Lily Belle Poling, Staff Photographer

Jacinda Ardern, former prime minister of New Zealand, framed her address at Yale’s annual Class Day as both a celebration and a charge: a call to “lead with humility,” embrace sensitivity and resist the pull of fear and isolation.

Ardern delivered the Yale College Class Day address to the graduating class of 2025 in a 19-minute speech whose topics ranged from personal reflections on leadership and imposter syndrome to urgent calls for collective responsibility amid global crises. She opened with a statement in te reo Māori, honoring the indigenous language of her homeland.

“I greet you this afternoon, as if I would greet you if I were in my own home country of Aotearoa, New Zealand,” she said, “by acknowledging all of you, by acknowledging the people of this land and by celebrating your achievements, which we will all benefit from.”

Hatless among the many students donning headwear, Ardern stood out, just as she has throughout her political career, Class Day Committee member Leyli Granmayeh ’25 said in her introduction of Ardern. Ardern began her address by quoting a Māori proverb, which Ardern translated into English as “the bird that partakes of the meadow berry owns the forest, the bird that partakes of education owns the world.” 

“She represents so much of what I love about Aotearoa. The idea that even from a small nation, we can lead with global impact, integrity, and heart,” Violette Perry ’25, a Māori student graduating from Yale, said. “Her presence here reminds me that the values we carry from home — humility, community, and care — have a place on the world stage.”

Ardern, who served as New Zealand’s 40th prime minister from 2017 to 2023, used her speech to reflect on her unplanned journey into politics, from unexpectedly becoming the leader of her party just weeks before a national election to being the second woman in modern history to give birth while leading a nation. 

But the emotional core of the address was not in Ardern’s résumé of firsts. Rather, it was in her reflection on imposter syndrome — “a confidence gap” — and the unexpected strength found in traits often framed as weaknesses: doubt, vulnerability and empathy.

Ardern described the connection between self-doubt and humility as one that drives people to “seek information” and “to listen.” 

That belief, she said, shaped her government’s response to crises from a devastating cattle disease outbreak to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also underpinned her reaction to the 2019 Christchurch mosque shooting. She noted that just 27 days after the attack, New Zealand banned military-style semi-automatic weapons that “helped reach such devastation and did so much harm.”

“Empathy is nothing without action,” Ardern emphasized.

President Maurie McInnis’ Baccalaureate speech — the first of her presidency — drew from art history and national memory to challenge students to have “the courage to show compassion.”

But while McInnis spoke of healing American civic discourse and bridging partisan divides, Ardern situated Yale’s graduates within a global crisis: wars in the Middle East and Europe, climate change, rising disinformation and eroding civil rights.

For Zachary Clifton ’28, Ardern’s address echoed McInnis’ words but added greater weight. Clifton said that Ardern’s speech was “excellent” and encouraged students and faculty alike to stand up and be courageous. 

While McInnis invoked the spirit of the nation’s founding in her address, Ardern asked graduates to help reimagine its future, not just for themselves, but for a world that is fraying.

“It’s not about you,” Ardern reminded them. “It’s about us.”

Ardern also warned of a world in crisis and the political temptation to turn inward towards isolation, which she did not see as a viable solution.

“We are connected. We always have been,” she said, adding that empathy teaches responsibility.

In closing, Ardern reminded students that the challenges ahead — global and personal — demand not certainty, but the courage to “speak up.”

“We need the power of your imposter syndrome,” she said. “Because it’s also your curiosity and your humility. We need your sensitivity. Because it’s also your kindness and your empathy. And most of all, we need your sense of duty — to your home, and to others.”

May 19 will mark the University’s 324th annual Commencement ceremony.