Henry Winkler Inspires College of Arts & Sciences Graduates With a Call to Action

At the 2025 College of Arts & Sciences Commencement ceremony on May 17, Emmy Award-winning actor Henry Winkler delivered a call to action.

“I cannot wait to see who you become,” he said to the crowd of approximately 800 graduating seniors gathered in front of Healy Hall. “This world is yours now. And this world needs fixing. And I pray to the heavens that you are the fixers. I say to you now, go!” 

Before delivering his commencement address, Winkler mingled and took photos with students and their families, Georgetown faculty and staff — and even Jack the Bulldog. 

During the ceremony, he received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degree. Sky Sitney, an associate professor of the practice and the director of the Film and Media Studies Program, read a citation detailing Winkler’s achievements – not just for his work as a TV and film star but as a celebrated author and literacy advocate.

“Few actors have had a career as enduring or created characters as iconic as Henry Winkler,” Sitney said. “Yet, it is his dedication to education and advocacy that most reflects the Jesuit value of cura personalis – care for the whole person.”

Winkler is famously known for his role as Arthur Fonzarelli – The Fonz – on the 1970s and 1980s sitcom, Happy Days, where Winkler became the embodiment of cool for his portrayal of the character. But as Sitney noted in her citation, many students graduating this year may know Winkler best for his Emmy Award-winning performance as Gene Cousineau on HBO’s Barry.

In his speech, Winkler spoke about his struggles in school. He took geometry every year in high school before passing with a D-minus. Reading books filled him with dread and anxiety, and he didn’t understand why until he was diagnosed with dyslexia in his early 30s. 

Later, a friend encouraged him to write children’s books about his learning challenges. The result has been dozens of books, including the New York Times best-selling Hank Zipzer series, written with Lin Oliver. The books follow the adventures of a young boy named Hank, a character inspired by Winkler’s own experiences with dyslexia as a child. 

“If destiny is strange, perhaps the strangest part is this: In reclaiming the medium that once caused him so much struggle and shame, Winkler found triumph – and offered hope for others,” Sitney said.

Winkler also emphasized the importance of positivity and encouraged the Georgetown graduates to lead their lives with empathy. He urged the students to be the best version of themselves and left them with a message of optimism.

“There is not one way to do anything,” he said. “There is only your way. You’re not hired to fill just time and space. You are hired to fill that time and space with your imagination, with that power that you’re going to find. You are wonderful. And everything is possible. Everything is possible.”

(Photos by Phil Humnicky)