Commencement/Baccalaureate/Convocation Address / page 3

Valerie Jarrett
categories: Commencement/Baccalaureate/Convocation Address, Speeches
Wellesley College Commencement Address - May 31, 2013
May 31, 2013
Good morning, everyone! Thank you for that generous introduction, President Bottomly, or should I say KBot, as I understand you are affectionately called by your students? I’d like to recognize the Board of Trustees, faculty, staff, and alums, all who have contributed to the extraordinary Wellesley experience.

To the parents, grandparents, family and friends, without whose support, and love, this day would not have been possible—congratulations to you all.

 And of course, to the Wellesley Class of 2013, this is your day, and we are so deeply proud of you, not […]
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
categories: Commencement/Baccalaureate/Convocation Address, Speeches
Wellesley College Commencement Address – May 29, 2015
May 29, 2015
Hello class of 2015. Congratulations! And thank you for that wonderful welcome. And thank you President Bottomly for that wonderful introduction. I have admired Wellesley—its mission, its story, its successes—for a long time and I thank you very much for inviting me. You are ridiculously lucky to be graduating from this bastion of excellence and on these beautiful acres. And if the goddesses and gods of the universe do the right thing, then you will also very soon be the proud alumnae of the college that produced America’s first female […]
Maura Healey
categories: Commencement/Baccalaureate/Convocation Address, Speeches
Boston University School of Law Convocation Address – May 15, 2021
May 15, 2021
Healey recorded this address for Boston University School of Law’s Virtual Convocation Ceremony in 2021. Thank you and congratulations to the class of 2021. I’m so thrilled and honored to be here, and I first want to thank your fabulous dean, Dean Onwuachi-Willig, for her tremendous leadership of this great institution. Thank you also to the faculty and the staff who made this day possible, for imparting their wisdom and service of others. Thank you also to the families, to your friends and siblings, for their support and encouragement. And […]
Maura Healey
categories: Commencement/Baccalaureate/Convocation Address, Speeches
Concord Academy Commencement Address – June 2, 2017
June 2, 2017
Good morning, CA. You all look amazing. Emma, thank you so much for that introduction, and it was an honor to meet you. I am inspired by you and by all of your classmates, and even those sophomores and juniors who are in the way, way back. Someday you'll be here. Thank you so much for the invitation to come and spend this morning with you. Thank you, Rick and Kim, for inviting me and this wonderful class of 2017. Emma, Mary – thank you for your words and you […]
Maura Healey
categories: Commencement/Baccalaureate/Convocation Address, Speeches
Northeastern University School of Law Commencement Address – May 22, 2015
May 22, 2015
Thank you so much, Dean Paul. Good afternoon everyone. It is so great to see all of you and especially to see all of you. I'm Maura Healy and I am proud to be your attorney general. But I'll tell you what – I am even prouder to be an alum of this great law school. And I mean that. To President Aoun, trustees, Dean Paul, faculty and staff, friends and family of this great Northeastern community – thank you so much for welcoming me back. And to you, the […]
Kamala Harris
categories: Commencement/Baccalaureate/Convocation Address, Speeches
U.S. Air Force Academy Commencement Address - May 30, 2024
May 30, 2024
Thank you. Thank you. [Applause.] Good morning. And congratulations to the cadets of Air Force Academy Class of 2024. [Applause and “ROY!”] To Secretary Frank Kendall, General Chance Saltzman, General David Allvin, Lieutenant General Richard Clark, and to all the friends and loved ones and sponsor families of these extraordinary graduates, thank you all for what you have done to support them in this journey. And, again, I applaud all that you have done every day. In 2020, as a United States senator, it was my privilege to nominate five […]
Jill Biden
categories: Commencement/Baccalaureate/Convocation Address, Speeches
Erie County Community College Commencement Address - June 1, 2024
June 1, 2024
Thank you, President Gray. And good morning – I am honored to be with all of you today. “You shouldn’t go to college.” That’s what my high school guidance counselor told me. I was crushed. His assessment was that I wasn’t college material. He said, “If you don’t really know what you want to do next, college just isn’t right for you. You shouldn’t waste your time.” My whole life, I wanted to go to college. And now the person who was supposed to guide me there was saying that […]
Maria Ressa
categories: Commencement/Baccalaureate/Convocation Address, Speeches
Commencement Address at Harvard University - May 23, 2024
May 23, 2024
Thank you, President Garber, and thank you, former President Gay, who called me last year to extend this offer. It's an incredible honor to address the distinguished Harvard faculty, the mysterious Harvard Corporation, and the loving friends and family who have traveled far and close to be here with you today. But wait, most of all, despite everything, because you worked really hard, I am so thrilled to congratulate the battle-tested graduates of the class of 2024. This was a harder speech to write than the Nobel lecture, you know, […]
Jen Psaki
categories: Commencement/Baccalaureate/Convocation Address, Speeches
Commencement Address at George Washington University - May 19, 2024
May 19, 2024
Hi, everyone! Thank you, President Granberg and thank you to Chair Speights, Provost Bracey, and all of the professors and faculty, the mentors, the guides, the parents, the grandparents, the siblings and friends who are here today. Everyone is standing on your shoulders as they're receiving their degrees. And to Council Member Gray and Jon Ledecky—I look forward to swapping with you the appropriate way to brag about our new degrees with our family members, so I'm looking forward to that after the ceremony. And most of all—congratulations to the […]
Lori Trahan
categories: Commencement/Baccalaureate/Convocation Address, Speeches
Commencement Address at Northern Essex Community College – May 18, 2024
May 18, 2024
Graduates, esteemed faculty, honored guests, and family: it is a privilege to be here at Northern Essex Community College for this year's commencement ceremony. Today is a day of celebration. It's a day to honor your tremendous accomplishments, your relentless perseverance, and your unmatched dedication to your studies and to yourselves. This moment is a culmination of years of hard work, sacrifice, and determination. You've dedicated countless early mornings spent in classrooms and late nights pouring over lessons, often while juggling jobs, kids, and the other commitments necessary to support […]