拉加德在伊利诺伊理工大学毕业典礼上英语演讲稿
Good morning。 It is a great honor to return to IIT and
celebrate together。 I would like tothank President Anderson for
his kind invitation and all of you for your warm welcome。 I
wouldalso like to thank all faculty members who have done so
much to bring us here today。 Let me start with a full
disclosure of my highly personal interest in today’s ceremony。
I am the proud mother of one of the 2，591 graduates whose
accomplishments are beingrecognized today。 As an immensely
proud mom， I would like to extend a special welcome to
allfamilies and friends who are joining this wonderful
commencement exercise。 This is a joyousmoment for all of us。
Today the center of our universe is right here in Chicago， on
the Ed Glancy Field。 Today you –the graduates of this great
university – have the right to feel like the new masters of
theacademic universe。 Hard work， boundless energy，
relentless curiosity， and incredible talent： these are some
ofthe qualities that helped you achieve success in the classroom
。 These are the qualities that youcan now bring to bear on some
of the world’s most exciting challenges。 The world is not
short ofthat！ In other words， after writing the prologue，
you are now ready to draft your own 21st—centurylegacies in
engineering， architecture， business， design， law， and
science and technology。 Whatan incredible privilege， what a
great responsibility！ Of course， many of you already know
that the line from college to career is unlikely to beperfectly
straight。 There will almost certainly be plenty of twists and
turns， ups and downs andbumps along your way。 But many of
you will also realize that your starting point could hardly be
better。 And this is whywe are here today – to celebrate the
beginning of your journey， the starting point of a newadventure
。 It is a day of hope。 It is a day of promise。 It is a day of
joy – for all of us。 With this in mind， I would like to
talk about three things that could help along the journey：
First， reinventing yourself and welcoming change and risks。
Second， standing up for your values and ideas。 Third，
encouraging transformational change in others。 If you will
indulge me， I would like to introduce these points by briefly
recounting personalexperiences that have shaped my life。 Of
course， my experiences may not be the ultimatenuggets of wisdom
。 But as Mark Twain once said： “It is better to have old
second—handdiamonds than none at all。” 1。 Reinventing
yourself and taking “smart risks” So here is my first story
– about risk and reinvention。 Let me be clear， I am certainly
not a riskjunkie。 I do not jump out of airplanes; I do not hang
out in casinos; I do not even drinkalcohol。 So far， so boring
。 But there is a pattern in my personal journey that I
woulddescribe as going from “cozy” to “crazy”。 As in：
“Why would you give up your cozy life？ Are youcrazy？” I
heard the French version of that question 42 years ago， when I
traded my cozy world in Francefor a new life – with my American
host family and my American school in Bethesda， Maryland。 Iwas
17， and soon enough I was homesick and missing my family and
friends。 And I wasrecovering slowly from a profound emotional
and cultural shock。 But I was also incredibly excited to be
exposed to new ideas， a new language， and new ways ofthinking
。 And I am forever indebted to those people who welcomed me and
who allowed me toexperience the most transformational year of my
life。 Let me give you another example of “cozy to crazy”
– and it happened right here in Chicago。 In1999， after years
of studying at law school and hard work as a young – and then
not so young –lawyer， my partners at Baker & McKenzie elected
me chairman of this global law firm。Working and living here in
Chicago allowed me to thrive as a lawyer， as a leader， and as
amother of two wonderful boys。 I could not have made it without
the support and tolerance ofmy family and the help of my great
colleagues and friends – some of whom are here today。 But
in 2019， I received a call from Paris： the Prime Minister was
asking me to join the Frenchgovernment。 When your country calls
you to public service， there is really only one answer youcan
give。 So I gave up my cozy chairman’s life in Chicago， packed
my bag and flew immediatelyto Paris。 In my haste and excitement
， I left my reading glasses behind。 So for her first few
daysof office， the newest French minister was blinking and
squinting a lot！ Going from “cozy” to “crazy” allowed me
to move from the private sector to national publicservice to
international public service; from France to the United States
to the world。 One of the major lessons I have learned during
that journey is this： be prepared for change， bewilling to
take “smart risks”， don’t be afraid to re—invent yourself。
This is precisely what you have been doing here at IIT。 You
have taken a financial risk – ormaybe your parents have – by
attending this great university。 And you have
transformedyourself through learning。 You are no longer the
person who stepped into the classroom on yourfirst day。 I
encourage you to take “smart risks” and to raise your risk—
tolerance to the next level – theglobal level。 In today’s
hyper—connected world， I think it is more important than ever
to take aglobal perspective in your personal and professional
life。 Forty—eight percent of you – of all IIT students –
are non—U。S。 nationals hailing from 97countries – which
shows the remarkable openness and pulling power of this
university。Traditionally， many of these students would want to
stay here in the U。S。 But a growingnumber of them will happily
return home to pursue opportunities in fast—growing economies，
particularly in Asia and Africa。 These students are taking a
truly global view。 They will overcome boundaries。 So， too，
willtheir American classmates who want to leave their mark on
the world。 Think of the IITarchitecture graduates who have been
reshaping the skylines of cities worldwide。 Think of theIIT
engineering and business graduates who are now reshaping the
world of smartphone appsthat drive our social interactions，
financial transactions， and media consumption。 Whether you
are from Milwaukee or from Mumbai， from Chicago or from
Shanghai， from Paris orPanama City， you have the opportunity
to bring your act to the global stage！ Imagine thatyou have no
boundaries， and please do not set mental boundaries for
yourself – they are evenworse。 But let me add a word of
caution： taking “smart risks” and reinventing yourself also
meansleaving room for the unexpected， for the perfectly
unplanned。 And that is particularly true inbusiness and
technology。 Quick question： did you know that the world’s
biggest hotel company does not own anyhotels; that the world’s
biggest taxi company does not own any cabs; that the world’s
biggestnews agency does not own any newspapers。 Which companies
am I talking about？ Of course，you all know the answer： Airbnb
， Uber and 。 Only a few years ago， these companies did not
exist and it would have been unthinkable toeven ask a question
like that。 But ever since a little company called Amazon。com
started sellingbooks online， we have come to expect the
unexpected。 Disruption – through technology andmarket forces
– is the only known variable。 Everything else is guesswork。
There is only so much in life that you can plan and foretell。 I
am not suggesting that you canlean back and relax。 Quite the
opposite。 It was Thomas Jefferson who said： “I am a
greatbeliever in luck and I find the harder I work， the more I
have of it”。 2。 Standing up for your values and ideas
This brings me to my second story – about standing up for your
values and ideas。 It does not always work。 For example， I
highly respect my fellow human beings and cannotaccept the death
penalty。 So I decided to go to law school in Paris to become a
criminal lawyerand defend death penalty cases。 So much for my
own values。 In the meantime， a newPresident was elected in my
country whose first action was to eliminate the death penalty。
Never mind， I pursued my goal。 As a young lawyer， I
interviewed with the best law firm in the country。 I was told
that I washired at a good salary， but that I would never make
partner。 When I asked why， they told meit was because I was a
woman。 So I looked at them fiercely， walked out the door， ran
down thestairs， and never looked back。 I should have said
thank you。 I felt much stronger， even with nojob。 In many
ways， a situation like that is inconceivable in today’s
corporate world。 Any recruiteruttering these words would almost
certainly face a discrimination lawsuit。 There are many
values and ideas that are worth standing up for。 Two things –
including respectfor others and gender equality – have always
mattered to me; they matter to me every day。 To achieve
greater fairness in schools， universities， and in the
workplace， we need to removethe barriers that continue to hold
back women – and that is especially true in the
technologysector。 Your generation is already benefiting from
major shifts in gender norms and expectations – andthis is
partly because of places like IIT。 This university has a strong
record of encouragingwomen and minorities， especially in its
science and technology programs。 But the tech industry
itself has been lagging behind。 In Silicon Valley， for example
， some of thehottest startups have yet to understand that
holding back women is bad for innovation andbad for business。
Studies have shown that – without female leaders – women are
significantly less likely to winendorsement for their ideas than
their male colleagues。 This translates into a loss of
marketopportunities and lower growth potential。 What a great
opportunity for your generation tostand up for your values and
ideas！ By the end of this decade， your generation – the
millennials – will make up half the U。S。 laborforce。 And as
a result， your values – on everything from gender， to ethics
， to managementstyle， to work—life balance – may become the
workplace standard。 But don’t rely too much ondemographics。
Increase your chances by standing up for greater respect and
fairness now！ And while you are making a difference at
school， at home， at work， many of you will also wantto take a
wider perspective on the pressing issues of our time。
Protection of our planet，eradication of poverty， reduction of
inequality： these are some of the topics that many ofyou
already care deeply about。 You can do even more。 Imagine
that you turn your social media accounts into megaphones;that
you pester your friends and foes alike; that you talk to those
who do not already agreewith you; that you go wild and put a
bumper sticker on your smartphone。 And that you don’tforget to
vote – with your money， with your feet， and with your ballot
！ Whatever you choose to do， ignore the barriers of mockery
and conventional wisdom， standup for your values at the local
and global levels！ Trust me： you will feel better and stronger
，and the next generation will thank you。 3。 Encouraging
transformational change in others This brings me to my third
and final story – about encouraging transformational change
inothers。 The real heroes of this story are my great
colleagues at the International Monetary Fund。 In2019 – at the
height of the sovereign debt crisis in the Euro Area – they
produced a highlycontroversial piece of research on European
banks。 European leaders had been insisting that their
banking systems were basically OK。 But ouranalysis showed that
these banks were sitting on massive amounts of bonds that were
worthonly a fraction of the value listed in their books。 We
were pretty sure that the emperor had noclothes。 And we were
extremely worried that this could be Europe’s Lehman Brothers
moment。 So， I gave a speech to make a loud and clear call
for action。 The pushback was swift and hard –with bankers and
ministers lining up to publicly discredit our analysis and
criticize me。 Butover the next 12 months， these banks did
exactly what we were calling for – raising hundreds ofbillions
of euros in fresh capital。 And European leaders began to revamp
the regulatorystructures to create a safer and sounder banking
system。 This was a defining moment for me personally and，
of course， for the IMF。 As you know， the IMFlends money to
countries in times of distress， so they can get back on their
feet。 But we alsoplay a key role in sounding global alarm bells
and encouraging global cooperation。 At itsbest， the IMF is –
in the words of economist John Maynard Keynes – a “ruthless
truth—teller”。In 2019， we told an inconvenient truth – and
it mattered。 My point is this： you can create a lasting
legacy by encouraging transformational change inpeople，
companies， and communities。 And you can do this in two
dimensions – to help resolvepressing problems， and to help
others achieve their potential。 But there is a catch： you
cannot really move others if you are standing still。 If you
want toinspire others – at work and in your private life – you
need to move out of your own comfortzone。 As the Roman
philosopher Seneca once said： “It is difficult to bring people
to goodnesswith lessons， but it is easy to do so by example。”
And always remember that transformation is a laborious business
。 It requires guts， grit， andgenerous amounts of time and
energy。 Many of you know exactly what I am talking about。Many
of you feel the need to do even more： take a break， get off
the grid， and spendmeaningful time with others – as mentors，
friends， professors， and engaged citizens。 Whetheryou are
teaching a class， running a summer camp， or listening to a
heart—broken friend late atnight， you have the chance to learn
together， to dream together。 Imagine that you are
transforming， inspiring， and improving not only others but
yourself alongthe way。 This will make you better and stronger！
Better and stronger： you have grown here， you have learnt here
， you have made new friendsand met new people， you have
engaged， and you have loved it。 Don’t be sad because it’s
over;be happy that it happened。 “Les voyages forment la
jeunesse。” “Young people are shaped by the journeys they make
。”Shape your journey by welcoming change and risks， by
standing up for yourself， and byencouraging transformational
change in others！ That journey will shape you。 I could not
be happier and – as a mom – I could not be prouder to see you
here today at thisnew starting point。 Every day of our life，
from the very first day， you have transformed us。 Wehave
conveyed our values and ideas， and we have watched you take
risks – sometimes at yourperil and always accompanied by our
trepidation。 Your journey， your adventure continues from
this new starting point。 It will transform you，and you will
transform us。 Bon voyage！ Thank you。
