Graduation Keynote Speaker

I always had a passion for writing as a hobby even since I was a little girl. So, when I got my first diary when I was in elementary school, I didn't write about

myself - I wrote about some fictional characters. I love storytelling. I love

using the creative juices. I love research. A lot of times you just go to

the library and you look at books and it's kind of like a puzzle where you try

to figure out how to construct a story in a way that fits a puzzle. Almost like

a detective, you know, figure out who was that person and what was it - what was that person thinking? I won the screenwriting contest and that's when I

started taking courses at UCLA Extension. When I went a second time, I figured, okay, it's not just a fluke maybe this is something I can do.

All of a sudden, Clint Eastwood is looking for a writer to write the Japanese perspective of Iwo Jima, but I never believed that that was ever gonna

happen and then I got you know the call and then I had been nominated and I was just over the moon of course.

Please welcome Academy Award-nominated screenwriter and UCLA Extension Professional Achievement awardee Iris Yamashita.

Thank you very much.

Accomplished students, distinguished faculty and staff, parents, friends, and

family, it is my great honor and pleasure to be here today to deliver this address to you.

It's wonderful to be back here on the UCLA campus. A place where I have

spent many hours at. First as a student, and then later as an instructor. I won't

tell you exactly how many years ago it was when I first started taking classes

at Extension, but if I tell you that all-day parking used to be $6, you can guess

that it was a long, long time ago. Back then, like many of you, I was working a

full time job during the day and attending classes at night. Like many of

you, I wasn't here because I had to be, but because I wanted to be.

I had already received a bachelor's degree in bioengineering, and a master's degree in mechanical engineering and I was working at a software company.

But I realized then that it wasn't what I wanted to do. What I really wanted to do

was be a writer. So after work, I grabbed a quick bite - sometimes it was a sandwich

from the grocery store, sometimes it was some questionable and indefinable food

item from one of the many fine vending machines on campus. Then, I had my three

hour class where I was excited to be. My weeknights and weekends were devoted to

writing pages. Working towards that goal of finishing a great screenplay.

My father, who was from the old country and who was very

conservative, sat me down one day for a serious talk and asked me why was I

wasting my time and money on writing classes when it wasn't going to lead to anything. I should hurry up and find a husband instead.

I understood then, as now, that he was just genuinely concerned for my welfare.

but I'm happy to say it had absolutely no effect on me. I was a full-grown adult

at the time living on my own, paying my own way, so it was pretty easy to ignore

my well-meaning dad. I knew in my heart of hearts that I was a writer not an

engineer, and, as proof of that, today I can barely calculate a tip, but I can break down a story like nobody's business.

UCLA Extension gave me the tools and the confidence I needed to start entering

contests with a script I had workshopped in class. I ended up winning a contest

that was being judged by an agent at the Creative Artists Agency, otherwise known

as CAA, and that is how I got my first representation. A few years later, my

agent found out that Clint Eastwood was looking for a writer to pen a companion

film to the war movie "Flags of Our Fathers," so she put me up for it. Some of

her colleagues, however, thought that I would never get the job because I was a

woman and women can't write war movies she was told. When I heard that, frankly,

it made me even more determined. I'm going to write the best damn war movie

because I'm a woman, I thought to myself. Well, I pitched my story to Clint

Eastwood, and I got the job. And the film - thank you -

the film called "Letters from Iwo Jima" eventually won Best Foreign Language

Film at the Golden Globes and four Academy Award nominations - thank you -

including Best Picture and I was nominated for Best Original Screenplay.

Thank you. At the Oscar nominee luncheon, I had the privilege of meeting the amazing and talented Helen Mirren.

"It took a woman to write that movie," she said, and I can't tell you how much those words meant to me and still mean to me.

Meanwhile, my dad, I am happy to say, eventually came around when I took him to the Academy Awards. He

got to wear tux, and ride a limo, and walk down the red carpet. In fact, he even

stopped to give a reporter or two an interview. And I did get married

eventually to my wonderful husband who is here with me today, so it was a win-win for all.

Two years later, my father passed away from cancer, but I believe he was never

more happy or proud of his daughter than on that day on the red carpet. I didn't

take home the statue, but I got the elusive approval of an Asian dad, which at the end of the day was the bigger prize.

If there is one takeaway that I want you to remember today, it's that you are your

greatest asset. It's not your house, not your car, not your stock portfolio, and

I'm sorry to say not even the certificate you'll be receiving today,

but you. You took the steps to improve your life, to work hard, to follow a

purpose. There maybe have been there may have been obstacles in your way,

there may have been times when things were rough, but your determination is

what got you through to today. When you walk out that door, you may be told

that you're not going to get where you want to be. You may be told that you're

not smart enough, not accomplished enough, not experienced enough, or whatever

reason - just not good enough. But it's what happens after that that matters

most. Remember that you are your greatest asset. Only you can light your own path

to where you want to be. It's up to you to persevere, to believe in yourself and

accomplish the task that you set for yourself. Always be reaching for your

star. But when I say that I'm not talking about what shines above you, but about

the star that shines within you and it's just possible that your dreams may come true.

Congratulations UCLA Extension Class of 2019.

And before she sits down, I want to grab Iris. This is the

Professional Achievement Award awarded to our outstanding UCLA Extension professional and I think we'll all agree that Iris definitely deserves it.

Each year you see...

[Applause]

please join me in giving a big UCLA extension Welcome to our inaugural icons of La award recipient Mr Stan

Lee thank you first of all I hate Dean spots he

said he said my whole speech all the things he said I was going to say so I sit here before you

hopeless worried what can I possibly do to make I didn't really mean that

Dean um I spent quite a lot of time writing a 25 page speech that I could

give you and as I looked at I said would I want to hear the

speech so I tore it up so I stand here now defenseless with nothing except to tell

you I think you're all great the fact that you're taking the courses you're taking you're trying to help to to add

to what you already know to make yourselves better workers better contributors and I think that's great I

think also that I'm not going to make a long speech but I'm going to tell you I was told to say an an OTE anecdotes are

easy so I thought to myself what kind of anecdote can I tell these people who really have more important things to do

and I figured I'm going to tell you how Spider-Man came into

being it's it's a true story although sometimes it's hard even for me to believe it but um we had already done

the Fantastic for and I think maybe the X-Men I can't remember the order but my publisher came to me and he said Stan I

want you to come up with another superhero so I said okay and I went home and when my publisher said do something

I'd better do it because I wanted to keep my job I thought what can I come up with now and the most important thing in

a superhero at first is the superpower once you get that everything else comes along so I thought what power will I

give a new guy and I saw a fly crawling on the wall and I said hey if I could get a superhero that could stick to

walls and crawl on them man that would be cool and that no I'm lying to

you I don't think the word cool was in use then I probably I probably said it'll be

groovy I'll never lie to you so I thought that was good now I need a name so I said well let's see fly

man mosquito man I got down to Spiderman Spiderman it just sounded dramatic so

okay I had my hero I had his power his name and then I figured just for fun I'm going to give him personal problems cuz

except for you people who are per that your lives are perfect but most other people have personal problems and I then I thought I'd make

him a teenager cuz there were no teenage superheroes that I knew of at the time so armed with all that wonderful

material those great ideas I ran into my Publisher's office and I told him this

was my reaction the reaction he gave me Stan that is the worst idea I have ever

heard first of all and he started to give me his because he a very logical old man very

intellectual first of all people hate spiders so you can't call a hero

Spiderman you want him to be a teenager teenagers can only be

Sidekicks and you want him to have personal problems stay and don't you know what a superhero is they don't have

personal problems well I left the office disappointed but obviously a much wiser

man and I couldn't get Spider-Man out of my system so we were about to kill a magazine I think it was called Amazing

Fantasy it wasn't selling well and we were sending the last issue to press when you do the last issue of a magazine

nobody cares what you put in it because the book is dying just to get it out of my system I put Spider-Man in Amazing

Fantasy feature him on the cover forgot about it a month later all the sales

figures came in my publisher came racing into my office Stan Stan you remember

that character we both loved so much Spiderman he said let's do them as a

series now why am I telling you this besides the fact that I have to kill a little

time if you have an idea that you genuinely think is good don't let some idiot talk

you out of

it now that doesn't mean that every wild notion you come up with is going to be

genius but if there is something that you feel is good something you want to do something that means something to you

try to do it because I think you can only do your best work if you're doing

what you want to do and if you're doing it the way you think it should be done and if you can take pride in it after

you've done it no matter what it is you can look at it and say I did that and I think it's pretty damn good that's a

great feeling so don't let idiots talk you out of something that you think is

good by the same token that does mean every single thing you think is going to is good is going to be win a prize got

to have a little judgment there I've had other things that I thought were good that didn't work but I'll save that for the next award you give me I'll need

something to tell you about and I I want to say I cannot tell you how much I

appreciate this award and this college has has meant a lot to me I have spoken here many times over the years it's one

of the great Institutes of learning and to get this award the icon award I am truly touched so I want to thank the

step and whoever it is that gave it to me and I want to wish all of you the

best luck in the world just do your thing do it as well as you that's the important thing don't Sherk whatever you

do give it your Best Shot you'll be glad you did EXA thank you thank

you Youk you we're going to present this right now do you want to face the audience sure May me put your hand on this yeah

what do you so

Stan Stan those were inspiring words awards for our graduates that was great I am honored to present you with UCLA

extension's very first icons of La award I can't

tell I can't tell you how honored I am to receive it I'm glad my wife isn't here right now she'd be poking me and

saying put it down you know how clumsy you are you're going to drop it I haven't dropped it yet and I promise I won't drop it thank you so much I'll

take it back don't I have one more more written thank

you so uh last evening we had a little pre- celebration for Stan a small get

together and uh I had a few words to say about education and entertainment and how they relate like Stan referred to a

little earlier and then Stan talked he had uh good stories as he did to today to share and one of them was was the

fact that he shared that he wasn't a college graduate he said I didn't go to college

and then he said wait I did start one course at a City College in New York and

he said the reason I started that was because I was really interested in this young lady and she was taking that course and

she worked during the day that's the only time I could see her he said so I took the signed up for the course my very first college course said then I

dropped out after three or four weeks he said it turned out that she really wasn't interested in me so that's how

his college career ended so Stan while you may not have gone to college we at UCLA extension want you to know that

your life's work is worthy of University recognition let me do that now by presenting you with his honorary UCLA

extension certificate bam

go ahead go ahead the statement inside reads as follows presented to Stan Lee in recogn

recognition of his inspiring Legacy a life's work that illuminates the transformative power of Storytelling for

Los Angeles and the world thank you Stan thank you so I have a college

degree oh look at that well thank you we colleg men we know about these things let me just also I'll show you the if we

Fold It Out whoops don't lose that right there it is a University of California Los Angeles there you go this goes in

the most prominent place in my office great thank you thank you so much oh

wow