A couple of weeks ago, the Class of 2026 packed into hot, crowded Carver-Hawkeye Arena for the Tippie College of Business commencement ceremony, and I officially graduated from the University of Iowa.
The next day, I left my rickety old college house for the last time and met my family back home. Since then, I have cleaned out my old room, went on vacation, and moved thousands of miles from home to Orlando, Florida (more info to come on that, I’m sure).
With that being said, May and June have been full of physical memories: journal entries from 3rd grade, old toys and trinkets, “Young Author” awards from elementary school, academic medals from junior high, and ticket stubs from my high school musicals.
And, tucked away in a box, cards from my high school graduation.
When I graduated from Morton High School in 2022, my mom had the clever idea to set out a stack of notecards for teachers, friends, and loved ones to write encouraging messages for me to take to college. Most of them promised to cheer me on throughout my time as an Iowa Hawkeye (go Hawks).
Some of the notes were from friends telling me I was going to “kick ass” as a business major. Others reminded me that I would always be supported and loved. A few included Bible verses and gentle reminders of God’s presence in my life.
But one note stood out. One of my music teachers wrote just four, simple words:
Be great, stay good.
At the time, I thought was a beautiful sentiment, those four words staying with me throughout college. And over the past four years, I’ve come to understand what they really mean.
Be great
Let’s start with the first half: be great.
In my professional business fraternity, we have a tradition called “brother pros” where we celebrated each other’s achievements. Throughout college, I would daydream about the moment I’d get to share my own good news—a job offer, an internship—and hear that round of applause from people I admired.
For four years, I wanted the good grades, the impressive internships, the resume so impressive that it couldn’t be ignored. I wanted it all.
I wanted to be great, and I wanted people to notice.
But college taught me something important:
Greatness is invisible first
It’s good to have thrilling, ambitious goals. I’ve always held myself to a high standard, and honestly, I think it’s okay to want recognition to a certain extent. It usually means you admire the people around you and the things they’ve achieved.
But the truth is, greatness is built in both the visible and invisible moments. It’s built quietly and long before anyone is really watching. For me, greatness was preparing for the interviews before the “brother pros” announcement and showing up when nothing exciting is happening.
It is so easy to feel motivated when things are going well. That offer, that award, and that recognition always feels great. I’m sure you’ve heard this kind of stuff before, but I needed reminding: but being great happens during your late nights, your rejections, and your setbacks. Those are the moments that make you great.
Stay good
Then there’s that second half: stay good.
There are approximately 1,647,368,273,647 essays out there about being good to others, but I like thinking of staying good and being great as going hand in hand. Because staying good is not about achievement. In fact, it can often feel like the opposite.
Examples of balancing greatness and goodness
- Helping someone when you’re overwhelmed yourself.
- Giving credit when it would be easier to take it.
- Showing up with patience, honesty, and kindness, especially when it’s inconvenient.
- Actively choosing to be a good person when it’s not easy.
- Remembering that life isn’t a race against others.
What I’ve learned in college
Over these four years, I’ve seen both sides of this message play out over and over again.
I’ve wanted the greatness. I wanted:
- To land the internship.
- Lead the organization.
- Build something meaningful during my time at the University of Iowa.
And those moments were incredible:
- Securing that offer was great.
- Getting the As were great.
- Achieving something I once thought was out of reach was great.
But what really stuck with me the most was the experiences and people I got to work with. I most admired the students and staff who lead with fairness and empathy, went out of their way to include others, and consistently checked in, listened, and showed up. Without expecting to be recognized.
Be that person. Stay good.
Embracing the invisible moments
My big lesson is that the importance of leaning on those invisible moments.
Work your ass of when no one is watching. Study without expecting a thing. Prep for those interviews without being sure that you’ll get the job. Be great by holding yourself to a high standard, whether you are surrounded by others or not.
Then, stay good without expecting anything in return. Set your boundaries, but understand that 99.99% of people’s battles are completely invisible to the naked eye, including your own.
Doing both has offered me so many opportunities. Which is funny, since a lot of it was done without the visible success in mind.
What’s next?
While I was sitting in hot and sweaty arena at commencement, I couldn’t stop thinking about what comes next.
The class of 2026 is officially stepping into a world that will constantly push us to be great. There will always be another milestone to hit, another goal to chase, another version of success to reach.
And my hot take? There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I want to grow, achieve, and challenge myself. I want to constantly try and learn new things. I want to continue being ambitious, being gritty, being great.
However, we can’t let the pursuit of greatness come at the cost of who we are.
By all means… be ambitious, be great. Dream a dream.
But also stay good. Be the person who:
- Who asks how someone’s day is and really means it.
- Who sends the follow-up text (I need to be better about this).
- Who chooses integrity over convenience, kindness over ego, and people over performance.
Because really, at the end of the day, greatness might open doors, but goodness is what makes people want to walk through them with you.
With all that being said: be great, stay good.
