Chef David Chang Asks Graduates To Be Selfless In Commencement Speech

The Class of 2020 took their tests and got their degrees, but the coronavirus pandemic has robbed them of most classic high school experiences, like a graduation ceremony. So iHeartRadio brought together dozens of celebrities, athletes, and leaders to give these hard-working students a graduation speech they’ll never forget, celebrating their dedication, providing advice for their futures, and commiserating on their unprecedented situation, in the new Commencement podcast. On this episode, chef and restaurateur David Chang, founder of the Michelin-starred Momofuku restaurant group and creator of the Netflix series Ugly Delicious, tells the graduates about the importance of failure, not putting a timeline on your own success, and making sure you’re taking care of the people around you.

“At your age,” he begins, “I had no idea what the h**l I was doing….I was unhappy and unremarkable.” He graduated college at the bottom of his class, taking the only desk job he could find. When he went to cooking school at 22, he was so mediocre that one of his classmates actually quit instead of being his partner for a semester. He stayed because he had exhausted all his other options. He remembers looking at his friends and feeling so far behind. But since then, he’s learned that “Life begins right about where you are right now….lean into situations that might lead to mistakes. You have to taste failure...so you know how to deal with it later on, when the stakes are higher.” 

When he started his first restaurant, Momofuku Noodle Bar, he worked “like there was no tomorrow.” He went from one employee to one hundred employees. But he realized not one of his workers was happy. “The problem was me,” he admits. “I was miserable to work for. I was blind to those around me and their needs.” That attitude affected the quality of their work, diminishing the “magic spark” that had gotten him that far. “So I want to leave you with the greatest piece of knowledge I’ve gained so far….It’s not about you. You’re going to be happiest, in my opinion, when you try to be selfless.” Listen to his entire inspiring speech on the Commencement podcast.

Congratulations to the Class of 2020! iHeartRadio’s ”Commencement: Speeches for the Class of 2020” podcast celebrates this year’s graduating students as they take their next steps into the world. For more inspiring speeches from celebrities, athletes, business leaders and more, listen to the podcast on iHeartRadio.


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content