L&S alumnus, Wally Adeyemo, delivers keynote address at Berkeley's commencement

May 19, 2021

Wally Adeyemo speaks at graduation 2021In this episode of Berkeley Talks, Adewale “Wally” Adeyemo, the deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury and UC Berkeley alumnus, delivers the keynote address at Berkeley’s commencement on Saturday, May 15.

“The Berkeley community is made up of people that show up in all the places where decisions and history tend to be made,” said Adeyemo. “In fact, when I received the e-mail with the subject line “Cal Graduation speaker, ” I assumed it was a polite request for me to forward the speaking invitation to my boss, Janet Yellen — Secretary Yellen, the towering economic mind who has helped us weather the economic crises of the past 20 years — and a long-standing member of the UC Berkeley faculty.”

“I only have one advantage over Secretary Yellen today,” he continued, “and that is: I graduated from Cal. I know there is no better place on Earth to get an education.”

Listen to his full speech in Berkeley Talks episode 114: “Wally Adeyemo to graduates: You are prepared to shape the world.”

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