Brian Greene delivers a stirring commencement address at LMU, urging graduates to embrace their improbable existence in the cosmos with curiosity and deep gratitude.
 |
| Celebrated physicist Brian Greene encouraged LMU graduates to cherish their cosmic rarity, embrace curiosity, and unite through gratitude during the 2025 ceremony. Image: LMU |
LOS ANGELES, USA — May 19, 2025:
Brian Greene, the renowned theoretical physicist and author, delivered an intellectually rich and emotionally resonant address to graduates of Loyola Marymount University and LMU Loyola Law School during their 2025 commencement ceremony on Sunday. On the sun-drenched Westchester campus in Los Angeles, Greene invited nearly 2,900 graduates to reflect on the improbability of their existence and to meet life’s uncertainties with courage, creativity, and gratitude.
“We have each won the most improbable cosmic lottery,” Greene declared. “Think about the nearly infinite quantum processes stretching from the Big Bang until today… yet here we are. For a brief moment in time, you exist. I exist.”
Drawing from luminaries such as Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Edwin Hubble, and Carl Sagan, Greene traced humanity’s expanding understanding of the cosmos. He also spotlighted Georges Lemaître, the Jesuit-educated Catholic priest and physicist who first proposed the idea of the expanding universe—an idea initially dismissed, but later affirmed.
Greene explained that human consciousness—our ability to contemplate time, understand physics, and build meaning—binds us together in a "cosmic communion." He emphasized that our collective capacity for reason and imagination leads to scientific and creative breakthroughs alike, all born from minds just like those of the graduates before him.
“Gratitude,” he said, “for being a small, transient part of this wondrous unfolding. Gratitude for our capacity to gather in communities that elevate potential. Gratitude for our ability to resist easy answers and stand courageously for truth and belief.”
Known for transforming complex scientific theories into accessible insights, Greene is a Columbia University professor and best-selling author whose works—like The Elegant Universe and Until the End of Time—have sold millions worldwide. His books have inspired Emmy and Peabody Award-winning NOVA documentaries and led to the founding of the World Science Festival, which he co-created with journalist Tracy Day.
Greene’s presence at LMU added a cosmic depth to a weekend of celebration, which began with Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson addressing undergraduates the day before. Greene’s message was a call not just to think deeply about the universe, but to live fully within it—with wonder, resilience, and a grateful heart.
As graduates embark on new journeys, Greene’s words served as both inspiration and invitation: to embrace the miracle of being, to connect meaningfully with others, and to keep reaching, intellectually and emotionally, toward the stars.