Malala's Advice For The Class Of 2020 | More Under 30 News

Plus: This 30 Under 30 Alum Is Figuring Out How Many People Already Have Immunity Against Coronavirus

"Like all of you, I’m also missing my graduation ceremony this year, and we are not alone. Across the world, Covid-19 has forced more than one billion students out of school," activist and 2016 Forbes Under 30 honoree Malala Yousafzai told her fellow graduates, imploring them to remember those who would never be able to return to the classroom due to the pandemic.

Whether you're still in school or several years out, her virtual graduation speech rings true: "[We] won’t be defined by what we lost to this virus but by how we responded to it. The world is yours now and I can’t wait to see what you make of it." And if you are a member of the Class of 2020, congratulations. Your achievements are remarkable, and you're only just beginning.

From medical students graduating early to Forbes Under 30 founders using their companies to make an impact, young people are rising to meet the challenges of a society transformed by the coronavirus pandemic. Read more about these industrious creators each week with the Under 30 newsletter now in your inbox every Thursday, instead of Wednesdays.

Noteworthy

When you can’t have all the pomp because of the circumstances, what does a graduation look like? That’s the question countless high schools and colleges across America had to answer this year amid a global pandemic. So some of America’s most inspiring politicians, business leaders, actors, athletes, and musicians came forward to offer words of encouragement and support in national commencement speeches to this year’s graduates, streamed in virtual ceremonies, podcasts, social media and on television. From Barack Obama to Tim Cook to Megan Rapinoe, here are some of the best commencement speeches for the Class of 2020.

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“Last fall, enough of our clients were starting to think about what a 2020 or 2021 recession might look like. So I started thinking about how education might be a useful tool in a recession,” says 31-year-old Rachel Carlson, an alumna of the 2017 Forbes 30 Under 30 list. “We had no idea that it would be instigated by a pandemic, but we were fortunate we started that work early.” Her company, edtech unicorn Guild, recently completed a partial acquisition of edtech venture consultancy Entangled Group, in an all-stock deal valued upwards of $80 million.

Right now, if you are a doctor or a nurse in Portugal and you need to book a room where you can isolate yourself from your family to keep them safe, you can do it for free on Rooms Against Covid There are nearly 4000 rooms available with almost 8000 nights booked. These short-term stays sprung out of Tech4Covid19, a movement started by a group of Portuguese tech entrepreneurs, including three Forbes Under 30 honorees.

In mid-May, UpKeep—app developed for facility managers and maintenance workers founded by the 2018 Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree Ryan Chan—announced it raised $36 million in a Series B round, led by Insight Partners with participation from existing investors Emergence Capital, Battery Ventures, Y Combinator, Mucker Capital, and Fundersclub. "Because of what’s going on there’s a huge spot on sanitation, on facility managers and on sanitation workers. Those are the folks that are going to enable us to feel safe when going back to work,” Chan says.

The Last Word

"Pursue every ambition, go as far as you can possibly dream and be the first generation to embrace a new responsibility, a responsibility to rebuild your community."

LeBron James

Athlete