[MUSIC PLAYING]
It is an extraordinary moment.
We are so delighted that
you have chosen to join us.
So welcome to each
and every one of you.
Despite these very
challenging circumstances
in the midst of a
global pandemic,
I continue to believe that your
time at Harvard Business School
is filled with as
much promise of being
transformational as
at any time before.
Our educational
curriculum will ask
you to confront what it
means to be a leader.
What motivates you to lead,
and what will motivate
others to be led by you?
We've got a public
health crisis.
We face an economic crisis.
We face a social, even a moral
crisis, a racial reckoning,
ignited by the killing of George
Floyd, but reflecting 401 years
and still counting of injustice
against Black Americans.
We get to do something about it.
We get to work together actively
to create better leaders
for the world, for the future.
And this brings me to my
number, the 6,954,000.
That is my conservative
estimate of the number
of days of potential
leadership that your class
can bring to the world.
You will not be the same person
when you finish this education
as when you are starting it.
One key reason is
that you are going
to be surrounded by
thousands of people,
pursuing splendid intellectual
and moral achievement
in the service of
the public good.
That is the community
you have just joined.
And you can't but help
have your sights raised
by that community, to dream
bigger about what you can do
and what you can be.
And that's more important
this year than ever before.
The world needs great leaders.
What better chance,
what better opportunity
is there than to be a part
of HBS this year right now?
Reach out and get to know people
who are different from you.
We're a wonderfully
diverse community.
And we get the most
out of this diversity
if we respect each other.
You and your interactions
with each other
are at the heart
of this education.
So as you begin your MBA program
at Harvard Business School,
reflect on how you can
use this experience
to educate yourself
to become leaders, who
make a difference in the world.
Because the world
desperately needs leadership.
