In this post, I congratulate country superstar Eric Church on delivering a magnificent graduation address to the Class of 2026 at the University of North Carolina.

No doubt most of us have listened to our share of graduation speakers over the years, either at our own commencement ceremonies or while attending those of our family members and friends. In many cases, unfortunately, it turns into a flat rendering of the same old message: Congratulations on your scholastic achievement, now get out there in the real world and make us proud.

One exception I remember from years ago is when Dr. Henry Hood, then President and CEO of Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania, spoke at the Bloomsburg University graduation of my niece, Carri, and my brother-in-law, Bill. As a longtime member of the Geisinger management team, I’d heard Dr. Hood speak on numerous occasions, and it was often my job to stand in the back of the room and point at my watch to signal him that his talk was lasting too long.

I couldn’t believe it when I found out Dr. Hood was scheduled to address the graduates, and I wondered if I would need to stand up, wave my arms, and point at my watch to keep the ceremony moving. Well, the exact opposite happened. Dr. Hood kept his remarks well within the allotted time, he was encouraging, wise, profound, and even a little funny. He even surprised me by interjecting some voice inflections, and his delivery was smooth and flawless.

The graduates and their parents ate it up. And when I later told Dr. Hood he’d hit it out of the park with his remarks, he simply smiled, patted me on the shoulder, and nodded his head. That’s when the lightbulb went on for me and I realized the importance of knowing who your audience is and focusing on reaching them directly. Yes, Dr. Hood was indeed wise. He kept the people who worked for him on the edge of their seats to make sure they paid attention.

I was reminded of Dr. Hood’s speech recently when I watched country music superstar Eric Church, an 11-time Grammy nominee, North Carolina native, and huge Tar Heel fan address the Class of 2026 in Chapel Hill.

Church later admitted he’d been working on his speech for much of the past year, but it came off as natural, fresh, witty, profound, and entertaining. He threw in a couple of references to beating North Carolina State and Duke that ensured loud support from the audience. Being a famous singer and using a guitar as a prop also definitely put him in good position to succeed, and I admit I laughed at the crazy thought that crossed my mind of Dr. Hood many years ago potentially striding to the podium donned in surgical gear and scalpel in hand to use the tools of his trade to reach the students. It’s a good thing he didn’t do that.

If you knew Henry and the tone of his voice, he definitely would have needed to remove the surgical mask before speaking. Besides, he always presented himself professionally in a well-tailored, crisp suit and tie.

The theme of Church’s address was based on six life principles, each represented by one of the six strings on his guitar. He spoke of faith (the low E string), family (the A string), personal relationships (the D string), ambition and resilience (the G string – and yes, he made a pun about this reference that got a huge laugh among the graduates), community (the B string), and finally individuality (the high E string).

Church stressed the importance of the graduates putting all six principles to work together in harmony to succeed in life and career. “When all six are in tune, the chords they make can stop a conversation cold, carry a broken person through the worst night of their life, or make a room full of strangers feel, for three minutes, like they’ve known each other forever,” he said.¹

There will be ups and downs, Church told the graduates, times when despite not doing anything wrong their strings will be out of tune. It is then, he advised, they will need to stand tall, figure out what is wrong, and take the proper steps to make things right. “I encourage you to take your six strings, make it something worth hearing, and play your song,” he said.²

Church concluded his address by performing Carolina, a song from his 2009 album of the same name. The graduates, their families and friends naturally joined in and it was a tremendous exclamation point on the celebration.

Dr. Hood, without a guitar or hit song, simply told the graduates to do their part in moving humanity forward – by representing themselves well, pursuing their careers in earnest, and setting a good example for those behind them in the long line of people contributing to the good of their communities and fellow human beings.

Eric Church and Dr. Hood may have said it differently, but their messages were united by their positivity, energy, wisdom, and humor. And with their advice, we can look to the future with hope, expectation, dedication, and total effort.

That’s what makes the world go round.

REMEMBER

◊ “I carry you in my heart. Your memory comes over me like the dark, and like a phone call from my baby, Sayin’ honey, I miss you like crazy, Like the sound of a siren song, Oh, Carolina, you keep calling me home.” – Eric Church, singing Carolina at the UNC 2026 graduation ceremony.³

◊ American journalist Tom Brokaw said, “You are educated. Your certification is in your degree. You may think of it as the ticket to the good life. Let me ask you to think of an alternative. Think of it as your ticket to change the world.”⁴

◊ The American entertainer Robert Orben said, “A graduation ceremony is an event where the commencement speaker tells thousands of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that ‘individuality’ is the key to success.”⁵

◊ American author Norman Cousins emphasized the importance of good communication skills when he said, “It makes little difference how many university courses or degrees a person may own. If he cannot use words to move an idea from one point to another, his education is incomplete.”⁶

◊ Visit www.davidajolley.com for additional blog posts, other interesting content, and updates on future book releases and appearances.

1. Church, Eric, 2026 UNC Commencement Address; Reported by Doherty, Brennan; University Communications and Marketing, May 9, 2026. ↩︎
2. Church, Eric, 2026 UNC Commencement Address. ↩︎
3. Church, Eric, 2026 UNC Commencement Address. ↩︎
4. Brokaw, Tom, https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/tom-brokaw-quotes. ↩︎
5. Orben, Robert, https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/robert-orben-quotes. ↩︎
6. Cousins, Norman, https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/norman-cousins-quotes. ↩︎