Who was your Commencement Speaker?

[Judge Smails]

With graduation season upon us, and wth Obama in the news with his issues speaking at ASU and Notre Dame, I was just wondering if anyone had a famous or interesting speaker at their college graduation. I saw Donald Trump speak at my brother-in-law's graduation from Lehigh University. I think it was Trump's alma mater and though I don't remember specifics of what he said I recall that he struck me as an excellent and inspiring public speaker.

As for my own graduation - I had none other than Captain Sisko of the Federation Space Station - Deep Space Nine, Mr. Avery Brooks. Of course this was 1991 so it was before he was on Deep Space Nine. He was still a Professor of Theatre Arts at my school - Rutgers. At the time he was just coming off of being on Spencer for Hire and its spin-off, A Man Called Hawk. I can't say that I remember anything that he said or that I actually even paid attention. I know that there were a bunch of us who were assholes and just kept screaming out "Hawk!" for most of the speech.

http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/8914/siskosta.jpg

[Drunky McBetidont]

With graduation season upon us, and wth Obama in the news with his issues speaking at ASU and Notre Dame, I was just wondering if anyone had a famous or interesting speaker at their college graduation. I saw Donald Trump speak at my brother-in-law's graduation from Lehigh University. I think it was Trump's alma mater and though I don't remember specifics of what he said I recall that he struck me as an excellent and inspiring public speaker.

As for my own graduation - I had none other than Captain Sisko of the Federation Space Station - Deep Space Nine, Mr. Avery Brooks. Of course this was 1991 so it was before he was on Deep Space Nine. He was still a Professor of Theatre Arts at my school - Rutgers. At the time he was just coming off of being on Spencer for Hire and its spin-off, A Man Called Hawk. I can't say that I remember anything that he said or that I actually even paid attention. I know that there were a bunch of us who were assholes and just kept screaming out "Hawk!" for most of the speech.

http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/8914/siskosta.jpg

cornel west

http://books.google.com/books?id=p89c2eTJgJgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:Cornel+inauthor:West

http://books.google.com/books?id=p89c2eTJgJgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:Cornel+inauthor:West

[boosterp]

I still have yet to attend a graduation (except military ones). Once I further my education through graduate level, I doubt I'll attend that graduation too.

[A.J.]

The then-President of the University of Notre Dame. The law school got the then-Attorney General.

I was hoping for Ed McMahon, Class of 1949.

[Tall_James]

The Supreme Protector of Child Molesting Priests in New England -

Archbishop Bernard Law

[drjoek]

George Plimpton. Very enjoyable

My wife had then President Ronald Reagen at Seton Hall.

[Enabler]

Ours was supposed to be Providence Mayor, Buddy Cianci....then the indictments came down and he went to jail.


http://kovixen.com/archives/26-cianci.jpg

[britneypablo]

<font color="deeppink"> Who Knows?! cant remember who for college or high school probably no one important


this is a good time for my brag that at my HS grad i played the class song on my violin (we put together a small band with a drummer, keyboard, guitar, bass, singer and of course a violinist) .....it was hard to write out a part considering the song chosen was R Kelly The World's Greatest....but somehow we made it rockout

[LordJezo]

Moesha's mom.

Not really sure what she talked about, or what anyone talked about up there that day. There were 1000s of people there and I just wanted to get to the liquor store.

[sailor]

i believe we had the religion editor of the new york times. ugh. a few years later they had the queen of ireland (or whatever leader those folk have).

[somebody66]

The commencement speaker we had at the school i went to was Ikmu Arsnobu....he ended up being a whack job, con artist.....haha my school was dumb here is a sample http://bit.ly/zL8si

[furie]

some local judge who was also an adjunct prof.\i don't remember her name

[DiabloSammich]

Ken Burns.


What a fucking bore.

[Tenbatsuzen]

Tim Russert.

[epo]

cornel west

http://books.google.com/books?id=p89c2eTJgJgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:Cornel+inauthor:West

http://books.google.com/books?id=p89c2eTJgJgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:Cornel+inauthor:West

Cornel rules. You win. Lock this shit up.

[MacVittie]

went to my sis's graduation this morning @ SUNY Geneseo. nobody spectacular. we did see J-Mac when we were finding out seats, though.

[SatCam]

I saw Jodie Foster speak at my sister's graduation (upenn 2006)

when I graduated high school my principal said a few words. I even got to shake his hand. This same man once gave me 6 consecutive detentions years before!!! good times

[DiabloSammich]

Tim Russert.



Before or after the heart attack?

[Stuft]

Before or after the heart attack?

Too soon :sad:

[LordJezo]

My friend just went to his chick's this week.

<object width="853" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/i5ZeIVPe5dg&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/i5ZeIVPe5dg&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="853" height="505"></embed></object>

A little better than mine.

[razorboy]

Mikhail Gorbachev. I found it enthralling.

[HBox]

Dr. Robert Ballard, the guy who discovered the Titanic and the Lusitania, spoke at mine. It was pretty cool. The only decent thing about my awful disaster filled graduation. In retrospect I was lucky. The university had instituted a policy starting the year I was to graduate that you had to have all your credits to take part in the ceremony. I had to take a couple classes that summer to finish up so I had to wait an entire year until the next spring to take part in the ceremony. If I had took part in the ceremony the year I was supposed to it would have been some stupid retiring university president that no one cared about.

[Melk]

I had African American poet, Gwendolyn Brooks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwendolyn_Brooks), at mine. It was made even more uncomfortable when a professor of mine introduced me to her following the commencement and decided to recount how I completely botched an interpretation of one of her poems in a class because I neglected to read its publication date.

[Gvac]

Although I attended college 3 different times in my life, I never graduated.

From what I've read here, I'm glad.

[drjoek]

Sister Dorothea Collins spoke at St Thomas Roman Catholic Elementary School June 1974.
She told us she had tried her best for 8 years and in a few cases 9 years and we knew who she was talking about there. She told us that many of us would never amount to anything because we didnt listen and our penmanship was atrocious.

Many if not all the thing she had tried her level headed best to teach us would come back to haunt us for not listening and taking good notes. Of the many times that she had to call our parents it was only as a last resort because she was at the end of her rope with some of us, besides our parents needed to know what a disturbing influence can be on the few students who were more desperate to learn then a few who only wanted to be there to have a good time in the back of the class, again we knew we were when she told us this. She told us that yes we would need the things that were being taught to us when we werent paying attention. We would be asked for proper spelling and how to diagram a sentence and since we werent paying attention we would be in a world of trouble

She encouraged us to sit up straight, stop with the back talk and go to Mass every Sunday and Holy Days and to take communion. And it would do us good to get to confession because the Holy Spirit was desperately needed in many of our lives. She explained that the world was not a fair place and it would be very long hard trip if we didnt learn to straigten up and fly right.
I have lived my life the last 35 years to emulate the wisdom imparted on me
Thank you Sister Collins

[KatPw]

I didn't attend either of my college graduations, and I cannot remember who spoke at my pinning ceremony (probably a random congressman).

[WampusCrandle]

I went to see friends graduate yesterday at Fordham -Tom Brokaw and Mr. Bloomberg.

[ToiletCrusher]

Didn't go and don't know.

[silks]

I don't remember. It was a long time ago and I ate a bunch of pills that day. I went to art school, so it couldn't have been anybody important.

[DonInNC]

Can't remember mine, but Bill Cowher spoke at my son's graduation from NC State back in the winter.

[ANC]

We had Jim Ryan (formerly of Good Day NY) speak at our graduation back in ought-1.

http://www.orwellrollsinhisgrave.com/images/cast/cast_clip_image039.jpg

I think him and Rudy Guliani were the biggest graduates my school ever had...

[weekapaugjz]

I graduated from Lehigh in 2004 and had kurt vonnegut. It was awesome in that he is one of my all time favorite writers. He died shortly after that so it was pretty incredible to hear him speak.

[EliSnow]

Our speaker was Sargent Schriver. He opened up his speech letting us know that his son-in-law was not there with him.

[Jujubees2]

I went to see friends graduate yesterday at Fordham -Tom Brokaw and Mr. Bloomberg.

Hey, I was there too. Did you get hit with the rain just before the procession started?

Oh, and to answer the question I have no idea who it was. All I remember was that he was a Tampa grad who was a producer for 20/20 (or one of those type tv shows).

[FunkyDrummer]

http://www.simplymoving.ca/images/i170_dean_kamen.jpg

[landarch]

Trent Lott

It was Ole Miss in 1998. It was quite an honor.

[Suspect Chin]

John McCain

Columbia University 2006

An interesting choice for such a liberal university--trust me, they protested. His daughter was graduating the same year.

[Coach]

Susan Sarandon...she was booed pretty much for her entire speech back in 93.

[drusilla]

for high school we got the second mom from the fresh prince of bel aire. it was the worst speech ever & went on for about 45 minutes. that lady loves herself.

for college we got no one cause i went to hofstra & they suck

for grad school we had desmond tutu & pete seger. it was awesome. seger brought his guitar & we all sang turn turn turn. one of my favorite memories.

[Gvac]

for grad school we had desmond tutu & pete seger. it was awesome. seger brought his guitar & we all sang turn turn turn. one of my favorite memories.

Did you smoke pot too you damn commie hippies?

[drusilla]

what else would you expect from columbia?

[Gvac]

what else would you expect from columbia?

Awesome.

[Dell]

Prince Charles... graduate school... but it was William and Mary

[Gvac]

Prince Charles... graduate school... but it was William and Mary

Elitist snob.

[Suspect Chin]

what else would you expect from columbia?


I don't know...they brought in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a few times while I was there.

[razorboy]

Too soon :sad:

It's never too soon.