Henry Winkler Tells Graduates to Find Their Gift and Give it to the World

On Saturday, May 9, award-winning actor Henry ’67, LHD ’78, gave the Class of 2026 one final assignment. 

“You are powerful. And in you is a great gift. Your job is to figure out what your gift is. Because this world needs every single one of you,” he said. “Your job is to find that gift and give it to the world. It doesn’t matter what it is. We need it!” 

The Emmy-winning actor, producer, director, and author returned to his alma mater to address the graduating Class of 2026 at the College’s 146th Commencement, held at the Wang Theatre.

Winkler spoke about his time at Emerson fondly. “I love Emerson,” he said. “They took me in and they nurtured me.” 

After graduating in 1967, he started acting in commercials, much to his parents’ dismay. “I embarrassed [my parents] but I had a dream and I never let that dream out of my mind,” he said.

That dream has sustained his decades-long career, earning him multiple Emmy and Golden Globe Awards for appearances in more than 100 television series and specials– including his breakout role as The Fonz in Happy Days, and, more recently, as Gene Cousineau in Barry. His memoir, Being Henry: The Fonz and Beyond, was on the New York Times bestseller list for 11 weeks and, with his writing partner, Lin Oliver, Winkler will publish his 41st children’s book, Detective Duck, this November. 

“I live by two words: tenacity and gratitude,” Winkler said. “Tenacity will get you where you want to go. Gratitude will make you enjoy the journey no matter how bumpy.” 

He implored the members of the graduating class to live and lead with empathy and kindness. “You can live a life. You can accomplish. You can accumulate a lot of stuff… But you cannot live a rich life if you don’t have empathy,” he said.

Winkler is no stranger to Emerson Commencements, having delivered the keynote address to the graduating Class of 1995 and having been recognized at Commencement in 1978 with an honorary degree from Emerson. This year, to honor Winkler’s accomplishments and his generosity to Emerson and to the world at large, Emerson President Jay Bernhardt announced that the Performing Arts department in the School of Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies will name its first Emerson Stage production each season as “The Henry Winkler Premier Production.” 

Celebrating Storytellers

This year’s ceremonies marked a return to the Wang Theatre, after years of holding Commencement at the Agganis Arena. Saturday evening’s Commencement was the culmination of a weekend of celebrations for the graduating Class of 2026. During the day on Friday, May 8, and Saturday, May 9, approximately 500 graduate students and 1,000 undergraduate students received their degrees at individual undergraduate and graduate school diploma ceremonies, all held at the Wang Theatre. 

“There is something especially meaningful about celebrating your graduation here, because this theater reflects something essential about Emerson itself: Our enduring belief that creative expression is not a luxury or a frill, but a powerful force that helps shape a more vibrant, humane, and hopeful world,” Bernhardt said.

In his remarks to the graduating class, Bernhardt reminded students of the power they wield in the stories they tell. 

“As storytellers, artists, scholars, creators, and communicators, you leave Emerson today with something incredibly powerful: the ability to shape the future,” he said. “You have the power to choose your voice, to claim your role, and to begin writing and performing the next act of your own life.” 

Graduate student speaker Roma Sur, MFA ’26, also spoke about the importance of and connections made by storytelling. 

“Emerson proved to be one of the most welcoming, diverse, and inclusive settings, where we all only have one identity — that of storytellers,” Sur said. “As we walk out of these doors with our diplomas in our hands, let’s remind ourselves of the power of storytelling.”

Undergraduate student speaker Sofonyas Alebachew ’26 spoke about the importance of community and connection. 

“There’s this Ethiopian proverb that basically states, when spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion,” he said. “During our time at Emerson, I believe we’ve learned an abundance of things, but the most essential being that the secret is to gang up on the problem and not each other.”

Alebachew also urged his classmates to consider their insignificance. “I don’t say that to be crass, but to free you into living for something far greater than your own significance,” he said. “You don’t have to be significant to matter. You just have to be present enough to choose how you treat people while you’re here.” 

Community Recognition

In addition to recognizing the overall achievements of the graduating Class of 2026, several members of the community were honored and singled out. 

That includes Board of Trustees Chair Eric Alexander ’78 and Helen Credle, Associate Director for Community Engagement in Emerson’s Elma Lewis Center, who both received honorary degrees.

Several students were honored at the ceremony: Bri Fronjillo ’26 received the President’s Award for Excellence; Nandan Nair ’26 received the Student Affairs Award of Excellence; and Asya Partan, MFA ’26, received the Graduate Studies Award for Excellence. 

During the ceremony, three faculty members were recognized with teaching awards: Chris Shin, Assistant Professor in Performing Arts, received The Helaine and Stanley Miller Award for Outstanding Teaching; Peter Medeiros, Affiliated Faculty in Writing, Literature and Publishing, received The Alan L. Stanzler Award for Excellence in Teaching; and David Kishik, Professor in the Marlboro Institute for Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies, received The Alumni Award for Teaching Innovation. 

Provost Alex Socarides conferred emeritus status on 21 retiring faculty members. From the School of Communication: Phil Glenn, Heather May, Joanne Lasker, Paul Niwa, Doug Struck, and Michael Tucker. From the School of Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies: Deb Acquavella, Fredericka King, Craig Mathers, Bethany Nelson, Susanne Althoff, Lisa Diercks, Lise Haines, Dan Weaver, Claire Andrade-Watkins, and William Edelglass. From the School of Film, Television, and Media Arts: John Gianvito, Theodore Life, Maurice Methot, Robert Patton-Spruill, and Jane Shattuc. 

Additionally, Commencement was enhanced this year by student performances: a stand-up routine by Comedic Arts major Elizabeth Stone ’26 and a performance of “On My Way” from the Broadway musical Violet, sung by graduating seniors in Emerson’s Musical Theatre program.