‘Flo’ actress to Class of 2015: Dare to be imperfect
Stephanie Courtney ‘92 couldn’t afford to get her transmission fixed, so she drove to acting auditions in a car that couldn’t go in reverse − for three months. While she felt “utterly hopeless and afraid” at the time, she looks back at these times now as character-building.
“We’re in a culture and a country that’s obsessed with winners and, moreover, sees winning as a skill,” said Courtney, an actress and improviser best known for playing “Flo” in the Progressive Insurance commercials. “If you succeed, you were smart, not lucky. If you fail, well, it’s your fault. Success, failure. Win, lose. Right way, wrong way. I just want to tell you that it is all a lie. All the setbacks? The dry spells? The times when you feel all alone with the results of your life decisions? That’s a sign that you dared to go outside of your comfort zone and try.”
Courtney got her transmission fixed a long time ago, and she found her way to the Events Center to speak at the Harpur College of Arts and Sciences’ Division of Fine Arts and Humanities Commencement. The University conferred more than 3,400 degrees for bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral candidates at eight Commencement ceremonies, held May 15-17.
Ad Age recently named “Flo” one of the top female ad icons of all time, on a list that includes Rosie the Riveter and Betty Crocker, but Courtney wasn’t always a success. Sharing one of her favorite quotes from improv class − “Failure is rampant and important” − she told students to prepare as best as possible, then get out there and dare to be imperfect.
“Now, I never want to fail again. At anything,” Courtney said. “But those gaffes, those cringe-worthy moments, at best teach you how to be better, stronger, tougher, faster at whatever you want to do. And at the very least they make excellent dinner party stories.”
According to Courtney, her four years at Binghamton − an “incredible University” in a “stormy, quirky, beautiful city” − helped make her who she is. She reminded graduates that no matter how life turns out, they are always Bearcats, tried-and-true.
“Whatever you deal with in life − the joys, the disappointment, adversity or a wave of dizzying success − remember this. You are Binghamton University graduates,” she said. “You are Bearcats. You are half bear and half cat. Now go out and change the world!”