With honesty, warmth, and profound insight, Dr. Lisa Damour returned to СƵapp on Sunday, May 18, to deliver the Commencement address to the Class of 2025—bringing her 11 years of teaching at the university full circle.
Nationally recognized as an expert on adolescent development, Dr. Damour is the author of three New York Times bestsellers, a contributor to The New York Times and CBS News, co-host of the popular podcast “Ask Lisa: The Psychology of Parenting,” and an advisor to organizations ranging from the American Psychological Association to UNICEF. Yet, her remarks on Sunday were deeply personal, rooted in psychological science and the Jesuit tradition that shaped her years at СƵapp.
“There are few moments in life as dedicated to thinking about the future—and your wishes for it—as your own college graduation,” she began, before inviting graduates to consider their hopes not through the lens of comparison or achievement, but through the values of purpose, integrity, and well-being.
Her address challenged common graduation tropes about chasing happiness or success. “Psychologists don’t recommend the dogged pursuit of happiness,” she said. “It’s such an unpredictable and fleeting emotion.” Instead, she focused on what she called “the psychology of well-being,” identifying four foundations: purpose, good relationships, conscientiousness, and competence.
These values, Damour noted, are central to a Jesuit education.
“All of which is to say that the psychological science of well-being and the very values at the heart of your Jesuit education here at СƵapp have been natural teammates all along,” she told the graduates. “Every moment that you were invited to seek and stand for justice, to find strength and joy in community and companionship, or to strive for excellence, especially with the good of others in mind, you were laying the foundation of your own well-being.”
Her reflections served not just as parting wisdom, but as a testament to the kind of formation СƵapp promises: one that aims to educate the whole person in mind, body, and spirit.
Damour’s advice to graduates was refreshingly tangible, highlighting healthy ways to cope with adversity. “The list of what counts as healthy coping is very long,” she said. “ It includes—but is hardly limited to—talking about what you are feeling, getting some exercise, hanging out with friends, spending time in nature, having a good cry, fixing the problem if you can, praying, finding a brief, enjoyable distraction, helping others, getting a good night’s sleep, and listening to music.”
As the Class of 2025 prepared to leave campus and begin their next chapters, Damour offered one final wish—not for success or certainty, but for grounded, resilient well-being: “Class of 2025, I wish you not just happiness, but robust well-being in your next chapters.”
It was a fitting close to a ceremony that celebrated not only achievement, but intention—and an education that challenges graduates to consider not just what they will do, but who they will become.
To watch a short clip of Dr. Damour’s advice to the graduating class, .