Despite what some may say, graduation is about more than just wearing a cap and gown and taking home a piece of paper. Getting the chance to let your family and friends witness the result of four years worth of hard work is exhilarating as you begin your adventure into the real world. Add to that the often inspiring and heartwarming speeches during the ceremony, and you’ve got memories to last a lifetime. Her Campus is here to clue you in on the ten most interesting commencement speakers of 2012. Is there still time to transfer schools?
Barnard College – Barack Obama
This all-women’s school is lucky enough to see President Obama’s name on their programs as commencement speaker this year. There have been questions raised about whether or not this was purely a political move in a time when women’s rights is taking center stage in the upcoming election, since New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson had been previously scheduled to deliver the address. Nevertheless the President, a former Columbia grad, will return to his roots as he delivers Barnard’s keynote address on Columbia University’s South Lawn.
Oregon State University – Michelle Obama
The President’s lovely wife will be speaking at Oregon State University this June, the same school where her brother coaches the men’s basketball team. The White House has said that besides the family connection the FLOTUS was drawn to OSU because of “their efforts to promote healthy communities by organizing large-scale food donation drives.” She has worked tirelessly to raise awareness on childhood obesity, and is regularly heard speaking about the importance of healthy eating.
Smith College – Jane Lynch
Who wouldn’t want Sue Sylvester up on the podium during their graduation ceremony? This Glee superstar is known for her quick wit and aggressive tactics onscreen, and is just as fiery in real life, as evidenced by her lively performance as host of last year’s Emmy’s. Not only is any speech delivered by Lynch guaranteed to be hilarious, but her A-list status is sure to fill seats and the campus reportedly went crazy when they found out they would be getting Lynch on their big day.
Rochester Institute of Technology – Bill Nye the Science Guy
As the generation that grew up with Bill Nye the Science Guy, it’s hard not to be a little jealous of RIT’s lucky pick. He’s already been on the campus in 2008 for a Distinguished Speakers Series, so students can welcome back their favorite television science teacher with open arms.
Babson College – Founding President and CEO of the Nike Foundation Maria Eitel and LinkedIn Executive Chairman Reid Hoffman
Eitel and Hoffman will be speaking at both undergraduate and graduate ceremonies at Babson over a course of two days in Massachusetts. Graduates will also receive a copy of Hoffman’s most recent book, The Start-Up of You, on how to build a career from Silicon Valley’s most successful engineers. Hoffman is known for his strong feelings on the importance of entrepreneurship and technology, and is actively involved in multiple start-ups. Eitel has long advocated a message of girl power and the amazing things that women can achieve when given the opportunity.
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Princeton University – Steve Carell
The funnyman of 40-Year-Old Virgin, The Office, and Crazy, Stupid, Love will be entertaining the audience of Princeton at this year’s Class Day. A 1984 graduate of Denison University, Carell has said “Nothing to me feels as good as laughing incredibly hard.” And if Carell’s speech is going to be anything like an old SNL skit where he was the commencement speaker, the audience won’t be disappointed.
University of Virginia – Katie Couric
An alumna from the class of 1979, Couric will return to her old stomping ground to deliver her commencement address 33 years later. The famous journalist served as an associate editor of the school’s newspaper, and graduated with honors from UVA, a sure sign of good things to come.
University of Michigan – Dr. Sanjay Gupta
Former UM grad Dr. Sanjay Gupta is an inspiration to all students who desire a healthy career– he’s CNN’s chief medical correspondent, a practicing neurosurgeon in Georgia, and has released three books about medicine. And Gupta is no stranger to his former university; he also delivered the commencement speech for medical school graduates in 2009.
Becker College – Twitter Co-Creator Dom Sagolla
It seems almost too fitting to be given a speech by one of the guys who helped our generation become obsessed with forming our everyday musings into 140 characters. He attended Swathmore College and went on to get his master’s in education from Harvard University in 2000. He’s responsible for the book 140 Characters: a Style Guide for the Short Form, which deals with the excess of information we get from the Internet and how to use social media to your best ability. Here’s hoping he gives those graduates a few pointers on what to include and not include on your Twitter feed.
Who’s speaking at your university’s commencement this year? Leave a comment!