--- title: 2017 Commencement Speeches: Watch the Best Highlights description: This year, everyone from celebrities to politicians did their best to deliver the graduating classes of 2017 sage advice — and even a serenade canonical: https://time.com/4812978/2017-commencement-graduation-speeches/ author: Catherine Trautwein article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-06-09T17:47:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T05:21:40.702Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Watch the Best Commencement Speeches of 2017 og:description: This year's graduation speeches included sage advice and even serenades og:url: https://time.com/4812978/2017-commencement-graduation-speeches/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf589197a392ba5cb/6988d0a97cdbac58f3d58ab3/gettyimages-688717528.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Hillary-Clinton-Delivers-Commencement-Address og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch the Best Commencement Speeches of 2017 twitter:description: This year's graduation speeches included sage advice and even serenades twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf589197a392ba5cb/6988d0a97cdbac58f3d58ab3/gettyimages-688717528.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch the Best Commencement Speeches of 2017 by [Catherine Trautwein](https://time.com/author/catherine-trautwein/) ## Catherine Trautwein Jun 9, 2017 5:47 PM UTC  WELLESLEY, MA - MAY 26: Hillary Clinton listens during commencement at Wellesley College May 26, 2017 in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Clinton graduated from Wellesley College in 1969\. (Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images) WELLESLEY, MA - MAY 26: Hillary Clinton listens during commencement at Wellesley College May 26, 2017 in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Clinton graduated from Wellesley College in 1969\. (Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images)Darren McColleste—Getty by [Catherine Trautwein](https://time.com/author/catherine-trautwein/) ## Catherine Trautwein Jun 9, 2017 5:47 PM UTC Before college seniors toss their caps in the air at graduation, they’re often counseled about the future through the time-honored tradition of [commencement speeches](http://time.com/4782382/donald-trump-coast-guard-commencement-graduation-speech/). This year, everyone from [celebrities](http://time.com/4787472/oprah-winfrey-skidmore-college-commencement-speech/) to [politic](http://time.com/4779661/senator-cory-booker-new-jersey-university-of-pennsylvania-upenn/)[i](http://time.com/4779661/senator-cory-booker-new-jersey-university-of-pennsylvania-upenn/)[ans](http://time.com/4779661/senator-cory-booker-new-jersey-university-of-pennsylvania-upenn/) — including the [President of the United States](http://time.com/4778240/donald-trump-liberty-university-speech-transcript/) — did their best to deliver the graduating classes of 2017 sage advice and practical life tips in a variety of stirring and thought-provoking commencement addresses. [Will Ferrell](http://time.com/4778049/will-ferrell-usc-commencement-song/) even serenaded USC seniors with his rendition of the Whitney Houston classic, “I Will Always Love You.” Many speeches touched on themes such as diversity, persistence, and service. Some, unsurprisingly, included nods to politics. “Don’t let anyone tell you your voice doesn’t matter. In the years to come, there will be trolls galore — online and in person — eager to tell you that you don’t have anything worthwhile to say or anything meaningful to contribute,” [Hillary Clinton](http://time.com/4796240/hillary-clinton-wellesley-speech/) said in her address at Wellesley College. “They may even call you a ‘nasty woman.'” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4812978/2017-commencement-graduation-speeches/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4812978/2017-commencement-graduation-speeches/"},"headline":"Watch the Best Commencement Speeches of 2017","datePublished":"2017-06-09T17:47:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T05:21:40.702Z","description":"This year's graduation speeches included sage advice and even serenades","url":"https://time.com/4812978/2017-commencement-graduation-speeches/","keywords":["Education","graduation","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf589197a392ba5cb/6988d0a97cdbac58f3d58ab3/gettyimages-688717528.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Catherine Trautwein","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/catherine-trautwein/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf589197a392ba5cb/6988d0a97cdbac58f3d58ab3/gettyimages-688717528.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Hillary-Clinton-Delivers-Commencement-Address","caption":"Hillary Clinton Delivers Commencement Address At Wellesley College","creditText":"Darren McColleste—Getty","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/education/","name":"Education"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4812978/2017-commencement-graduation-speeches/","name":"Watch the Best Commencement Speeches of 2017"}}]}] ```