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Keep asking questions, and keep your people close

Student speakers Bryana Barry and Clary Doyle share insights with their peers in the Class of 2025
June 17, 2025 | By Teresa Nowakowski
side-by-side photos of the graduate and undergraduate speaker at the podium
Undergraduate speaker Claire “Clary” Doyle (left) and graduate speaker Bryana Barry (left) deliver remarks at the commencement ceremony inside the United Center on Sunday. Photo by Shane Collins

As they concluded their Northwestern journeys, two members of the Class of 2025 had one final assignment: share pearls of wisdom with their peers at the United Center during commencement.

Northwestern Now caught up with this year’s student speakers to learn more about what inspired their speeches.

It’s all about context

First to the podium was graduate student speaker Bryana Barry ’18, who offered insights from a Wildcat twice over. Barry completed the School of Education and Social Policy’s master’s program in learning and organizational change this year, earning her another Northwestern diploma to put next to her School of Communication bachelor’s degree in theatre.

Barry’s experience with Northwestern began with a Center for Talent Development summer program, which her mother signed her up for to help her reach her full potential in areas like math and science. It was then that she fell in love with the University’s campus. But for Barry, the biggest reason to fall in love with Northwestern will always be the people.

In her speech, Barry reflected on the importance of context over content: More than what you learn in the classroom is the people you’re surrounded by as you learn.

“What I [wanted] people to walk away thinking about is I need to keep these people close to me and thank these people that I was around — everyone from the faculty to the staff to our friends and family to fellow students,” she said.

That’s exactly what Barry herself has done: She still lives with her senior year roommate, and this spring, she attended the wedding of someone she met through an 8 a.m. class during her first-ever quarter at Northwestern.

But, she noted in her speech, sometimes the first step to being part of this community is accepting that you deserve to be part of it.  

As a TA advised one of Barry’s discussion sections, “You are not the one person whose application somehow ended up in the wrong pile,” she said.

Doubt yourself

In their time at Northwestern, graduates might have spotted undergraduate speaker Claire “Clary” Doyle on campus painting the Rock for philosopher Immanuel Kant’s birthday or in local pub the Celtic Knot discussing big questions with fellow members of the Northwestern Undergraduate Philosophy Society. The philosophy and comparative literature major in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences brought insights from her studies to the Commencement proceedings.

When she sat down to write her speech, Doyle was reflecting on the importance of the humanities, especially in a time where higher education institutions face increasing challenges. To her, the pressures are not surprising: Universities like Northwestern teach students to ask questions and have doubts, rather than having blind faith.

“I think it’s the most essential thing in the world to doubt yourself,” she said.

Clary Doyle backstage with Commencement speaker Steve Carell. Photo courtesy Clary Doyle

Doyle, who will begin a Ph.D. in philosophy at Harvard in the fall and hopes to also complete a J.D., is no stranger to being inquisitive. Even as a child, she peppered everyone from teachers to her parish priest with questions about why certain rules had to be followed or why certain systems were in place. In college, the questions became even bigger, as her classes asked her to ponder the meaning of life and morality.

However, even those who didn’t enroll in Elementary Logic or Introduction to Moral Philosophy can recognize the importance of asking questions, she said.

“Everyone does philosophy, whether or not you like it, because the fundamental question of philosophy is ‘What should I do?’”

Asked about her advice for incoming Wildcats, Doyle also looked toward the potential the future holds.

“You didn’t get in because of the things that you’ve already done in high school,” she said. “You got in because of the things that you will do.”

Commencement quotables

Bryana Barry

  • “Northwestern has continuously given me more than just a place to learn: It gave me the space to belong, to grow and challenge the limits placed on me. Northwestern took me from being ‘weeded out’ to being a flourishing two-time degree holder from this university.”
  • “Northwestern is one of the top educational institutions in the world. But that isn’t because of the syllabi we receive every quarter. It’s because of the people.”
  • “In my very first week of undergrad, I was told, ‘The admissions committee doesn’t make mistakes; everyone here was meant to be here.’ And I know that to be true. Every Northwestern student I’ve met is kind, curious, multi-faceted and relentlessly passionate. There’s an inherent trust that comes with meeting another Wildcat because we know — we don’t just chase opportunities for a line on a résumé. We do it for the experience. For the challenge. For the joy of learning.”

Clary Doyle

  • “At Northwestern I did not find faith in my ideas. Instead, I was challenged by my peers, pushed to reconsider my views about morality, and, importantly, I learned to be comfortable with doubt. And this is crucial because it is only if we consider that we may be wrong about some things that we could ever change our minds.”
  • “None of us came to Northwestern because we already knew things. We came because we had questions. And the reason we are standing here with diplomas, leaving Northwestern, is not because we have clear answers, but because we have deep doubts.”
  • “Graduation speeches usually end with a call to change the world, but the truth is, this world will change whether or not you do anything about it. So instead, I encourage you to do something much harder, something more important, and that is to change your minds.”

See the 2025 Commencement page for full video of the student speakers’ speeches, as well as recordings of the alternate speakers’ remarks.

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