When he delivered his address to Northwestern Engineering’s undergraduate Class of 2025, Matthew Skaruppa (’04) spoke mostly about an unexpected subject.

“Since this is an engineering convocation, I'm going to do what engineers do best: I'm going to talk to you about feelings,” Skaruppa said.

Skaruppa, who 21 years ago sat where the graduates were seated, said there are three feelings that have driven almost every major decision in his life: fear, compulsion, and love.

In the two decades since earning his degree, Skaruppa has risen to become the chief financial officer for Duolingo. He joined Duolingo in 2020 and helped prepare the company for its July 2021 initial public offering. Prior to Duolingo, Skaruppa was a vice president at Goldman Sachs and collaborated with C-suite executives at KKR Capstone, the operating consulting arm of the private equity firm KKR.

With a perspective forged by navigating high-stakes decisions and embracing uncertainty, Skaruppa challenged the graduates to view their own futures through a similar lens.

“Whether fear or compulsion brought you this far, there's a world beyond this campus that needs your gifts,” Skaruppa said. “Go serve that world — not because you're afraid, but because there is no greater love, no better use of your education, and no stronger compulsion than using your talents to help others. Go give your gifts to the world.”

Skaruppa spoke at Northwestern Engineering’s 2025 Undergraduate Convocation held June 16 at Welsh-Ryan Arena, part of the University’s 167th Commencement. A chemical engineering graduate, Skaruppa was introduced by Northwestern Engineering Dean Christopher Schuh.

“Graduates, the challenges facing humanity are significant, and they are only becoming more complicated and interconnected. Your work has never been more important,” Schuh said. “As Northwestern Engineers, you see things differently and you know that the solutions to the challenges we face are rooted in scientific research enhanced by a different kind of thinking — one that pairs logic, analysis, and scientific excellence with creativity and an understanding of markets, psychology, and most importantly, people.”

Fear as motivation comes with a cost

Skaruppa had to tackle fear, both when he was growing up with his mother and sister in Ohio and then as a student at Northwestern. His mother worked long nights at a hospital to make extra money to support her family, and Skaruppa tried to tune out his fear of not measuring up by attempting to “achieve my way to worthiness.” He strived for perfect grades and excellence in multiple sports, building a wall to make the world feel safe.

Skaruppa’s fortress was threatened during his first year at Northwestern. A frigid ride back to Ohio for Thanksgiving in a friend’s Toyota with a broken heater seemed to affirm to Skaruppa that the University was not the right place for him.

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When he returned to Evanston, Skaruppa dealt with those doubts the only way he knew how: by putting in the work. Camped out in a corner of Mudd Library with his TI-86 calculator, a stack of textbooks, and his CD player, he pored over linear algebra problems until the material began to click.

The work paid off, and Skaruppa earned good grades that quarter. He also learned a valuable lesson.

“Fear can drive achievement, but it makes every success feel hollow and fragile,” Skaruppa said. “When you’re acting out of fear, you're just temporarily postponing the next test of your worth. And there is always another test.”

Compulsion calls

Skaruppa also saw what compulsion means.

A friend of Skaruppa had a cubicle next to his at Mudd. They both spent many late nights there, trying to solve tricky organic chemistry problems and preparing for final exams. Skaruppa was attempting to quiet his self-doubt; the friend was compelled by the loss of her mother to cancer and the desire to make sure others never experience that pain. The friend is now a world-class radiologist at the University of California San Francisco.

“The difference? Fear chases, compulsion calls,” Skaruppa said. “But here's the tricky part: How can you tell if you're working out of fear or compulsion when both feel like the will to achieve?”

The summer before his fourth year at McCormick, Skaruppa was slapped by the difference.

After completing an internship at 3M working with esteemed researcher Mark Strobel, Skaruppa was confident he’d be offered a job. Skaruppa was blindsided when Strobel did the opposite: telling him he should pursue anything other than chemical engineering, even though his work was strong enough to earn a patent. The reason? Strobel did not think Skaruppa was compelled to do the job and did not have the drive necessary to succeed.

“I spent the next few days in a spiral of rejection. Here was that fear of unworthiness realized,” Skaruppa said. “But deep down, I knew he was right. Mark did me a profound service by freeing me to search for what actually excited me, what actually pulled me forward.”

Learning what love means

It took a while, but Skaruppa eventually found that love in his current role as CFO of Duolingo, helping millions of people learn languages, music, chess, and math.

Skaruppa joined Duolingo right before the COVID-19 pandemic with the goal of helping the company go public. Although he initially felt fear and uncertainty, he soon experienced a surprising shift. For the first time, the anxious, doubting voice in his head grew quiet as he began to focus on his work.

As Duolingo’s first CFO, Skaruppa served as a translator between investors focused on profits and engineers dedicated to the product. His efforts helped the company grow while supporting millions of learners. When Duolingo completed its IPO, Skaruppa said he felt more than just professional success; he felt he had made a real difference.

“It’s what I imagine Taylor Swift feels when she’s on stage: this sense that you’re not just doing something you’re great at but that means something to someone else,” Skaruppa said, joking that his young daughters would appreciate the reference.

Though it took Skaruppa a long time to find that love in his work, there were traces of it in every chapter of his career:  when he was stressed about a synthesis project, or when he stayed up late alongside friends battling their own struggles and helping them find their way.

“That’s love,” Skaruppa said. “Using your gifts to truly serve others. The feeling when what you’re doing doesn’t chase you or just propel you forward: it fills you up.”