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Valedictorian Charles Silver ’26 on Building a Better World by Building Community
In a year when so many commencement speakers are using their podiums to contend with the possibilities and ramifications of building up tech and artificial intelligence, Charles Silver ’26 would rather focus on the importance of building up actual human beings.
The 2026 Santa Clara University valedictorian and Leavey School of Business management major says he has a particular interest in community building because of his experience as a transfer student. “It definitely did not come right away. I wasn’t sure exactly where I fit,” Silver says. “It took the people around me to really help me feel like I’d found my place.”
He first found those people through Into the Wild, the club that gets students off campus and into nature through organized hikes, camping, and more. “The people were so welcoming and willing to take me under their wings,” Silver says.
He hopes to carry that spirit of camaraderie with him into a career in real estate investment and entrepreneurship. It’s something he learned at Santa Clara—to make a difference by “how you’re treating people, no matter what you’re doing for work.”
But first, Silver plans to move back home to Rhode Island following graduation to work in property management for a year before heading to Australia for a year of adventure. “I figured now’s the time in life to do something wild,” he says. Silver doesn’t pretend to have all the answers, to know what the already-in-flux job market will look like when he returns. All he knows is that he’s excited for the journey. And the people he’ll meet along the way.