Former “Saturday Night Live” star Molly Shannon told graduates to push through challenges and embrace their talents in a recount of her postgraduate years spent searching for work during her honorary address to tens of thousands of students and guests at NYU’s 192nd commencement exercises on Thursday.
Shannon, a three-time Primetime Emmy nominee and Screen Actors Guild Award recipient known for her six-year stint on SNL, was presented with a Doctor of Fine Arts and delivered the address on behalf of this year’s honorary degree recipients — New York Liberty CEO Keia Clarke, who received a Doctor of Humane Letters, and renowned physicist Walter Massey, who received a Doctor of Science.
In her address, Shannon — referred to by President Linda Mills as a “fearless, spell-binding performer” — drew from her comedic background for a lighthearted speech congratulating the class of 2025 and encouraging them to move past challenges. She cited a slew of careers she stunted — including dozens of temp jobs and a range of waitressing gigs — in the eight years between her graduation and start of her SNL run.
“We all occasionally drop the ball,” Shannon said. “But today, each of you hit a grand-slam home run in Yankee Stadium.”
Shannon also advised graduates to “embrace who you are” and move past rejection in pursuance of their career. She took the audience through her road to screen, from heavy losses at a young age to meeting Tisch alum and fellow actor Adam Sandler in an on-campus production, and encouraged them to persist through failures and rejections.
“Whatever road you choose to follow, you will hit bumps,” Shannon said. “These bumps will make you feel stuffed or like a failure, or make you regret choosing to go down that road in the first place — the key is how you react.”
After graduating from the Tisch School of the Arts in 1987, Shannon rose to fame for her SNL portrayal of Mary Katherine Gallagher, a fan-favorite character she first created for an NYU student production. Shannon left the NBC show in 2001 and has continued her career as a screen and voice actor in films and television shows, including the award-winning “Only Murders in the Building,” “The White Lotus” and “Promising Young Woman.”
This year’s graduation ceremony follows months of turbulence at and around NYU amid national efforts to upend higher education. The university has been subject to federal funding cuts and named a target by President Donald Trump, and administrators have faced backlash for sanctions on students protesting Israel’s ongoing siege in Gaza.
“Today, you get to do the impossible: You get to see the future,” Shannon said. “Look around — you are the future.”
Contact Dharma Niles at [email protected].
