The Class of 2024 at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth received a graduation surprise like no other as they walked away from their commencement ceremony with an extra $1,000 in their pockets. The founder and CEO of Granite Telecommunications, Robert Hale Jr., delivered a powerful speech to the new grads, emphasizing the importance of perseverance through failure.
Hale shared a personal story of a time when his business suffered a $1 billion loss in just one day, highlighting the challenges he faced and the lessons he learned from it. He encouraged the graduates to embrace failure as a part of the process and to use it as motivation to push themselves further.
As the speech came to a close, Hale shocked the audience by announcing that he was giving each graduate $1,000, with a catch. The students were given two envelopes containing $500 each – one to keep for themselves and the other to give to someone in need. Hale emphasized the importance of sharing, caring, and giving back to the community, especially during these challenging times.
With roughly 1,200 students in the graduating class, the generous gesture from Hale left a lasting impact on the Class of 2024. As a billionaire with a net worth of $5.4 billion, Hale’s act of generosity and kindness towards the new graduates will surely be remembered for years to come.