The school celebrated its 2025 graduates, whose skills will allow them to adapt to even the most turbulent of times
Students at the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS) filed into LionTree Arena midmorning on June 13 for the Class of 2025’s commencement exercises, emerging a short time later as new alumni.
Barry Naughton — a beloved economics professor, China expert and the So Kwan Lok Chair of Chinese International Affairs at GPS — addressed the Class of 2025, offering a sober assessment of the current geopolitical and economic situation.
“The model of borderless globalization is dead,” Naughton said, “and it’s being replaced by something essentially different: a form of globalization in which national governments are putting their thumbs on the scale and taking back their dominance from multinational corporations.”
But Naughton said he was optimistic that GPS graduates will continue to be relevant precisely because of these political challenges and the disruptions of artificial intelligence, not in spite of them.
“In this era of A.I., there’s not going to be much demand in the labor market for people who just follow along and do what they’re told,” he said. “You control your destiny. You navigate and steer through the uncertainty. And you shape the new world that’s emerging all around us.”
Similar sentiments were echoed by Matthew Tillyer, a member of the class of 2025 who was one of two students chosen this year to address their fellow graduates. Tillyer received his Master of International Affairs degree as part of the concurrent degree program offered by GPS in conjunction with the university’s International Studies Program.
“Amid the rapid change and chaos around us, we can be certain of who we are: driven, empathetic, and adaptable leaders eager to make positive change in the world,” he said.
Tillyer’s remarks were joined by those of Sinceré Blackmon, who graduated with a Master of Public Policy degree.
“I walked in here a young man not sure how to do a Lagrangian, but I’ve come out of here knowing that I’m capable of more than I ever imagined,” he said. “As Tritons, we are the next generation of leaders in this world.”
To browse the gallery below on desktop, hover your cursor over the images.
