Commencement/Baccalaureate/Convocation Address / page 34

Condoleezza Rice
categories: Commencement/Baccalaureate/Convocation Address, Speeches
College of William & Mary Commencement Address - May 16, 2015
May 16, 2015
Thank you very, very much for that tremendous welcome and for this tremendous honor. It's quite something to be named in the same breath as Benjamin Franklin [laughter], and indeed I was the 66th secretary of state of the United States. The first, of course, was an alumnus of William & Mary – Thomas Jefferson. [cheers and applause] I want to thank my great friend and your chancellor, Bob Gates. I want to thank you, too, Bob, for your life of exemplary service to our country. I want to thank […]
Susan Collins
categories: Commencement/Baccalaureate/Convocation Address, Speeches
University of Maine at Augusta Commencement Address - May 9, 2015
May 9, 2015
As prepared for delivery. Thank you, President Cummings. Trustees, faculty and alumni, families, and friends, it is a pleasure to be with you today. Members of the Class of 2015, congratulations! You did it! Thank you for inviting me to be part of this very special moment in your lives. And to the University of Maine at Augusta—happy 50th birthday! From a modest start in 1965, UMA has grown to become the third-largest institution in the UMaine System. With campuses here in Augusta and in Bangor, and with University College […]
Madeleine K Albright
categories: Commencement/Baccalaureate/Convocation Address, Speeches
Tufts University Commencement Address - May 17, 2015
May 17, 2015
Madeleine Albright delivered the Commencement Address during the Phase I ceremony of Tufts University's 159th Commencement on Sunday, May 17, 2015. President Monaco, distinguished faculty and trustees, honored guests, most important people, members of the Class of 2015, families and friends: good morning. I want to begin by thanking Tufts very, very much for this honorary degree. And I know I speak for my fellow honorees in saying how grateful we all are, and I am so honored to be with all of them, because they are a remarkable group […]
Samantha Power
categories: Commencement/Baccalaureate/Convocation Address, Speeches
University of Pennsylvania Commencement Address - May 18, 2015
May 18, 2015
Thank you, Provost Price. President Gutmann, trustees, faculty, alumni, friends and family, and class of 2015 – has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? It is an indescribable privilege to share this remarkable day with you. Graduates, you made it! You’ve got your families and loved ones – people who have been in your corner for as long as you have been breathing – here to hail you. Some even up in the cheap seats. You’re surrounded by some of the greatest friends you will ever make – people […]
Michelle Obama
categories: Commencement/Baccalaureate/Convocation Address, Speeches
Santa Fe Indian School Commencement Address - May 26, 2016
May 26, 2016
Please, please, be seated. Good afternoon, everyone. It is beyond an honor and a pleasure to be with you all today. Of course, I want to start by thanking Hanna and Michael for their wonderful introduction. And I want to recognize all of the other outstanding student leaders who have graced us with their words today. I’m so proud of you all. I also want to thank the governors, the tribal leaders, elders, the board of trustees, along with the superintendent and your amazing principal, your teachers and staff. I […]
Jeanne Shaheen
categories: Commencement/Baccalaureate/Convocation Address, Speeches
Boston College Law School Commencement Address - May 27, 2016
May 27, 2016
Good morning, everyone. Father Leahy, Dean Rougeau, thank you for that very generous introduction. Faculty members, family and friends of the graduates, and members of the 2016 graduating class of Boston College Law School – congratulations to all of you. [applause] You can all relax – I'm not going to talk about the election. But I am so honored to be here to celebrate with you. Dean Rougeau mentioned that I used to work at that other Boston-area college, across the river. During my time there, I really came to […]
Michelle Obama
categories: Commencement/Baccalaureate/Convocation Address, Speeches
Remarks at Tuskegee University Commencement Address - May 9, 2015
May 9, 2016
Thank you all. (Applause.) Thank you so much. (Applause.) Let’s let our graduates rest themselves. You’ve worked hard for those seats! (Applause.) Let me start by thanking President Johnson for that very gracious introduction, and for awarding me with this honorary degree from an extraordinary institution. I am proud to have this degree -- very proud. (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you so much. (Applause.) I want to recognize Major General Williams; Congresswoman Sewell, Zachary [White], Kalauna [Carter], to all of the trustees, the faculty, the staff here at Tuskegee University. […]
Michelle Obama
categories: Commencement/Baccalaureate/Convocation Address, Speeches
City College of New York Commencement Address- June 3, 2016
June 3, 2016
Wow! (Applause.) Let me just take it in. First of all, it is beyond a pleasure and an honor to be here to celebrate the City College of New York Class of 2016! You all, I mean, this has been the most fun I think I’ve had at a commencement ever. (Applause.) Let me just say a few thank yous. Let me start, of course, by thanking President Coico for that wonderful introduction, for her leadership here at City College, for this honorary degree. I also want to recognize Senator […]
Elizabeth Warren
categories: Commencement/Baccalaureate/Convocation Address, Speeches
Suffolk University Commencement Address - May 22, 2016
May 22, 2016
Thank you. I am deeply honored to be here today and I am deeply humbled by this award. I appreciate the invitation to join you here today. Thank you, President McKenna, thank you. I can't think of a better place to be celebrating education than at Suffolk University, a school founded in 1996 for the best possible reason – a deep belief that because higher education matters, it should be available not just for the wealthy few but for everyone. Exactly right, Suffolk [clapping]. Exactly right. [applause] A hundred and […]
Samantha Power
categories: Commencement/Baccalaureate/Convocation Address, Speeches
Yale Class Day Address - May 22, 2016
May 22, 2016
Good afternoon, Class of 2016! For starters, I think I owe you an apology. I know what you were thinking. 2014: John Kerry. 2015: Joe Biden. Then 2016 rolls around, and your Class Day speaker still hasn’t been announced, and you start thinking – ok, Secretary of State, then Vice President…who else would follow naturally in the hierarchy … and then, boom! You get the U.S. Ambassador to what? [laughter] Biggest disappointment since they canceled Safety Dance. [laughter] Or, to get more specific, as one of your classmates summed it […]