RSA Commencement

Acclaimed author Cheryl Strayed delivers the first in an exciting new series of events - RSA Commencement. Cheryl Strayed’s ‘Dear Sugar’ columns have touched millions of readers around the world with their candour and wise counsel, and her RSA address is guaranteed to move and inspire.

We are thrilled to announce that the bestselling memoirist, novelist and essayist Cheryl Strayed will launch a brand new RSA events series – RSA Commencement.

Cheryl Strayed’s ‘Dear Sugar’ columns have touched millions of readers world-wide with their candour and wise counsel.

Commencement addresses are a time-honoured tradition in universities and high schools across the US.  A notable public thinker or doer is invited to give a speech to inspire, galvanise and advise an eager class of scroll-clutching graduates about to face the world. But in the YouTube era, videos of these heartfelt doses of hard-won wisdom have reached a much wider audience, and countless moving and practical commencement insights have swept the globe. 

The RSA has been the home for world-changing ideas for over 250 years, and we are delighted to be welcoming leading lights from around the world to give a uniquely RSA spin on the commencement tradition, with an exciting new series of specially curated addresses, guaranteed to inspire an all-inclusive global audience - from high-school students to centenarians.

A Brainpickings round-up of the very best commencement addresses can be found online here.

Speaker: Cheryl Strayed, best-selling author of 'Wild' and 'Tiny Beautiful Things'.

Chair: Matthew Taylor, RSA chief executive.

Watch this event as an RSA Replay
RSA Replay is now a featured playlist on our Youtube channel, it is the full recording of the event including audience Q&A. If you subscribe to our channel on YouTube - you'll get automatically notified whenever there's a new video.