At the heart of an amazing commencement speech is the speaker’s ability to captivate an audience with an empowering message. A message that not only inspires new graduates to embrace their next chapter–the joys, opportunities, challenges and setbacks, but also includes the presenter’s life experiences that lead to successful life.
[Related: First Lady Obama to Travel to Japan and Cambodia to Promote Girls Education]
Given graduation season is right around the corner, the timing couldn’t better to reflect on some of the best commencement speeches by some of our leading ladies in Government, Film, Education and Entertainment.
First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama — 2011,Dillard University “On Writing Your Own Chapter
First Lady Michelle Obama challenged graduates to write their own chapter into the Dillard University legacy.
“This is your obligation,†Obama said. “I want you to keep reaching higher. I want you all to keep raising your bars, let the next generation know that there is no greater investment than a good education.â€
Shonda Rhimes — 2014, Dartmouth College “On Having It All†“The leading lady behind “Thank God It’s Thursday,” the prime time television programming block on the ABC network, dropped nuggets of wisdom throughout this 24 minute commencement speech.
“Forget About “Having It All” Because Perfection is Impossible.
If I am accepting a prestigious award, I am missing my baby’s first swim lesson. If I am at my daughter’s debut in her school musical, I am missing Sandra Oh’s last scene ever being filmed at Grey’s Anatomy. If I am succeeding at one, I am inevitably failing at the other. That is the tradeoff. That is the Faustian bargain one makes with the devil that comes with being a powerful working woman who is also a powerful mother. You never feel a hundred percent OK; you never get your sea legs; you are always a little nauseous. Something is always lost.”
Oprah Winfrey — 2013 Harvard  “On Failure â€
For an awe-inspiring 30 minutes, the media mogul advised new graduates on failure, success and happiness.
“It doesn’t matter how far you might rise. At some point, you are bound to stumble. If you’re constantly pushing yourself higher and higher, the law of averages predicts that you will at some point fall. And when you do, I want you to remember this: There is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us in another direction. Now, when you’re down there in the hole, it looks like failure. When that moment comes, it’s okay to feel bad for a little while. Give yourself time to mourn what you think you may have lost. But then, here’s the key: Learn from every mistake, because every experience, particularly your mistakes, are there to teach you and force you into being more who you are.â€
Kerry Washington –  2013 George Washington University: “The Power of Your Storyâ€
Award winning actress Kerry Washington shared her perspectives on how acting reflects real life.
“When I arrived at GW, I didn’t think I would be an actor. I dreamt of being a psychologist or an educator like my mother. From an early age, I was fascinated with people and how we become who we are, but acting? That was a hobby. … I designed an interdisciplinary major in various social sciences: psychology, sociology, history, and anthropology, and one of the things that fascinated me most was the importance of storytelling. In every culture and at every moment of human existence, the ritual of storytelling has been a central tenet of our experience because it is through stories that we understand ourselves and each other. When we engage in a great story, whether it’s a novel or a film or a documentary, we learn something more about who we are. … As we journey along with the hero of any story, we realized that we, too, are the lead characters of our own lives.â€
Whoopi Goldberg, 2011 Savannah College of Art and Design: “Embrace Your Uniquenessâ€
Academy Award-winning actress, author, producer and co-host of the VIEW, shared her best advice on embracing your individuality.
Let me tell you something. I was really lucky. I had really weird mother. She also had another really weird child but I was the weirder of the two. Basically she said to me, “Well, it’s ok if you’re weird. Are you willing to pay the price for it?†and I was like, “I don’t know what you mean.†because I was just me. She said,”You realize that not everybodyis going to get you, not everybody is going to see what you see, not everybody’s going to feel what youfeeland you can talk until you’re white in the face. They still may not get it and not only may they not get it, they may not likeyou. When it’s all said and done, are you prepared to take that on, in order to stay an individual?â€
Toni Morrison, 2011 Rutgers University “Be the Author of Your Story”
Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison urged students to be the authors of the stories of their own lives.
“Although you will never fully know or successfully manipulate all of the characters who surface or disrupt your plot, you can respect the ones you can’t avoid by paying them close attention and doing them justice. “The plot you choose may change or even elude you, but being your own story means you can control the theme.”
Which speech inspires you the most? Do you have any favorite commencement speeches? Leave me a comment below.