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Speech

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Your life is your story. And the adventure ahead of you is the journey to fulfill your own purpose and potential.

George Washington University alumnae (B.A. ’98), American actress Kerry Washington delivered the commencement address at the National Mall in Washington D.C to a large crowd of graduating students and their loved ones. She spoke about Joseph Campbell’s Hero Journey, heeding the call, leaving your comfort zone, living and telling your own stories cos the world needs your voice.

She implored the graduates to go beyond their comfort zones, live and tell their own stories.

Your education is a dress rehearsal for a life that is yours to lead.

American journalist and Filmmaker Nora Ephron, a 1962 alumnae of Wellesley College, delivered the commencement address to the graduating 1996 class.

It will be a little messy, but embrace the mess. It will be complicated, but rejoice in the complications. It will not be anything like what you think it will be like, but surprises are good for you. And don’t be frightened: you can always change your mind.

So throughout this journey, I have learned to block everything out and focus on my truth.  I had to answer some basic questions for myself:  Who am I?  No, really, who am I?  What do I care about? 

The former first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama delivered the commencement address at the 2015 Tuskegee University graduating ceremony in Alabama. She delivered a powerful speech about racial discrimination and the pressure of being the first black first lady of the United States of America.

I have learned that as long as I hold fast to my beliefs and values — and follow my own moral compass — then the only expectations I need to live up to are my own.

American businesswoman and Information Technology Executive Marissa Mayer who was Google’s employer #20 and former spokeswoman. She served as president and chief executive officer of Yahoo!, from 2012 to 2017. She delivered the speech while she was Google’s Vice President of Search Products and User Experience.

She delivered the commencement speech at Illinois Institute of Technology’s 2009 ceremony on Saturday, May 16, on IIT’s Main Campus.

Financial journalist and American author Michael Lewis delivered his “Don’t Eat Fortune’s Cookie” speech at the 2012 Princeton Baccalaureate graduation event. Lewis is a member of Princeton’s Class of 1982. He is the author of Liar’s Poker (1989), Moneyball (2003), The Blind Side (2006), and The Big Short (2010).

Micheal Lewis’ Princeton University’s 2012 Commencement Speech Transcript

Fearlessness means taking the first step, even if you don’t know where it will take you. It means being driven by a higher purpose, rather than by applause. It means knowing that you reveal your character when you stand apart, more than when you stand with the crowd.

Apple CEO Tim Cook, a Duke Fuqua alumnus delivered the commencement address to the graduating Class of 2018. Tim implored the students to be fearless, courageous, and to be the change they want to be in the world.

Tim Cook’s 2018 Duke University Commencement Speech Transcript:

A sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. – Arthur C. Clark 

On Friday, June 15, 2012, Serial Entrepreneur (SpaceX, Paypal, Tesla, Solarcity) Elon Musk delivered the Commencement Speech titled: “Magicians of the 21st Century” to the graduating 2012 class of California Institute of Technology.

Elon Musk’s Caltech Commencement Speech Transcript:

Dreams are lovely. But they are just dreams. Fleeting, ephemeral, pretty. But dreams do not come true just because you dream them. It’s hard work that makes things happen. It’s hard work that creates change.”

Shonda Rhimes, creator, writer, and producer of the ABC hits Scandal, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice and How to Get Away with Murder. Shonda signed an exclusive multi-year development deal with Netflix, under which all of her future productions will be Original series.  Her first Netflix show Bridgerton was an instant hit, it became the most-watched series on Netflix at the time of its premiere, and remains the second most-watched series by total watch time on the platform. 1

In her speech, Shonda describes the difference between Dreaming and Doing, the power of trade-offs, having a bias for action and relentlessly pursing your goals. She writes about the 2014 Dartmouth College Commencement speech in her 2016 Book – Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person.

With three children at home and three hit television shows, it was easy for Shonda to say she was simply too busy. But in truth, she was also afraid. And then, over Thanksgiving dinner, her sister muttered something that was both a wake up and a call to arms: You never say yes to anything. Shonda knew she had to embrace the challenge: for one year, she would say YES to everything that scared her.

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don’t.

 American Columnist and Pulitzer Prize winner Mary Schmich originally wrote the “Wear Sunscreen” hypothetical commencement speech as an essay published in the Chicago Tribune in June 1997. It was initially written as a column titled “Advice, Like Youth, Probably Just Wasted on the Young,” The essay is often misattributed as a commencement speech given by author Kurt Vonnegut at MIT.

In the essay, Schmich implored anyone over 26 years to write their own “Guide to life for graduates“. The essay was the inspiration for the spoken word song by Australian film director Baz Luhrmann’s Everybody’s Free To Wear Sunscreen.