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A Charge to the Class of 2026

 

While tassels have been turned and the California State University's 2026 commencement season has come to a close, the words shared from commencement stages across its universities continue to resonate. We look back at some of the standout speeches from this year's ceremonies that inspired our graduates to lead, serve and dream boldly.​

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Billie Jean King | Tennis Legend

Cal State LA

At Cal State LA's College of Natural and Social Sciences commencement ceremony, tennis legend Billie Jean King addressed the school's class not just as a notable speaker, but as one of its graduates.

King first attended Cal State LA from 1961 to 1964, but left to pursue her tennis career—during which she earned a number of championship titles and was ranked No. 1 in six of 10 year-end polls between 1966 and 1975. She became a vocal advocate for gender equality, LGBTQIA rights and other social justice issues—securing a victory for women's equality in sports when she beat Bobby Riggs in the 1973 “Battle of the Sexes" exhibition.

Though King received an honorary doctorate in 1997 from Cal State LA, when she returned to the university in 2024 for the dedication of her on-campus statue, she announced her intention to finally finish the degree she began in 1961. Her commencement address marked the completion of her bachelor's degree in history and her becoming the first member of her immediate family to graduate college. She left her fellow graduates with some lessons from her life experience.

“Remember your legacy is what others think about you," she said. “What is important is the value of the contributions you make."​

 
 

Kate McCue | Ship Captain

Cal Poly Maritime Academy

As part of the final commencement awarding Cal Maritime degrees following the integration with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, the Cal Poly Maritime Academy bestowed an honorary degree upon internationally recognized maritime leader, Captain Kate McCue.

A Cal Maritime alumna, McCue became the first American woman to command a mega-cruise ship in 2015 when she took the helm of Royal Caribbean's Celebrity Summit, and today she serves as the inaugural captain of Four Seasons I.

She was also named one of the 2025 Time100 Creators for giving her audience on social media a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the bridge of the Celebrity Summit over her decade as its captain. With a following of more than 4.7 million people across Instagram and TikTok, she uses her platform to inspire and empower women and underrepresented groups in the STEM and maritime fields.

“Leadership isn't about becoming someone else; it's about becoming more you on purpose," McCue said to Cal Poly Maritime Academy's 2026 graduating class. “In a world shaped by AI and constant change, that matters more than ever. It's important to understand who you are as a person, to know your strengths and your weaknesses, and still show up anyway—because originality can't be replicated."​



 
 

Delroy Lindo | Actor

San Francisco State

When addressing San Francisco State's 2026 graduates, Oscar-nominated actor Delroy Lindo recalled the feeling of pride he experienced the day he graduated from the university with this bachelor's degree in cinema in 2004. He gave special honor to the new alumni who, like him, are the first in their families to graduate college—and invited the whole class to seek their own firsts as they face the challenges of today's world.

“During my time here at SF State, I was pursuing a degree in higher education—and in so doing I was creating for myself a higher position in my life and in the world in general," he said. “And that is what each and every one of you graduates of 2026 have done. You're taking really critical next steps in what will be the upward trajectory of your lives going forward."

Lindo is an English-American actor who made his big-screen debut in 1979 in the film, “More American Graffiti." Since then, he has acted in a​ number of other works including “Sinners," which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Lindo has also received a Tony Award, three Screen Actors G​uild Awards and three NAACP Image Awards, among other honors.

An active member of SF State's alumni network, Lindo is the current director of SF State's​ Foundation board, served on the College of Ethnic Studies Committee and has worked with the university's Guardian Scholars and Project Rebound programs.​


 
 

Meher Tatna | Producer & Journalist

CSU Dominguez Hills

Before building an international career as a journalist and film critic with work appearing in leading publications across Asia, including Vogue, Grazia, Femina and Elle, Meher Tatna was a 20-year-old immigrating to the U.S. from India to earn a degree in economics from Brandeis University. She quickly learned the career she was pursuing was not the right choice. Tatna pivoted—first by pursuing a drama career then to writing about entertainment.

In her commencement address to CSU Dominguez Hills' Class of 2026, she shared lessons from her life—beginning with the willingness to follow a passion and to change trajectory when needed.

“Do what you love, figure out the price and be willing to pay it," she said. “Most of all enjoy the journey as it may not lead to the first goal you had in mind."

In the years since launching her career, Tatna also served as president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association from 2017-18—during which she expanded the organization's philanthropic impact—and has been a Golden Globes voter since 2002.​



 
 

Aqueela Sherrills | Organizer & Activist

CSUN​

When Aqueela Sherrills began his undergraduate program at CSUN, it was initially to escape the violence tearing apart his community in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. But his college experience ended up giving him the space to envision a different future for himself.

Sherrills has since dedicated his life to advocating for community-based public safety and victim support. At just 19, he and Pro NFL Hall of Famer Jim Brown cofounded the Amer-I-Can Program, which helped keep thousands of young people out of the criminal justice system. Then in 1992, he played a key role in brokering the historic peace treaty between the Bloods and the Crips in Los Angeles, which helped reduce homicides in the community by 44% and created a model for other communities seeking peace.

After losing his own son to gun violence in 2004, Sherrills channeled his grief into launching The Reverence Project to provide healing-centered services for survivors of crime and trauma. Since then, he has advised, led and founded numerous organizations to reduce violence, including the Community Based Public Safety Collective where he is currently executive director.

“Never let where you started define where you can go," Sherrills told graduates of CSUN's College of Health & Human Development. “Your most difficult challenges might become your greatest contributions to the world."​



 
 

Mike Krukow | Sportscaster

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Mike Krukow is an Emmy Award-winning broadcaster for the San Francisco Giants and part of the popular “Kruk and Kuip" broadcasting duo with Duane Kuiper. Since beginning his television and radio career in 1990, he was named California's Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sports Media Association three times and has received 13 Emmy awards.

Previously, Krukow was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball, playing for the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants. A Cal Poly alumnus, Krukow also played for the university's baseball team and holds the school record for career earned run average at 1.94.

He received an honorary doctorate from Cal Poly's Bailey College of Science and Mathematics. In a recorded message to the college’s graduates, Krukow said:

​"It doesn’t stop here. What you’ve accomplished today will go forward wherever you go in your travels, in your pursuit of your vocation. ... What you have in your hand today, that piece of paper, it'​s credibility.” ​



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Story: Alex Beall​

photography/videography:​ Cal State LA/J. Emilio Flores​

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6/29/2026