Kathrine Switzer’s Words of Wisdom from 2018 Commencement Speech

“Adversity can give you the greatest opportunity,” said Kathrine Switzer, Syracuse University alumna, and the first woman to run in the Boston Marathon in 1967. Switzer had the chance to give a commencement speech to SU’s graduating class. She went into detail about her experience at the Boston Marathon, and how it’s made her the woman she is today. In this Fast Company article, she advises students to be aware of “flash moments,” the moments that can change your life.

She states, “If you recognize them (flash moments), you can be ready for them and act on them for your own life, but more importantly, perhaps for community and even world change.” Switzer says, “Often it’s the adversity in your life that gives you the greatest ideas. Sometimes the worst things in life become the best.”