Lily Belle Poling, Staff Photographer

AUCKLAND, New Zealand — As the sun rose on Monday morning in New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern’s voice echoed as a poignant reminder to New Zealanders watching clips of her Yale Class Day address online that while the former prime minister may have stepped away from politics, her influence endures.

The three New Zealanders interviewed by the News, all progressive like Ardern, expressed pride in the values and legacy she represents as a former prime minister — and a leadership style that has shaped an upcoming generation in New Zealand, according to Shaneel Lal, an LGBTQ rights activist and political commentator who was the 2023 Young New Zealander of the Year.

“She infused kindness and empathy into New Zealand politics,” Lal said. “New Zealand should be immensely proud to have created a leader like her. In a world too often ruled by power-hungry figures, she reminded us that empathy, vulnerability and compassion is leadership.”

Beginning with a proverb in te reo Māori, the Māori language, Ardern reminded her audience, both at Yale and back home, that leadership is not confined by geography or title. Liberal young New Zealanders, from students to political commentators, saw her words as a call to action, echoing the empathy and unity she once championed as prime minister.

“Why should you listen to platitudes about self-confidence, stepping into the unknown and leading through doubt and fear from someone who comes from the bottom of the world?” Ardern said to her audience on Old Campus, including the seniors graduating from Yale College and their families. “Fair question. And my answer? Because it’s not just about you, it’s about us.”

For New Zealanders who remember her prime ministership, her speech at Class Day was reminiscent of her leadership through some of New Zealand’s darkest days, including earthquakes, a terrorist attack, a volcanic eruption and the COVID pandemic.

“As a Kiwi, I felt parts of that speech in a way others in the room may not have. Her words on impostor syndrome especially hit home,” Ethan Reille, the president of the Young Labour Party, told the News.

The Young Labour Party is the youth arm of the New Zealand Labour Party, Ardern’s party.

“We need the power of your impostor syndrome, because it’s also your curiosity and your humility,” Ardern told the class of 2025 in her speech. “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. We need all of that, because it’s about you, and it’s about us.”

Reille said that Ardern’s references to empathy, central to her political lexicon, were increasingly powerful in a period of flared political tensions around the world.

“In a world where global leadership often feels cold and reactive, she reminded us of something different. That empathy isn’t weakness, it’s a force for good,” he said.

Reille said that while Ardern’s remarks left him feeling optimistic, those are not sentiments shared consistently across New Zealand as the country continues to face an ongoing cost of living crisis. The country is led by its most conservative government in three decades.

J’adore Harris-Tavita, a New Zealander and rising senior at Duke University, believes that Ardern’s words couldn’t have come at a better time. While Harris-Tavita was warmed by Ardern’s 19-minute speech, she considered it a “fleeting” moment with a leader who has so much insight to share.

“I can sit here comforted by the familiarity of her voice, reminiscent of the unprecedented times she led us through as our former Prime Minister — but to stop there would miss the point,” she wrote to the News.

Harris-Tavita believes that Ardern’s speech was a reminder of how “deeply connected we all are.” With that connection, she believes, comes a responsibility which “doesn’t end when you become a guest in someone else’s home,” she said, reflecting on her position as an international student in the U.S.

Harris-Tavita said Ardern’s words on empathy were a meaningful call for self-reflection. 

“Her words are embers: they hold the potential for change, but only if we choose to fan the flame,” she wrote.

Jacinda Ardern served as New Zealand’s 40th prime minister from 2017 to 2023.