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.
This year, everyone from celebrities to politicians — including the President of the United States — 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 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 said in her address at Wellesley College. “They may even call you a ‘nasty woman.'”
- How to Help Victims of the Texas School Shooting
- TIME's 100 Most Influential People of 2022
- What the Buffalo Tragedy Has to Do With the Effort to Overturn Roe
- Column: The U.S. Failed Miserably on COVID-19. Canada Shows It Didn't Have to Be That Way
- N.Y. Will Soon Require Businesses to Post Salaries in Job Listings. Here's What Happened When Colorado Did It
- The 46 Most Anticipated Movies of Summer 2022
- ‘We Are in a Moment of Reckoning.’ Amanda Nguyen on Taking the Fight for Sexual Violence Survivors to the U.N.