Gabriel Glöckler, Principal Adviser Communications at the European Central Bank, held the laudatory speech. After congratulating the graduates, he offered three pieces of advice: keep perspective, keep it simple and keep it real. “When you are starting out in your chosen field”, he explained, “it is important to keep in mind that you don’t know everything yet, but you still bring something to the table that will help your company.” He stressed that it was important to know what your passion was and to work towards making it real, but also to remember that not everything is glorious and you have to work hard to get where you want to be. He also underlined the importance of simplicity and sticking to the essentials. “Only people who really understand a topic can make it simple”, he said. Keeping it real was the third point Gabriel Glöckler highlighted. He asked the graduates to keep in mind, why they were doing what they were doing and to stick to what was right. Compliant behaviour didn’t always equal ethical behaviour. “It is not enough to know the rules, the foundation of your decisions should be your own ethics”, he explained. In closing he expressed his wish that the graduates continued to experience the sense of diversity shown at Frankfurt School. “Working together with people from different nationalities and different backgrounds can sometimes be hard work. But it is also a lot of fun”, he ended.
