As if graduation day wasn't moving enough, students get to listen to words of wisdom and encouragement from inspiring school, industry, and community leaders. Some of those leaders are just a little more well known than others. Like, say, the President of the United States. NBD.
List produced by the Facts
Gabrielle Giffords and Mark Kelly, Former Congresswoman and Retired Space Shuttle Commander: Bard College (Annandale on Hudson, NY)
Tammy Baldwin, U.S. Senator: Beloit College (Beloit, WI)
Annie Lennox, Singer: Berklee College of Music (Boston, MA)
Jeff Hoffman, Priceline Founder: Bradley University (Peoria, IL)
Rick Hodes, Physician and Author: Brandeis University (Waltham, MA)
John Green, Author: Butler University (Indianapolis, IN)
Patrick Doyle, CEO of Domino's Pizza: Central Michigan University (Mount Pleasant, MI)
Byron Pitts, CBS Journalist: Clark College (Vancouver, WA)
Duncan Niederauer, CEO of NYSE Euronext: Colgate University (Hamilton, NY)
Anne Fadiman, Author and Essayist: College of the Holy Cross (Worcester, MA)
Yes, connect me!
Howard Gordon, Writer and Co-creator of the TV Series 'Homeland': Connecticut College (New London, CT)
Charles Frank Bolden, Head of NASA: Delaware State University (Dover, DE)
Melinda Gates, Philanthropist: Duke University (Durham, NC)
Yes, connect me!
Brian Williams, New Anchor: Elon University (Elon, NC)
Yes, connect me!
Debbie Allen, Actress, Choreographer, Dancer: Emerson College (Boston, MA)
Yes, connect me!
Max Mutchnick, Television Producer: Emerson College (Boston, MA)
Yes, connect me!
Rita Dove, Poet and Author: Emory University (Atlanta, GA)
Thomas Tull, Batman Executive Producer: Hamilton College (Clinton, NY)
Deepak Chopra, Author: Hartwick College (Oneonta, NY)
Yes, connect me!
Oprah Winfrey, Entrepreneur, Talk Show Host: Harvard University (Cambridge, MA)
Yes, connect me!
Bill Clinton, 42nd U.S. President: Howard University (Washington, DC)
Ed Helms, Actor and Comedian: Knox College (Galesburg, IL)
Martin Sheen, Actor: La Roche College (Pittsburgh, PA)
Yes, connect me!
David McCullough, Writer: Lesley University (Cambridge, MA)
Tom Brokaw, TV Journalist and Anchor: Loyola University New Orleans (New Orleans, LA)
Carl Bernstein, Watergate-era Reporter: Marietta College (Marietta, OH)
Drew Houston, CEO of Dropbox: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA)
Jonathan Safran Foer, Writer: Middlebury College (Middlebury, VT)
Barack Obama, 44th U.S. President: Morehouse College (Atlanta, GA)
Terry Bradshaw, Pro Footbal Hall of Famer: New England Institute of Technology (East Greenwich, RI)
Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank: Northeastern University (Boston, MA)
Yes, connect me!
Mikhail Baryshnikov, Ballet Dancer: Northwestern University (Evanston, IL)
Barack Obama, 44th U.S. President: Ohio State University — Columbus (Columbus, OH)
Yes, connect me!
Andy Alexander, Journalist: Ohio University (Athens, OH)
Yes, connect me!
Carson Kressley, Fashion Celebrity: Philadelphia University (Philadelphia, PA)
Neil deGrasse Tyson, Astrophysicist: Rice University (Houston, TX)
Nate Silvers, New York Times statistician: Ripon College (Ripon, WI)
Alex Kipman, Primary Inventor of Kinect for Xbox : Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY)
Yes, connect me!
Mark Shields, Political Analyst: Saint Michael's College (Colchester, VT)
Yes, connect me!
Ruth Markowitz, Entrepreneur: Scripps College (Claremont, CA)
Arriana Huffington, Political Journalist and Author: Smith College (Northampton, MA)
Michael Bloomberg, New York City Mayor (Class Day): Stanford University (Stanford, CA)
Yes, connect me!
Nicolas Kristof, New York Times columnist: Syracuse University (Syracuse, NY)
Hamdi Ulukaya, CEO of Chobani Inc.: The Sage Colleges (Troy, NY)
Sanya Richards-Ross, 2012 Gold Medial Olympic Sprinter: The University of Texas at Austin (Austin, TX)
Liz Murray, Author, "From Homeless to Harvard": The University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT)
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Spiritual Leader of Tibet: Tulane University (New Orleans, LA)
Julie Andrews, Actress: University of Colorado, Denver (Denver, CO)
Shahid Khan, Entrepreneur: University of Illinois at Chicago (Chicago, IL)
Lawrence Bender, Movie Producer: University of Maine (Orono, ME)
Yes, connect me!
Cal Ripken, Baseball Legend: University of Maryland, College Park (College Park, MD)
Richard (Dick) Costolo, Twitter CEO: University of Michigan — Ann Arbor (Ann Arbor, MI)
Al Franken, U.S. Senator: University of Minnesota — Morris (Morris, MN)
Steve Case, Co-founder of AOL: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC)
Norman Anderson, American Psychological Assoc.: University of North Carolina at Greensboro (Greensboro, NC)
Joe Biden, U.S. Vice President: University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA)
Wynton Marsalis, Jazz and Classical Musician: University of Vermont (Burlington, VT)
Yes, connect me!
Steven Colbert, Author and TV Host (Valediction Speaker): University of Virginia (Charlottesville, VA)
Walter Robb, Businessman Whole Foods Co-CEO: University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA)
Yes, connect me!
Charlie Denson, Nike Brand President: Utah State University (Logan, UT)
Toni Morisson, Author (Senior Day): Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN)
Yes, connect me!
William Staples, Motivational Speaker: Warren County Community College (Washington, NJ)
Joss Whedon, Writer & Director (Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Avengers): Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT)
Robert Redford, Actor: Westminster College (Salt Lake City, UT)
Yes, connect me!
Maria Shriver, Journalist and Author: Wheelock College (Boston, MA)
Cory Booker, Newark Mayor (Class Day): Yale University (New Haven, CT)
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Source: Used with permission from Commencement Graduation Wisdom . View the original list here .
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