Pursuing Noble, Altruistic Goals

I was very heartened to see that Craig Robinson ’83 and Wendy Kopp ’89 spoke to the graduating Class of 2026 about altruistic purpose in life as a far better option than pursuit of the almighty dollar and prestige. Their words were noble and their words were true. It is a horrible, tragic waste to take one’s learning from Princeton and use it for selfish, shallow ends like finance instead of using it to improve the lives of other people and of other living things around us, or to create beauty, in whatever form, for the world. How many brilliant mathematicians, writers, research scientists, musicians, activists, inventors, artists, teachers, humanitarians, etc. will the world never see because they sold their souls? Undoubtedly, to some students present — maybe many, most unfortunately — one could apply the well-worn words “went in one ear” during the speeches and “then out the other” as soon as the speeches ended, their indoctrination towards the venal and the mercenary having already been powerfully inculcated over their first 22 years. But if Mr. Robinson and Ms. Kopp inspired or changed the mind of even one student, saved even one soul from destroying itself by going into work based entirely on greed at the expense of countless other people, the time and effort they took to write their speeches, travel to the campus, and deliver those speeches will have been well worth it. If only they could save many more.