From left, Daveed Diggs speaks with SIS senior professorial lecturer Omékongo Dibinga during Spirit of Change Week. Photo by Julia Gibson, student affairs. 

When he was 18, Grammy and Tony Award winner Daveed Diggs thought he would have it all figured out by age 22.

At 22, the Oakland-born actor, writer, producer, and musician told an audience of American University students February 18, he moved it back to 25. At 25, he thought—surely—he’d have it made before 30 “because once you’re 30, it’s over.”

“I was 33 when we did Hamilton,” Diggs said at Washington College of Law’s Claudio Grossman Hall.

Diggs, who originated the characters Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in the award-winning Broadway musical, used his own path as an example for AU students that it’s OK to still be finding your way.  

“Things happen as they happen—life’s just not linear,” Diggs said. “Give yourself some grace. I think the less time you spend worrying about when something’s going to happen, the more you can be present, and it’ll probably make whatever you’re waiting for happen sooner.”

Diggs campus appearance headlined AU’s second Spirit of Change Week, a full slate of events planned by the Spirit and Traditions Board, a student-led group created to unite the campus community by celebrating AU’s mission and traditions. Delaney Denton, SPA/BA ’25, director of the Spirit and Traditions Board, said Diggs’ overall message to enjoy the process is one that resonated with AU students.

“We have a lot of people who are very ‘go, go go!’ and that’s something I love about AU,” Denton said. “But I also think as a community, sometimes we are very hard on ourselves. At least for me because of the chapter of life I’m in as a senior, it’s enjoying the process and being able to embrace going through the steps.”

During an hourlong conversation with School of International Service senior professorial lecturer Omékongo Dibinga, Diggs also shared about his background, the power of arts for “emotionally interpreting the times we live in,” and what he wished he had known when he was in college at Brown University.

“If I had to do it again—I should be in college right now—I would take a lot more advantage of the resources,” said Diggs, who majored in theatre arts and, among many other activities, broke a school record in the 110-meter hurdles on the track team. “I say to college students all the time there’s a lot of stuff that’s free for you. You’re paying for it, they already took that money, so you should use all of the things.”

Diggs also took questions from the audience and offered a glimpse into what he identified as the secret to finding success in arts—leaning into community.

“Everything I’ve ever done that’s worth anything has been with somebody I’ve known for a long time. I knew Lin [Manuel-Miranda], Tommy [Kail], and everybody who I worked on Hamilton with for a decade before we started working on Hamilton,” Diggs said. “My band [clipping.] is comprised of me and my best friend from when I was 9 years old…All we’re doing is creating community and the circles radiate out. The more eyes get on something, and the more people latch onto something you’ve made, the bigger the community gets, but the only way to create communities is to start small.”

After Diggs event, Spirit of Change Week celebrated Clawed Z Eagle’s birthday with food music, games, and Lego set giveaways on February 19. On February 20, Taste of the Nations, brought together students for a multicultural dinner with free food.

The week also included a screening of the Disney-Pixar flick Soul on February 21 and the Spirit of Change Gala at the School of International Service’s Abramson Family Founder Room on February 22.

At the end of the week, Spirit and Traditions Board leaders were taking down decorations at the gala when Alex Moskovitz, SPA/BA ’25, Kogod/MS ’26, deputy director of finance and operations, summed up the week in a conversation with Denton, the director.

“Spirit of Change Week might be over, but the spirit of change is always,” Moskovitz said.

“That speaks to what we want to do as an organization,” Denton said. “Spirit of Change Week is one amazing week out of the year, but as a campus, a big part of who we are is people who want to make the world a better place in some way, shape, or form.”