The University of Colorado at Boulder held commencement exercises last Thursday, May 9, sending over 9,300 graduating students out to face life’s challenges. Many of those students were high school seniors in May 2020 and did not get a ceremony or celebration due to the pandemic.

I’ve taken great joy through the years in wishing about-to-be college graduates to go ahead, leave the campus, start the next phase of their lives and experience life’s tests.

For those who snicker, thinking the students will get a shock upon leaving their Ivory Tower world, guess again. That concept disappeared a long time ago thanks to endless news cycles, social media overload and the reality of the world’s difficulties creeping onto campuses.

Good, I say. Let life teach alongside faculty, taking its rightful place in our community of learning and offering its many powerful and long-lasting lessons.

Here’s the point: It’s not that the students are exiting from a precious cocoon of learning and nurturing into the real world. It’s that they’re simply traveling from one part of the real world to another.

The 2024 college graduates have been deeply affected by events outside of their campuses. Consider what they’ve had to contemplate over the past four years:

Many of them were in college and may have gotten slammed by COVID-19, which brought so many changes to our everyday lives. That college experience alone meant freshmen missed some of the rites of the academic world — starting with staying alive.

College sports have been thrown into turmoil, what with women’s sports growing fast, football team schedules turning chaotic, transfer portals opening up for those who want to ply their trade at a different school and student-athletes quickly mastering how to make money from the evolving system.

The killing of George Floyd in Minnesota pushed Americans to yet again examine just how dedicated they are to civil rights for all.

Their four years are ending with the same uncertainty as they began. Today, we have the heartbreaking war in the Middle East, with deaths having climbed to more than 30,000, and marchers who favor Palestinians and condemn Jewish people.

Russia brutally invaded Ukraine, with no end in sight. Vladimir Putin seems determined to reunite the USSR.

Thanks to the revolutionary world of artificial intelligence (AI), ChatGPT is now thriving.

People can now work remotely in many jobs and can live almost anywhere. Amazon and other sites can deliver almost anything; with the simple touch of the keyboard, your delivery arrives at your front door.

Every day seems to bring another technological reveal. Sadly, people have abused the privilege by creating phony videos about innocent folks. Let’s research how to prevent that from happening.

Climate change has gotten worse, but at least we’re seeking wiser ways of living.

Voting rights for all qualified voters are under attack.

The graduates witnessed an unprecedented coup in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021, that resulted in deaths, injuries and jail time for many.

I challenge the class of 2024 to the following:

Acknowledge that you should reach out and help improve the lives of others, and to see the bright side and the many opportunities of living in a well-developed nation.

Reject the negativity that too many people wear around their necks. You have completed an impressive four-year program, preparing you to get out there, challenge the status quo and reject the naysayers.

Push office-holders to support a free college (or trade) education for those who want them. Let’s not provide free education for some and not all. The current system seems capricious: Maybe you will get free tuition, maybe you won’t.

Support elected officials who have proven that they understand our rich resources and the role that can play in giving everyone a chance.

How can I best challenge the thousands of students graduating from all of the state’s institutions of higher learning? By urging them to turn around the arc of history for the better.

The best today’s college graduates can do is to go out and make use of what they’ve learned and experienced in their lives, their communities and in a world that is spinning and changing right along with them.

I hope that Americans’ obsession with money and power will not dampen their desire to pursue their passions and that their educational experiences fostered their willingness to take risks.

Let’s hope that the sense of community they experienced in college won’t be replaced by an overzealous desire to excel on the job —- to the detriment of family and self.

Good luck and Godspeed.

Jim Martin is a past regent of the University of Colorado. He can be reached at jimmartinesq@gmail.com.