Tisch School of the Arts graduates gave their final NYU performance as they walked across the stage at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. Opening with a dance performance from the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, the 2015 commencement ceremony illustrated the artistry of the candidates’ past years of work at NYU.

The class of 2015 student speaker Elizabeth Logan, graduating from the Dramatic Writing department, spoke on risk-taking, work ethic and patience.

“Let today be the last day we joke that we are stupid or crazy,” Logan said. “Or ever to pretend we hate what we love, and that it wasn’t wrong to study it. Let today be the last day we dismiss our ambitions before we’ve started.”

Tisch dean Allyson Green advised the graduates to never stop pursuing their art.

“Isn’t that exactly what we need in the world? More creation, less destruction,” Green said. “You won’t need to retire because your passion to create will inspire you forever.”

Honored speaker Robert De Niro commended the graduates for following their passions despite lack of job security.

“You made it, and you’re fucked,” De Niro said. “But you didn’t have a choice. You discovered a talent, developed an ambition and recognized a passion. When you feel that, you can’t fight it. You just go with it.”

The ceremony concluded with a department of drama performance from the Love’s Labour’s Lost as well as a music performance by the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music.