PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi gave a commencement address at Brown University, telling graduates to “hold on to your hope” amid the world’s darkness.

The California Democrat spoke Sunday at the Ivy League school in Providence, Rhode Island.

She said students are graduating into a vastly different world, referencing recent mass shootings, the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the looming U.S. Supreme Court ruling on abortion rights.

She praised students for their bravery and resilience, insisting that, “Hope remains democracy’s most powerful weapon against oppression, against cynicism, against hatred.”