There’s this joke about the college kid getting mugged, who says, “Hold on—let me update my status, letting my friends know I’m getting mugged, then you can have my phone.” That didn’t happen, but it’s also telling — a stark depiction of just how essential technology has become to your generation’s identity and your ability to connect with the world.

Identity and connection—concepts as old as humanity itself—make up so much of what we are, who we are now. They shape our times, define the human condition.

Identity and connection–it is your task to take those timeworn concepts, spin them around, reinvigorate them, make them fresh and new and exciting.

Boston University has built the platform from which you can do that.

I know it’s daunting. It’s not a great economy to be walking off this stage into. I know all this.