graduation talk

Posts Tagged ‘michelle obama’

First Lady Michelle delivered her second commencement speech at Washington Mathematics Science Technology Public Charter High School (WMST PCHS) on June 3, 2009.

Mrs. Obama shared her own struggles as an African-American student from a working class family in Illinois. She admitted to the graduating class that when she was their age, she had also doubted her own abilities. She also warned them about other people who will plant doubts in their heads. Instead of turning worries into fear, she advised them to bravely address their worries and doubt just like what other minorities who overcame their doubts and became powerful and respected citizens.

She reassured the graduates that they are more than ready to lead the country. It is their time to step up and they should have no excuses.

Here is the full script of Michelle Obama’s commencement speech at Washington Mathematics Science Technology Public Charter High School (WMST PCHS) last June 3, 2009.

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U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama had chosen to enlighten the graduates of University of California-Merced as she delivered her first commencement speech as the First Lady of the country.

She started her inspiring message by mentioning the reasons why she had accepted the university’s invitation to be the keynote speaker. Michelle also appreciated their efforts in getting what they wanted and she compared it to the similar strategy they had used to convince the University of California to put up a new campus in Merced. The history of Merced was also noted in her speech as she correlated Merced to the South Side of Chicago (the place where she grew up) and honored the people who worked very hard to pass on the legacy of education to the them.

Michelle encouraged the graduates to give back a part of their aspirations to their community as they dream and achieve their dreams. I totally agreed with her when she said that time will come when “you will face tough times, you will certainly have doubts” because life is not a bed of roses for roses have their own thorns. She reminded them that when things go wrong, they must not quit and when that time comes they must think of all the people who had sacrificed for their education. She believed that attaining a college degree is a blessing because not everyone gets a chance to have it. With this blessing, Michelle urged the graduates to share it by reaching out to others and passing the torch so that the next generation will see the light to a better life.

Here is the video and transcript of the commencement address by U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama, delivered on May 16, 2009 at University of California-Merced.

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