As you were clapping it up for your friends, siblings, cousins, parents or yourself at graduation ceremonies this spring, celebs and public figures were also making their way to podiums locally and abroad. From Michelle Obama amping up Tuskegee Graduates down in Alabama to Zendaya getting her high school diploma to Lil Jon spreading wisdom to a room full of Oxford University students, here’s a roundup of all the speaking engagements during this commencement seasons.
Cam’Ron supported his bae JuJu as she graduated from college
A newly minted Dr. Kanye West snagged an honorary degree from the SAIC
SEE ALSO: How Kanye West Bagged An Honorary Doctorate Degree: A 7-Step Guide
Michelle Obama delivered a riveting sermon of sorts to the grads of Tuskegee University
Good luck to the new graduates of @TuskegeeUniversity! Trust yourselves to make your own mark on the world. #TuskegeeGrad A video posted by First Lady Michelle Obama (@michelleobama) on
“Graduates… I want you all to stay true to the most real, most sincere, most authentic parts of yourselves. I want you to ask those basic questions: Who do you want to be? What inspires you? How do you want to give back? And then I want you to take a deep breath and trust yourselves to chart your own course and make your mark on the world.”
Zendaya Coleman finally joined the high school graduates club
While it wasn’t a graduation, Lil Jon shared gems of knowledge at the prestigious Oxford University
#SQUAD THANK U AGAIN OXFORD UNIVERSITY FOR HAVING ME SPEAK TODAY!! #YEAHHHH @Oxford_Guild A photo posted by LIL JON (@liljon) on
“I think Obama’s done a great job,” he said. “It takes time to restore an old historic car — you can’t just do it overnight. That’s how I look at the administration that came before Obama. He put a new engine in it, he put some new rims, got a paint job. He’s criticized, and at the end of today it’s because he’s black. The numbers don’t lie — unemployment is down, Obamacare is a great thing. I think Hillary is about it for 2016.”
Chance The Rapper lectured some lucky Harvard students about music, business and social justice in Baltimore
“I think it’s really most important for everybody to be informed, to be connected to the situation. I always say like there’s an act—when to be a hand or to be a voice. You gotta know when your Twitter is stronger or your body actually marches. Sometimes it’s either/or, you know? But I don’t want to dance around saying this shit is wrong. I think we all know that.”
Morgan Freeman left Washington, D.C. with an honorary Humanities degree from Howard University
“In my movie career, I’ve been President of the United States, director of the CIA, prison inmate, Speaker of the House, friend of Batman, a Colonel, and God, but none of that would impress my grandmother as much as knowing that her grandson ended up with a doctorate of humanities from Howard University. It’s probably needless to say that I am honored beyond measure and I am really proud to be here among you. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for this honor.”
Denzel Washington (sans the tracksuit) delivered Dillard University’s commencement address
“Put God first in everything you do. Everything that I have is by the grace of God, understand that. It’s a gift. I didn’t always stick with him, but he stuck with me.”