'Against Bureaucracy Back Then Too': Vivek Ramaswamy Reacts To His Viral 2003 Graduation Speech

Last Updated:November 14, 2024, 15:21 IST

In a 2003 graduation speech, Vivek Ramaswamy reflects on his high school journey, the impact of 9/11, and finding a personal faith identity. The video is viral on social media.

Vivek Ramaswamy's purported High School speech (Video screengrabs/Social Media)

Vivek Ramaswamy, a self-made entrepreneur who tried his luck as a Republican presidential candidate, has now been tasked by US President-elect Donald Trump along with Tesla owner Elon Musk with improving government efficiency.

As Trump on November 12 announced that Musk and Ramaswamy will lead the Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE, a video of Ramaswamy’s speech from high school in the year 2003 is doing the rounds on social media, wherein he could be heard talking about his school journey, the World Trade Centre attacks, and more.

However, as more social media users shared his speech, Ramaswamy was quick to respond, “I was against bureaucracy back then too", coupled with a laughing-out-loud emoticon on X.

WHAT DID RAMASWAMY TALK OF IN HIS HIGH SCHOOL SPEECH?

The video of Ramaswamy’s high school speech was shared by an X user, who captioned it, “Vivek Ramaswamy, 18 years old. his High School Graduation Speech of 2003."

In the speech, Ramaswamy can be heard talking about his school journey, saying, “I’ve been racing my entire high school career. When I will be finally crossing the finish line, I wish I could have stopped, just a little earlier, and caught a breath of the fresh air that has surrounded me the whole time. Teachers, staff, classmates, counsellors, and friends, I’d like to welcome you to the 2003 St Xavier Graduation ceremony."

“The word ‘commencement’ comes from the French word ‘commencer’, which means to begin. And yet now we use that same word, ‘commencement’ to describe a ceremony marking the end to our four-year high school experience," he adds.

“So, what is it really?" he asks, adding, “The climactic ending to it all, or the launch pad from which we now embark?"

“The only answer lies in looking at our experience," a young Ramaswamy could be heard saying.

Talking of his high school experience, Ramaswamy says, “It’s been said, and correctly so, that experience is like a knife. Its effect is only determined by whether we hold it by the blade or by the handle."

Recounting the 9/11 World Trade Centre attacks, Ramaswamy, during his speech says, “I was standing two years ago in disbelief, as we watched televisions in the library, on the morning of September 11, 2001, we’ve had these experiences, and the knife of experiences stabbed us at these moments, as much as these sharpened us."

“Those experiences have played a crucial role in shaping the people we have been and have become in our high school, in our senior year," he said.

“One of the things I’ll remember forever would be one of my first experiences as a non-catholic Hindu at the St Xavier," a high school graduate Ramaswamy says. “And I’ll definitely remember emerging from St X with a person of faith that was neither Catholic nor strictly Hindu, but was finally someone I could call my own."

RAMASWAMY’s JOURNEY

Ramaswamy, the 39-year-old son of Indian immigrants, is the first Indian American to have been tapped by Trump into his administration beginning January 20 next year.

Ramaswamy’s journey as a son of immigrants to a self-made entrepreneur to a political newbie climbing ladders to try his luck as a Republican presidential candidate has been no short of remarkable.

But after his poor showing in the primaries, Ramaswamy decided in January to end his bid and back Trump.

Later, Ramaswamy took to X to declare that he was suspending his campaign and endorsing Trump. Both had indulged in bitter criticisms of each other before the Iowa caucus, where Trump secured a decisive victory.

After Iowa, Trump sought to patch things up with Ramaswamy and said, “He did a hell of a job. He came from zero, and he has a big per cent." Trump’s “came from zero" remark was perhaps meant for Ramaswamy’s background, both as a son of immigrants and coming from a non-political family.

His parents — V Ganapathy Ramaswamy, an engineer, and Geetha Ramaswamy, a geriatric psychiatrist — migrated to the US from Kerala.

Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Indian-origin entrepreneur was a nationally-ranked tennis player and the valedictorian of his high school, St Xavier. He graduated in Biology from Harvard and received his J D (Juris Doctor) from Yale Law School while working at a hedge fund.

He then started his own biotech company, Roivant Sciences, where he oversaw the development of five drugs that went on to become FDA-approved. In 2022, he founded Strive, an Ohio-based asset management firm.

The multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur is married to Apoorva, a throat surgeon and Assistant Professor at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. They live in Columbus, Ohio where they are raising their two sons.

During his campaign to be a presidential candidate, Ramaswamy had said he aligns some core principles of his Hindu faith with the “Judeo-Christian values" but acknowledged that he would not be the best president to spread Christianity.

News world 'Against Bureaucracy Back Then Too': Vivek Ramaswamy Reacts To His Viral 2003 Graduation Speech