Have you ever had a parent or loved one look at you askance, because of your degree in the arts? Maybe you’re a student who has yet to break the news to them. Well next time you’re feeling inferior because of your chosen artistic vocation, show the world this video of Cate Blanchett (beg your pardon, Dr. Cate Blanchett) getting her honorary doctorate degree at Macquarie University in Sydney. Sticking up for her fellow artists, Blanchett says:

The arts are what we stay alive for, what we work for all week, what we dream about, what connects us and indeed, what some will say makes us human. Within this broad church is housed a myriad of professions— professions which some of you will participate in, help change, shape and evolve and I’d like to say today that it is the arts that have always been the driver of innovation and exploration.

Blanchett goes on to detail her own eccentric educational background, which included flirtations with the field of economics, politics, architecture, and finance, before pursuing her passion for acting. Pausing briefly to comfort a crying child in the back of the room, Blanchett finishes strong by answering the question “What the hell can you do with an arts degree?” by saying, “What can the world do without one?”