Dear Class of 2026 MBA Grads

Hello and welcome to the eleventh edition of The Ferocity Letter, a softly fierce Sunday note for visionary women—and everyone who supports them.

My mission is to empower you to trust your intuition and communicate with presence, clarity, and resonance.

Every other week, I share field notes, practices, and words from women.

This week’s letter is an open commencement message to all new Master of Business Administration (MBA) graduates in the Class of 2026. If you know a graduate, will you share it with them?

Commencement speeches are drawing boos this season for talking about AI being the future. I almost decided not to share this week’s letter. Nobody likes to be booed.

• Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt gave the University of Arizona’s commencement address Friday, and was roundly jeered when he discussed AI and automation saying, "The question is not whether AI will shape the world. It will. The question is whether you will have shaped artificial intelligence.”12

• Meanwhile, at the University of Central Florida’s May 8 commencement ceremony, private equity executive Gloria Caulfield prompted loud boos from the crowd when she described AI as “the next industrial revolution.”34

But my message is not to say AI will shape the world. Nor that it is the next industrial revolution. I believe the future is far more human than it is AI.

I was inspired (dared?) by a friend to record a short graduation speech about human connection in the age of AI. She asked, “What would you tell newly minted MBAs?”

So here’s my advice. Full transcript is below the video.

(Oh my gosh I don’t love watching myself on video. It gets easier, right?)

TRANSCRIPT

Hi! I’m Laura Lowery, your creative communication strategist.

I’m here with a short commencement message for newly minted MBA grads.

Congratulations on this big step into the world of business leadership. Your success will depend on how you connect and build trust with people.

And in this age of AI, it’s getting trickier to do that well.

I have a piece of advice.

Be ferocious about holding onto your humanity, and lead with it in all of your communications.

When you connect with people, they feel something. It’s like a frequency. And if you are thoughtful about how you communicate, then you can really resonate with the people who you need to help you get where you want to go.

Two things I want you to do:

The First Thing: Share your sense of purpose. We want to know why you’re here, what drives you, and how it connects to what you’re building, where you’re going, and why you’d like us to join you.

Here’s mine: I believe I’m here to learn, ever more deeply, how to give voice to what’s felt, what’s in the heart—and in doing so, help others do the same. I have lot of heart tee shirts. How we do this is what drew me to a career in communications.

When you share your purpose, people feel it.

The Second Thing: Avoid using AI to write your speeches or any communication you hope will influence other human beings.

Why do I say that?

Because we carry an unspoken contract in which we care about what you say because you took time to craft it yourself. It comes from your heart. When you honor the contract, you build trust and people pay attention. But if we sense you’ve broken the contract and outsourced your voice and we’re listening to an LLM, then trust begins to break down.

So - Class of 2026 - knowing this, how will you approach your leadership communications? How will you share your purpose and your vision with us?

I’d love to hear your thoughts, and I can’t wait to see what you do next.

Stay connected to your heart. Stay human.

1. JASMINE BINA, Cultural futurist. CEO of strategy agency Concept Bureau, and cofounder of Exposure Therapy

“The reason someone’s incensed that your entire blog post is written in AI-first person is because there was a contract - they give you their attention, you give them the interiority of your mind. Even if AI helps you do that better for your audience, it’s not what the reader agreed to.”5

2. MADONNA, best-selling female music artist of all time

“If you’re a boy, there are no rules. If you’re a girl, you have to play the game. What is that game? You are allowed to be pretty and cute and sexy, but don’t act too smart. Don’t have an opinion, at least, don’t have an opinion that is out of line with the status quo. Be what men want you to be. And finally, do not age, because to age is a sin. You will be criticized, you will be vilified, and you will definitely not be played on the radio. What I would like to say to all the women here today is this: as women, we have to start appreciating our own worth and each other’s worth. Seek out strong women to befriend, to align yourself with, to learn from, to be inspired by, but to the doubters, the naysayers, to everyone who gave me hell and said I could not, that I would not, that I must not. Your resistance made me stronger, made me push harder, made me the fighter that I am today.” (edited excerpts from her iconic Billboard Woman of the Year speech, 2016)6

3. MELINDA FRENCH GATES, Philanthropist, businesswoman, author, and advocate for women & girls

“I am relieved that mifepristone will remain—at least for now—available for women and their care providers to rely on. But a provider’s ability to prescribe safe, effective medication and a woman’s right to make decisions over her body and future should not be up for debate, now or ever.”7

When women trust their ferocity, they remake the world.

Thank you for reading The Ferocity Letter.

I write these words to encourage and empower you—and because I need them, too.

Until next time, trust your ferocity.

— Laura

Laura Lowery is an advisor to visionary women. A communications strategist, writer, and founder of Light Advisors—she partners with purpose-driven leaders to give voice to your vision, elevate your presence, and empower you to communicate with clarity and resonance. Learn more: lightadvisors.co