Student Speaker Majors: Film and Media Scoring Hometown: Bangalore, India Keziah Thomas
Jill Scott Honorary Doctor of Music
We stayed when we thought everyone else sounded better, more creative, more “ready.” And in staying, we found something far more important than perfection. We found resilience. We found a community. We found our voice. Berklee is full of people who could be the best in the room. And that can be very intimidating—trust me, I know. But what makes this place special isn’t just excellence; it’s all the different voices and perspectives we all bring to this place. We came here to master our craft, but we’re leaving with something more. And the world we’re stepping into needs that. It needs artists who listen. It needs composers who feel. It needs performers who understand that music isn’t about being the loudest; it’s about being real. We are entering an industry that is uncertain, competitive, and constantly evolving. Technology will change. Platforms will change. Trends will change. But the world will always need voices that speak with honesty, and it will always need artists willing to use theirs. So as we leave Berklee, I hope we don’t chase perfection. I hope we chase curiosity. I hope we stay open to rewriting our path. And most importantly, I hope we remember what it felt like to be starting out and choose to grow together instead of competing against each other. Because success isn’t just about where we end up. It’s about who we are and what we choose to do with the skills we’ve built. Class of 2026, congratulations! Let’s go write what’s next!
Good afternoon, faculty, families, friends, and most importantly, my fellow graduates. If there’s one thing Berklee has taught us, it’s that life doesn’t always unfold the way we planned it to, and that is totally okay, as long as we still have the same passion and determination. We arrived here with carefully composed plans. Some of us thought we knew exactly who we were, exactly where we were going, exactly what we wanted to do. And Berklee did what it does best: it challenged us. It challenged our skills. It challenged our work ethic. It challenged our confidence. I came here having everything planned out and believing talent was the most important thing— that if I worked hard enough, practiced long enough, and stayed up just a little later than everyone else, I’d eventually “make it.” But Berklee taught me something deeper. It taught me—and I’m assuming all of you as well—that growth doesn’t happen when everything sounds perfect. It happens in the process. Think about how many times we rewrote something. Re-recorded something. How many of us changed majors? Changed styles? Changed dreams? And yet somehow, through the late-night studio sessions, ensemble placements, walks to classes in the snow, and last-minute project exports, we are here. We are all standing here. Not because it was easy, but because we stayed. We stayed when we doubted ourselves. We stayed when we compared ourselves—which almost every student at Berklee does constantly.
Jill Scott is a three-time Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, New York Times bestselling poet, and acclaimed actor, producer, and philanthropist whose influence has shaped soul, R&B, and Black storytelling for more than two decades. She broke through with the double-platinum classic Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds, Vol. 1 , followed by Beautifully Human and The Real Thing . Her fourth and fifth albums, The Light of the Sun and Woman , respectively, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, the latter of which also topped the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, solidifying her status as a consistent chart force and cultural mainstay. In 2026, Scott returned with To Whom This May Concern , her sixth studio album and first in over a decade. Beyond music, the Philadelphia native is the founder of Blues Babe Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting Philadelphia students pursuing higher education. She commands equal impact across film, television, publishing, and audio, with screen credits including Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married? and its sequel, Why Did I Get Married Too? , as well as Get on Up, Highway to Heaven, and The First Wives Club . She also hosts the award-winning Jill Scott Presents: J.ill the Podcast , continuing to elevate artists and shape culture with authority, purpose, and soul.
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