WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — In her first public appearance since being fired from The New York Times, Jill Abramson focused on resilience during personal setbacks. 
 
 Abramson, who was dismissed Wednesday as the paper’s executive editor, opened her commencement address at Wake Forest University by recounting a conversation she had with her sister the morning after her firing. Her sister, she said, reminded her of a key piece of advice from their father that Abramson then passed on to the graduates: “You know the sting of losing or not getting something you badly want. When that happens show what you are made of,” she said. 
 
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 reset Jill Abramson delivers Wake Forest commencement address 
 
 Abramson’s remarks were watched with intense interest throughout the media world to see how she would handle the subject of her dismissal. She did not serve up any specifics regarding the circumstances of her ouster, though she spoke openly about getting fired and her uncertainty about what will come next. 
 
 (Also on POLITICO: Abramson's 10 best lines) 
 
 She cited Anita Hill as someone who turned humiliation into power, bringing up David Brock’s quote from his book “Blinded by the Right” that he was able to make Hill seem “a little bit nutty and a little bit slutty.” 
 
 “Anita was one of many people who wrote to me last week to tell me they are proud of me,” said Abramson, who along with Jane Mayer co-authored “Strange Justice: The Selling of Clarence Thomas,” a look at the confirmation hearings that vaulted Hill into the national spotlight. “Those messages are so appreciated.” 
 
 Abramson also referenced being “dumped” and “not getting the job you want.” 
 
 “Some students asked me, ‘Are you going to get that Times tattoo on your back removed,’” Abramson added later, referring to the “T” Magazine logo she has tattooed on her back. “Not a chance.” 
 
 But she also sought to deflect attention from her own news, focusing instead on the 1,880 Wake Forest graduates. 
 
 (On POLITICO Magazine: Editing while female) 
 
 “I think the only real news here today is your graduation from this great university,” she said to laughter at the top of her remarks. “First of all, congratulations.” 
 
 “I’m impressed that your achievements have attracted so much media attention,” she added, later saying that “the little media circus” that’s been following her made her question delivering the address. She decided to go through with it, she said, to honor the graduates. 
 
 Speaking of the Times, Abramson commended the paper’s journalism and said it was “the honor of my life to lead the newsroom.” 
 
 She also discussed her own future: “What’s next for me? I don’t know,” she said. “So I’m in exactly the same boat as many of you. And like you I’m a little scared but also a little excited.” 
 
 Abramson was introduced by Bloomberg News’ Al Hunt, a Wake Forest alumni and one of Abramson’s mentors from their time together at the Wall Street Journal, who called The New York Times the “gold standard of American journalism.” 
 
 The Times “shines brighter than ever,” Hunt said. “She leaves it better, stronger, more vibrant than ever.” 
 
 (Also on POLITICO: New details on Abramson firing) 
 
 “It is said she can be tough, no nonsense, even pushy in her passionate commitment to truth, no matter rank of party,” Hunt said. “That’s what makes a great editor.” 
 
 “Smart, supportive, relentless, she is absolutely fearless,” he said. 
 
 Abramson’s address was the subject of heavy media intention on Monday. The speech was covered live by MSNBC and streamed online by NBC News and CBS News. 
 
 The speech elicited a standing ovation from the audience at Wake Forest and was well received by media watchers elsewhere. 
 
 MSNBC’s Chuck Todd said on his show “The Daily Rundown” that Abramson’s theme of resiliency is something that will resonate with many people. 
 
 (Also on POLITICO: The boys on the bus are back) 
 
 “So kudos to Miss Abramson for what I think is a terrific theme to be talking about with the spotlight on her the way it is right now,” Todd said. 
 
 CNN’s Christiane Amanpour tweeted “Bravo, Jill Abramson. With dignity, humor and feeling you showed Wake Forest grads how to adopt resilience in face of ‘soul-scorching loss.’” 
 
 Her remarks Monday were her first in the five days since the announcement of her abrupt departure from the Times, which came after longstanding internal frustrations with her management style. Abramson was also scheduled to receive an honorary degree from Brandeis University on Sunday, but backed out after her firing, telling the Associated Press it’s “not my year to be there.” ||||| Jill Abramson, former New York Times editor, speaks at Wake Forest University 
 
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 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - In her first public appearance since her dismissal from The New York Times, former executive editor Jill Abramson compared herself to a new college graduate: "scared but also a little excited." 
 
 "What's next for me? I don't know. So I'm in exactly the same boat as many of you," Abramson told the Class of 2014 at Wake Forest University's graduation ceremony Monday morning. The audience replied with laughter and applause. 
 
 The Times announced last week that Abramson was being replaced by managing editor Dean Baquet. Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. has denied reports that Abramson's dismissal had to do with complaints over unequal pay or the company's treatment of women. Instead, he cited Abramson's newsroom management style. 
 
 In her speech, Abramson talked briefly about her time at the helm of The New York Times but did not directly address her dismissal. She said that she didn't want the "media circus" following her to take attention away from the graduates. 
 
 "It was the honor of my life to lead the newsroom," she said, citing the risks Times journalists take to report the news. 
 
 "Sure, losing a job you love hurts, but the work I revere — journalism that holds powerful institutions and people accountable — is what makes our democracy so resilient. This is the work I will remain very much a part of." 
 
 Abramson said students had asked her whether she'd remove her tattoo of The Times' 'T.' 
 
 "Not a chance!" she said. 
 
 Abramson also invoked the memory of her father, who said it meant more to him that she and her siblings dealt with their setbacks than their success. She encouraged graduates to show people what they're made of when they feel the sting of losses.
– Now that she's out at the New York Times, will Jill Abramson remove the tattooed logo of its "T" from her back? "Not a chance," she told students during a Wake Forest University commencement speech, which, Politico notes, was her first public appearance since her firing. "It was the honor of my life to lead the newsroom," she said. While she didn't offer details of her departure, she did use it as a model for graduate inspiration. "What’s next for me? I don’t know,” she said. "So I’m in exactly the same boat as many of you. And like you, I’m a little scared but also a little excited." As to that future, Abramson said she'd remain "very much a part of" journalism, Newsday reports. She also offered some advice from her father: "You know the sting of losing or not getting something you badly want. When that happens, show what you are made of."