Oprah Winfrey told students to live with purpose. President Donald Trump said to ignore the naysayers. Will Ferrell sang some Whitney Houston.
Those are a few of the speakers who have taken the stage at college graduation ceremonies this month to share their wisdom, joining a wide range of others in entertainment, politics, business and journalism. In their efforts to inspire the Class of 2017, they’ve elicited both laughter and tears and, in some cases, jeers.
Rock group Bon Jovi drew a chorus of cheers when it played a surprise set for graduates at New Jersey’s Fairleigh Dickinson University last week. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, meanwhile, was nearly shouted down by students during her speech at the historically black Bethune-Cookman University in Florida.
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