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ORANGE, Calif., May 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Under the lights of Wilson Field, more than 8,000 attendees listened as two-time Academy Award-winning actress and producer Hilary Swank delivered a heartfelt and inspiring keynote address to Chapman University’s Class of 2025 on Friday evening, May 23.
Swank’s remarks emphasized perseverance, purpose, and compassion as she spoke to over 2,600 graduating students, including more than 750 earning advanced degrees. Drawing from her acclaimed career and personal experiences, Swank offered words of encouragement and challenge, urging graduates to embrace their individuality and create impact in their communities and professions.
Her remarks were a powerful call to embrace vulnerability, authenticity, and creative perseverance. She spoke to the universal feeling of being an outsider, urging graduates to reframe setbacks as fuel for transformation and to connect through storytelling, empathy, and bold individuality. Her journey – from a trailer park to an Oscar stage – underscored that your beginnings don’t define your potential, rather it’s how we transform adversity into drive that defines our success.
“It doesn’t matter what your career path is,” said Swank. “It could be wildly creative or methodically linear. There’s a language in there that will allow you to connect with people, to improve lives beyond your own, unearth it and become fluent. It will change your perspective on your career when you need it most, and if practice to fluency, it will change your life and the lives around you.”
Swank was also awarded an honorary Doctor of the Arts degree in recognition of her artistic achievements and philanthropic work, including her leadership of The Hilaroo Foundation, which connects foster youth with rescue animals.
The ceremony also marked a historic moment in Chapman University’s history, as President Daniele C. Struppa delivered his final Commencement address before retiring from the presidency in September and returning to the mathematics faculty. Over the course of 19 years, Struppa’s visionary leadership helped transform Chapman into a nationally recognized institution with thriving programs in the arts, sciences, business, and beyond. In his farewell to the Class of 2025, he reflected on the deeper purpose of education and the legacy he hopes to leave with every graduate.
“We are here to honor the hard work and the tenacity that brought you to this moment, to toast your future and incredible achievements to come,” Struppa told students. “But it’s a chapter in your lifelong journey to learning, and as you look towards the future, a future that may not yet be clear, please know that you are ready to face the challenge.”
Swank joins an esteemed list of past Chapman commencement speakers including comedian, actor, writer and director Bill Hader, award winning actress, director and executive producer Angela Bassett and Nobel Peace Laureate Nadia Murad. With the No. 4 film school in the country, Chapman frequently attracts top talent in the entertainment industry to its Orange campus.
About Chapman University
Founded in 1861, Chapman University is a nationally ranked private university in Orange, California, about 30 miles south of Los Angeles. Chapman serves nearly 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, with a 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio. Students can choose from over 100 areas of study within 11 colleges for a personalized education. Chapman is categorized by the Carnegie Classification as an R2 “high research activity” institution. Students at Chapman learn directly from distinguished world-class faculty including Nobel Prize winners, MacArthur fellows, published authors and Academy Award winners. The campus has produced a Rhodes Scholar, been named a top producer of Fulbright Scholars, and hosts a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honor society. Chapman also includes the Harry and Diane Rinker Health Science Campus in Irvine. The university features the No. 4 film school and No. 66 business school in the U.S. Learn more about Chapman University: www.chapman.edu.
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A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/28620175-fc21-4a60-98c1-5c577a4c0467
