--- description: "There's always something else that hasn't been found yet, so help them find it," Katherine Johnson said to the graduating class. title: Katherine Johnson to Hampton University Grads: 'Help People as Much as You Can' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltadf56c43756ab994/6988cd41a988ca846b6bc37a/gettyimages-498634610-2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Education](/tag/education/) ## Education Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Katherine Johnson to Hampton University Grads: 'Help People as Much as You Can' by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 15, 2017 3:38 PM CUT  President Barack Obama presents Katherine G. Johnson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom during the 2015 Presidential Medal Of Freedom Ceremony at the White House on November 24, 2015 in Washington, DC. President Barack Obama presents Katherine G. Johnson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom during the 2015 Presidential Medal Of Freedom Ceremony at the White House on November 24, 2015 in Washington, DC.Kris Connor—WireImage by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 15, 2017 3:38 PM CUT _Katherine Johnson, the NASA pioneer whose story was told in the Oscar-nominated film_ Hidden Figures_, delivered a message to Hampton University’s graduating class of 2017 on Sunday. See video of her remarks_ [_here_](http://news.hamptonu.edu/release/%27Hidden-Figure%27-Katherine-Johnson-Tells-Hampton-University-Graduates-to-be-a-Positive-Influence-at-147th-Commencement-Ceremony "undefined") _and read the transcript below:_ --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4779086/katherine-goble-johnson-nasa-hidden-figures/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4779086/katherine-goble-johnson-nasa-hidden-figures/"},"headline":"Katherine Johnson to Hampton University Grads: 'Help People as Much as You Can'","datePublished":"2017-05-15T15:38:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T04:55:28.794Z","description":"\"Always do your best for whatever you're doing\"","url":"https://time.com/4779086/katherine-goble-johnson-nasa-hidden-figures/","keywords":["Education","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltadf56c43756ab994/6988cd41a988ca846b6bc37a/gettyimages-498634610-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltadf56c43756ab994/6988cd41a988ca846b6bc37a/gettyimages-498634610-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2015 Presidential Medal Of Freedom Ceremony","caption":"2015 Presidential Medal Of Freedom Ceremony","creditText":"Kris Connor—WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/education/","name":"Education"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4779086/katherine-goble-johnson-nasa-hidden-figures/","name":"Katherine Johnson to Hampton University Grads: 'Help People as Much as You Can'"}}]}] ```