annually for a weekend to refresh our ties and laugh about times gone
by. These gatherings are referred to as "Big Chill," a reference to a 1983 movie that
revolved around a mid-life reunion of college friends. I made lifelong friendships here
that I keep to this day, and I hope it will be the same for you.
Along with all the hard work, I also remember the fun. A favorite tradition was to attend
Saturday midnight showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Key Theater on
Wisconsin Avenue in Georgetown.
Now, if you have led a culturally deprived life and are tragically unfamiliar with the
movie, it is a raucous musical starring a young Tim Curry. Everyone in the theater
would sing along, shout out the lines, and throw popcorn at the screen; many would
dress up like the characters. Now, I didn't dress up-sorry to disappoint you-but no party
was complete until all of us danced "The Time Warp" to the movie's famous song.
As it happens, I still remember the steps, and I had intended to demonstrate the Time
Warp for you, but that will not be possible today.
Instead, I will offer a few thoughts that I might have benefited from hearing when I was
sitting in your chairs a mere 45 years ago.
Embracing Change
The years since my graduation have brought waves of fundamental change to the
workplace and to society at large, much of it driven by technology. Imagine a world with
no internet, no email or texting, no personal computers or cell phones, no social media.
Some of you parents are no doubt thinking: I would be fine with that world!
The pace of change will likely continue to be very fast. Be alert to the ways your
working life may change. Think about how you can be prepared for those changes and
to turn them to your advantage, and to society's advantage. The practice of law has
been transformed over the years; if you do choose the path of a practicing lawyer, I
would think about what practicing law could look like in 10 or 20 years.
In a world that will continue to evolve quickly and in unexpected ways, you will need to
be agile. Embracing change and taking risks can be an important part of your
development as a professional and as a person. Your formal education may end today,
but you are not done learning. Many of the important things you will need to know can
only be learned through experience. And experience can be a hard but irreplaceable
teacher.
As an example, near the end of my second year here, it was time to select the next
editor in chief of the Georgetown Law Journal. I thought that there were plenty of
colleagues who were better qualified, but who simply did not want the job. So, with
much trepidation, I put my name in. I was secretly, but utterly, terrified that I might be
chosen. And amazingly enough, I was. What now?
It turned out that, as I feared, I was not well prepared for that responsibility. I had to
keep people interested and motivated enough to work on the Journal when many things
competed for their attention. I had to have a plan for the organization and not just for
myself. I had to do this while exhibiting confidence that I did not feel. My main memory
of that time is thinking, "This is harder and far different from what I had expected!"
What I now know is that almost no one is ready for their first leadership roles. When you
step into a leadership role, it is very common to doubt yourself. If I could tell my younger
self something, it would be to believe in yourself and put yourself in situations in which
you will be seriously challenged to do new things. Assume that you will make mistakes.
Learn from those mistakes; do not dwell excessively upon them in regret. You will fall
down. Get up. Repeat cycle.
The more you do that, the more you will learn and the faster you will develop as a
person and as a leader. Know also that, in my experience, there is no single model of a
successful leader. Each of you has it in you to lead successfully.
No One Path
One of the great things about your legal education is it sets you up for success on a
wide variety of potential paths. I left the practice of law a few years after I left this
school. But my legal education has benefited me all along the way. Studying law
teaches you to think clearly, analyze thoroughly, and understand all sides of an
argument. The possibilities that lie ahead of you are extremely broad. You may work for
a single law firm for your entire career. Or you may leave the law fairly soon, as I did,
and never look back. You will always benefit from what you learned here.
The fact is, I do keep a copy of the Federal Reserve Act that I consult often.
Like many of you, I imagine, I knew that I wanted to do public service. As I left law
school, I remember thinking about people like George Shultz and Cyrus Vance,
prominent figures of the day who had successful private-sector careers and served
periodically in government.
The head of the investment bank in New York where I worked as a young man was
Nicholas F. Brady, who had an extraordinary career in investment banking and had
served as a U.S. senator from New Jersey as well. I was the most junior of employees,
but I wanted to introduce myself and tell him about my own aspirations. But
approaching him was daunting. Maybe he would decline to meet with me. Maybe he
would think I was not committed to the firm if I told him I was interested in public service.
I finally summoned the courage to present myself at his office. I told him that I grew up
in Washington, had been a federal law clerk and a congressional staffer, and wanted to
do public service along the way. I said that if you need someone to staff you on
anything you do in Washington, I'm your guy. He said something along the lines of,
"Great, thanks." I then crept back down the stairs to my broom closet of an office
wondering whether that was going to matter.
A few months later, I got a call from his secretary. I can still hear her gravelly voice.
"Can you come up and see Mr. Brady?" When I got there, he said, "I need you to help
me out with this thing." This thing was defending an oil company from a hostile takeover
attempt by a colorful corporate raider of that era named T. Boone Pickens. I ended up
spending months going back and forth from New York to Washington with Nick. A few
years later, Nick Brady became the Treasury Secretary. Nick asked me to join him at
Treasury, which opened the door for me to higher levels of public service. The point is
this: if I had not forced myself to get up from my desk, taken the stairs up to the
15th floor, and presented myself to his office that day, the rest of my life would have
been very different, and I would not be standing here today.
Mustering that little bit of initiative changed my life. A little initiative can make all the
difference in anyone's career.
Conclusion
I will conclude by encouraging you to think beyond yourselves. Each of you has the
capability to achieve success in any field you choose; it is important that you also
consider how to give back and use your gifts to make a difference. Reflect on the motto
of this school: "law is but the means; justice is the end." Many of you have served at law
clinics where you stood up for underrepresented individuals and organizations. And
many of you will play important roles in the military, at nonprofits, and in governments
around the world.
Each generation has an obligation to move us closer to the ideal, as embodied by the
famous image of blindfolded Lady Justice holding the scales. You should count
yourselves among the luckiest in all our society to graduate from this institution, to have
the support of loved ones through three grueling years, and the health and other good
fortune not to get tripped up along the way. Several years ago, one of my predecessors,
Ben Bernanke, said, "Those who are the luckiest . . . also have the greatest
responsibility to work hard, to contribute to the betterment of the world, and to share
their luck with others." I cannot improve upon that.
I thank you for having me. Georgetown will always hold a special place in my heart.
Thank you again to Dean Treanor and all the faculty, and the hardiest of
congratulations to the Class of 2024.