Ken Jeong

You guys. Wow. Thank you. Spartans! Huh. Wow, thank you so much, Chancellor Gilliam, and it is.

I'm just gonna go off script. What the hell? It really is an honor and a privilege to be here at home, in Greensboro, North Carolina, where I grew up, and I am honestly honored to be here at UNCG just to celebrate the Spartan class of 2019. It is genuinely an honor for me to even be here.

Thank you so very much. Thanks to the trustees, to the administration, and as Chancellor Gilliam said, I'm from here. I've actually never spoken here at the Greensboro Coliseum.

The first time, I was just telling Chancellor Gilliam, my first concert I ever went to as a kid was right here at the Greensboro Coliseum, 1984, Prince and the Revolution, Purple Rain. So it's just crazy to be here. I think my dad took me to see a Ric Flair match, too, so

Little bit of wrestling, little bit of Revolution, so. And by the way, a shout-out to my parents, my parents, Dr. DK Jung, my mother, Mrs. Young Jung. They're getting day drunk in the green room, and so they're saucy and happy.

And a shout-out to Samaya, literally the best speech I have ever heard. Thank you so much. I was so moved.

Chancellor Gilliam's heckling me, like, "Follow that." I'm like, "Wow, okay." You know? I have so many ties to Greensboro.

It's what Chancellor Gilliam said. I mean, not only Page, I went to, I went to junior high at Aycock. I went to, I went to elementary school at Bessemer and Cone.

And what a lot of people don't know is that I do have ties to UNCG as well. My sister actually got her master's of library and information studies right here at UNCG. And what a lot of people also don't know, in between my freshman and sophomore year at Duke, I you know, I'd come back home, I'd stay in Greensboro.

I actually, because I was kind of falling behind in my pre-med studies, I actually took organic chemistry at summer school here at UNCG, and I studied, yeah, I studied at Jackson Library, like, the whole summer, and if it wasn't for that, I don't think I would've gotten into med school at Carolina.

And you know, it's because of Duke pre-med school Carolina, and because I went to med school in Carolina, I became a comedian. I honestly have one simple message, and it's something that you guys already know. The only thing I have to offer in life is my passion.

I you know, I think that's the only thing that keeps me going is passion in life, is passion in what I do professionally, and it, I'm just looking at every single student here. Find your passion, and if you found your passion, as you graduate, let that evolve. If you forget anything I say right now, find your passion, because it took me a long road to find my own passion.

And it's funny, they say that college is the best, it's, you have, it's free, and you can just, you know, do whatever you want. You can, you know, you can fart whenever you want. No one's gonna understand.

No one will care. It, they a lot of people forget, you know, college is stressful. You if you take it seriously, as you all do, there's timelines.

You have to declare a major by the end of your sophomore year. For me, in college, I always kind of felt I was behind the eight ball, and I was always felt that I had to keep up with my fellow student. And I'm just talking about me.

I kind of lost my way. I was, by trying to keep up, I was not finding my own passion. And what I mean by that, a lot of people here, and my parents included.

Look, I a lot of people think that I'm the model minority, you know? I'm a, I'm a, I'm a doctor, I'm an actor, I'm an Instagram model. I can do all these things.

And but what a lot of people don't know, and what I didn't know in college, was I had a passion for acting. I had a passion for comedy. And for me, I'm 49 years old.

I know I look good. And I didn't start doing this until I was 38. So I found my passion later in life.

And I swear it is an honor for me to acknowledge my own parents in supporting my passion, because without them and allowing me to transition my passions, I wouldn't be here today. I also have to thank my Ho. My Ho is amazing.

And when. First name Tran, last name Ho. That's. She's also a physician, and she we met at work. We're, we're both physicians in California, and she knew that she A comedian at heart, and I was actually afraid to quit my day job.

I really wanted to play it safe, and I had a passion, I had an aptitude for comedy and for performance, and if it wasn't for my wife, I would not be here today. And then when I told my parents I wanted to quit my day job, and I was really expecting my parents to be upset because as a kid, I was Koreaned into being pre-med.

You know what I mean? I. You know what I mean? And I talk about this even on my Netflix special.

I mean, when I was a kid, you know, like, literally, like, I was always, like, afraid of what my dad would say when, you know, even when I was afraid he would say, you know, if I quit my job, "You bring great shame to Jung family." And then after the hangover, "We are so proud. Now give me a dollar."

Now. And I know I'm picking on my dad a lot. And by the way, my dad just saw my Netflix special a couple of months ago, and literally he's a little bit confused because he's such a gentle man. He goes, "I don't know, Ken, why you throw so much shade at me?

I don't know why "I support everything you say." But the real of it is this. I had a come to Jesus talk with my parents, telling them I wanted to quit my day job and pursue this unstable business of acting and entertainment full time, and I was very worried about what he would say.

And he said, "You have to make important decisions with the support of your family. Tran is your family. If you have her support, you have my unconditional support."

So I would not be here if it wasn't for my parents. Thank you for trusting me. And I really.

You know what really makes UNCG special to me and what I. Really the reason why I'm here, where are all the first-generation students at? UNCG has done an 38% of the student body are first-generation students.

That is unheard of, to have that support. To be the first student college graduate in your family, I think I understand because I look at myself, I feel like I'm an outsider in Hollywood. I feel like I'm an outsider in business.

I am a first-generation entertainer. I'm the first person in my family to go into comedy. And to me, I always felt, you know, you always have to think outside the box.

You know, it's weird, but I look at my own self as I was pulling down a medical job to support my other passion. People here, student bodies here are pulling down jobs to support their passion to get an education, to get a college degree, and you are already outside the box thinkers.

And sometimes when you hire someone like me to deliver a keynote address to motivate you don't have to motivate first-generation students. We are just here to celebrate you and encourage you to keep doing what you do. So to all the first-generation students

We salute you. And you guys are all at the start of your, of your story, of your film, and you guys are finishing up act one of your film and your story. Just asking you guys an open-ended question. What is your act two?

Now, everyone here has a different timeline. Everyone here has a unique story. Figure out what your act two is and embrace the change, embrace the twists and the unexpected turns.

There'll be good and there'll be bad, but embrace that 'cause you never know what happens. Because I was a shy kid at Page High School that never even dreamed to be an actor, and then now I'm doing things that are beyond my dreams right now.

I I'm living a life that I never thought would be, would be possible if it wasn't for the support of my family, if it wasn't for my educational background. My educational background has kept me grounded through all, like, the fickleness and the phoniness of show business.

It's really, and we all go through, there are always downsides to every journey, but because of my education, I have this core stability that makes me unshakable no matter what happens, and I am also able to take the good with the bad. I'm able to not get too high after a victory or not too low after a perceived setback. But I'm asking you what is your story?

What is your act two? What is your twist and turns? They say everything happens for a reason.

I don't know if that's true, but I do know everything happens. And it's up to you to maximize the reality of your situation, of what everything is about to happen to you.

And I am, I am saying, I'm known for a guy, I'm written, I'm you know, I thrive, I have a career based on the goodwill of my fans and the public, and people have said very kind things about me that, you know, I'm multi-talented, I can do a lot of different things. But you know what my biggest talent is persistence. I do not give up.

I do not give up anything. If I'm passionate about it, I do not give up. I will stay until the very end to see something happen.

After my show got canceled, I stuck it out. After good things happen, I stick it out. I keep moving no matter what, and I encourage you good times and bad, keep moving, keep finding your passion.

And I honestly say to every single soul in this coliseum, if I can do this, and if I can do what I want, so can you. And you guys are. You you have the light and the future and the universe ahead of you and honestly, your persistence and your passion is the most important talent to have.

Thank you guys, for having me, and congratulations to the class of 2019. Thank you guys. Where's my private jet? Where's my private jet?

Can I get. Okay.