Mindy Kaling returned to her alma mater, Dartmouth, to deliver the college’s 2018 commencement speech ― and she did not disappoint.
The “Ocean’s 8” actress was her hilarious and snarky self as she spoke to the crowd on Sunday afternoon in Hanover, New Hampshire. Kaling, 38, spoke about becoming a new mom, the importance of self-confidence as a young adult and, of course, the possibility of Donald Trump being added to Mount Rushmore.
Some of her wittiest commentary, however, was her dating advice to the young men heading into the real world.
“This one is just for guys: When you go on dates, act as if every woman you’re talking to is a reporter for an online publication that you are scared of,” she said as the crowd laughed. “One shouldn’t need the threat of public exposure and scorn to treat women well; but if that’s what it’s gonna take, fine. Date like everyone’s watching, because we are.”
“The Mindy Project” creator also gave some important advice to the women in the crowd, reminding them that supporting one another will be key in the real world.
“Hey girls, we need to do a better job of supporting each other,” Kaling said. “I know that I am guilty of it, too. We live in a world where it seems like there’s only room for one of us at the table. So when another woman shows up, we think, ‘Oh my god, she’s going to take the one woman spot! That was supposed to be mine!’”
Kaling added that women need to fight back against this urge because “that’s just what certain people want us to do.”
“Wouldn’t it be better if we worked together to dismantle a system that makes us feel like there’s limited room for us?” she continued. “Because when women work together, we can accomplish anything. Even stealing the world’s most expensive diamond necklace from the Met Gala, like in ‘Ocean’s 8,’ a movie starring me, which opens in theaters June 8th. And to that end, women, don’t be ashamed to toot your own horn like I just did.”
Watch Kaling’s full commencement speech below.