Digital Appendix
Lecture 01: Intros and Arguments

Appendix A: Graduation Speeches

As you're looking through these speeches, I wanted to draw you to a few that are my particular favorites. President Obama is by far the best speaker of our generation, and choosing a favorite commencement address by him is difficult; however, the Arizona State Address (2009) and Michigan Address (2010) top NPR's list of the greatest commencement addresses of all time, so I will agree that these two are the must-listens out of his many speeches.

For powerful speeches, I would recommend Steve Job's Stanford Address (2005), which has become legendary, but I'm not sure anything can top Oprah's Howard Address (2007) for truth, inspiration, and justice. Michelle Obama's Tuskegee Address (2015) is also soaring because she talks candidly and powerfully about race, identity, and success. Additionally, you can make it a Michelle Obama double feature and watch the First Lady truly inspire and shine as she talks to high schools, including MLK High School (2013) or King College Prep (2015).

If you are interested in humor and unexpected speeches, both of the speeches by Stephen Colbert, especially the Wake Forest Address (2015), are particularly funny. While it's certainly not laugh-out-loud funny, there's plenty of irony in David McCullough's Wellesley Address (2012, the most counter-intuitive graduation speech on the list. It's entitled "You Are Not Special." Strange, huh?

Any speech on this list below will serve well for the homework assignment from Lecture 1, but please feel free to take a closer look at any of the speeches I have spotlighted above.

President Barack Obama
@ U.S. Coastal Guard Academy (CT) 2015
Text | Video
@ West Point Military Academy (NY) 2014
Text | Video
@ Worcester High School (MA) 2014
Text | Video
@ U.C. Irvine (CA) 2014
Text | Video
@ Moorehouse College (GA) 2013
Text | Video
@ Ohio State University (OH) 2013
Text | Video
@ U.S. Naval Academy (MD) 2013
Text | Video
@ Barnard College (NY) 2012
Text | Video
@ Joplin High School (MO) 2012
Text | Video
@ U.S. Air Force Academy (CO) 2012
Text | Video
@ Booker T. Washintgon HS (TN) 2011
Text | Video
@ Miami Dade College (FL) 2011
Text | Video
@ U.S. Coastal Guard Academy (CT) 2011
Text | Video
@ Hampton University (VA) 2010
Text | Video
@ West Point Military Academy (NY) 2010
Text | Video
@ University of Michigan (MI) 2010
Text | Video
@ Kalamazoo High School (MI) 2010
Text | Video
@ U.S. Naval Academy (MD) 2009
Text | Video
@ Arizona State University (AZ) 2009
Text | Video
@ Norte Dame (IN) 2009
Text | Video
@ Wesleyan University (CT) 2008
Text | Video
@ Northwestern University (CHI) 2006
Text | Video

Bill Gates, CEO of Microsoft
@ Standford (CA) 2014
Text | Video
@ Harvard (MA) 2007
Text | Video

Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple
@ Stanford (CA) 2005
Text | Video

SpongeBob and Patrick, Voice Stars
@ University of Vermont (VT) 2012
Text | Video

Stephen Colbert, Comedian
@ Wake Forrest Univeresity (NC) 2015
Text | Video
@ Northwestern (CHI) 2011
Text | Video

Neil Gaiman, Writer
@ The University of the Arts (ENG) 2012
Text | Video

J.K. Rowling, Writer
@ Harvard (MA) 2008
Text | Video

Denzel Washington, Actor
@ Dillard University (LA) 2015
Text | Video
@ University of Pennsylvania (PA) 2011
Text | Video

Neil deGrasse Tyson, Astrophysicist
@ UMass Amherst (MA) 2015
Text | Video
@ Rice University (TX) 2013
Text | Video
@ Western New England U. (MA) 2012
Text | Video

David McCullough, Teacher
@ Wellesley High School (MA) 2012
Text |Video

More Graduation Speeches

If you would like to find any other commencement addresses to study, the best resource for classic graduation speeches is from NPR's database of "The Best Commencement Speeches, Ever," which includes 300 graduation speeches ranging hundreds of years. To browse the database, please Click here.

Educator Portfolio

Educator Portfolio

L1: Intros and Arguments

Educator Portfolio

Digital Appendix
Lecture 01: Intros and Arguments

Appendix A: Graduation Speeches

More Graduation Speeches