2024 Wellesley College commencement address

Wellesley College commencement speaker Michelle Au-a member of the Georgia House of Representatives and a physician, author, and strong gun safety advocate-urged Wellesley’s class of 2024 to reject cynicism and find common ground with people from differing viewpoints in order to make a better world.
A 1999 graduate of Wellesley, Au shared with the graduates the lessons she has learned from working across the aisle as a Democrat in the Georgia House of Representatives. “Even when we disagree,” she said, “there are common goals we can identify. And when we allow ourselves to eschew absolutism, and interrogate our assumptions, we can move forward, and do good work together.”