Oprah Winfrey speaking there at Howard University. What a speech that was.

NGUYEN: Give you some live pictures now. Yes. That is Ms. Oprah Winfrey. She is speaking at Howard University there, addressing the graduates during their commencement. Let's take a listen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oprah Winfrey, receive at your hand the honorary degree, Doctor of Humanities.

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oprah Gail Winfrey, pre-eminent global media mogul, incomparable international philanthropist, there is no glass ceiling for you to shatter, for you are on an uncharted path guided by infinite divine providence.

You are a universal touchstone personifying living your best life. Spiritually, physically, productively, happily, generously, faithfully, and fully engaged as a servant leader to all of God's creatures. Your beloved mentor and friend, the renowned poet Maya Angelo has said she is an honest, hardworking woman who has developed an unusual amount of caring and courage.

Your unique gifts from the creator allow you to realize your own dreams and your generosity inspires you to help us all grow. We have grown in our own personal spirit soul selves as you communicate, inform, educate, empathize, challenge, commit, care, generate, give, dedicate, dream, trust, love, believe, act, and do. You hold no false boundaries of race, religion, or gender, demonstrating your limitless ability to relate to all.

You see with a true journalistic eye and intellect, but tell the complete story with your heart. A rare gift from God no doubt, and you use it well. You believe with every experience you alone are painting your own canvas, thought by thought, choice by choice, I always knew I was destined for greatness and you get in life what you have the courage to ask for.

We herald and applaud your maternal grandmother, Hattie Mae Presley (ph) Lee, with whom you lived during the early formative years in rural Mississippi. She is an example of our collective ancestral grandmothers and what they bring to the table of life. The unconditional love, intuition, understanding, faith, courage, strength, wisdom and grace, all wrapped up in backbreaking hard work, with no complaints and heaping spoonfuls of more love, hope and heartfelt desires for our rise.

You said, I am what I am because of my grandmother. My strength, my sense of reasoning, everything. All of that was said by the time I was six. Reading from the age of three, you regularly spoke on Sundays at the Faith United Mississippi Baptist Church in your hometown in Mississippi.

You remember the words, and little Ms. Winfrey is here to do the recitation.

(LAUGHTER) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And afterwards ladies saying, Hattie Mae, this girl is gifted and you believed them in talking has always been your forte. As a teenager in Nashville, Tennessee, living with your father Vernon, you continued speaking in churches throughout the city.

When my father took me, you say, it changed the course of my life. He saved me. I was definitely headed for a career as a juvenile delinquent. You have stated Vernon Winfrey explained the ways of the world to you by saying, there are those who make things happen, there are those who watch things happen, and there those that don't know what is happening.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In 1973 you left TSU as the first African- American TV correspondent and the youngest to ever anchor the news at WTVF TV in Nashville, and began your meteoric rise. And the string of firsts, bumping Donahue, syndicating "The Oprah Winfrey Show," establishing Harpo Incorporated, portraying Sofia in "The Color Purple," establishing Harpo Films, and owning a major part of the distribution with Kingworld, making you a leader in the world of marketing and branding.

"The Oprah Winfrey Show" begins its 21st season on September 8th, 2007...

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... and has remained the number one talk show for 20 consecutive seasons.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The door to freedom is education, you have said and through your private charity, The Oprah Winfrey Foundation and The Oprah Winfrey Scholars Program, you demonstrate certain (ph) leadership by giving back. After visiting Nelson Mandela in 2000, you pledged $10 million to build schools in South Africa.

You created the Oprah Winfrey Leadership...

HOLMES: All right. We're listening in here, of course, expecting that lady there to the right of the screen to step up and address those graduates at Howard University. We are going to try to get in a quick break because he is introducing her and her list of accomplishments could go on.

NGUYEN: Run long.

HOLMES: For the rest of the day here. So we are going to try to get a quick commercial break in here. And when she steps up to the mike...

NGUYEN: We'll be right back with Oprah.

HOLMES: ... we'll hear from her. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: An emotional day for Oprah Winfrey, as she gets an honorary degree there from Howard University. You can see the emotion on her face. This is really a wonderful day and a wonderful moment for these graduates to hear Oprah Winfrey speak at their graduation ceremony.

HOLMES: Can you imagine? I can't remember who my commencement speaker was. No offense if you're listening.

NGUYEN: But you would remember if it was Oprah, wouldn't you?

HOLMES: If it was, oh, my goodness. But such a big deal for her. I believe it was a Doctorate of Humanities. There it is, up on our screen there. A Doctorate of Humanities for Oprah Winfrey. Of course, done just massive humanitarian work around the country, around the world really. And she is being honored for it today, and expecting to hear -- the class there waiting to hear from Oprah Winfrey herself.

And like you say, wiping the tears there, an emotional time for her and really we just heard a wonderful introduction, a long introduction, of course. She has a long list of accomplishments.

NGUYEN: That list goes so far and so wide. But let's listen to Ms. Winfrey as she speaks.

OPRAH WINFREY, MEDIA MOGUL: Thank you.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

WINFREY: President Swygert, trustees, distinguished guests, my fellow honorees, my she-ro, Dr. Dorothy Height, graduates, parents, friends, what a deep honor to be here today for me.

I think Dr. Gates said it best. You can receive a lot of awards in your life, but there is nothing better...

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

WINFREY: There is nothing better than to be honored by your own.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

WINFREY: Thank you. Thank you. I'll be calling myself Dr. Winfrey on Monday morning on the Oprah show.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

WINFREY: Thank you. Well, let me just say that everybody I know who has ever graduated from here, and that's a lot of y'all...

(LAUGHTER)

WINFREY: ... told me just wait 'til you get there. Just wait 'til you get there. They said to me you are going to feel the love. And Howard, I am feeling you today.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

WINFREY: I am feeling you today. I thank you for the honor of being able to celebrate with you today. I am here because my good friend and former executive producer of "The Oprah Winfrey Show," Dianne Hudson, and new member of the Howard board of trustees, said to me, you have got to come to Howard.

Howard is the bomb.

(CHEER AND APPLAUSE)

WINFREY: Dianne Hudson says, it is our pride, it is a mighty force. You just have to experience it, girl. And she told me this. She said, once you come, it's going to feel like family reunion. And are you going to want to come again and again.

Thank you, Dianne, because it's your passion and commitment to excellence and created continued excellence for this great institution that made me stop whatever I was planning on doing and get to Howard.

And I'm really so glad I did, because I get to see you all. I get to witness and welcome you all to the beginning of your new and fantastic life ahead, if you choose it to be so. And I know that it is there for the choosing, because there is nobody more nurtured and prepared to lead us into an exemplary future than the Howard University graduating class of 2007.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

WINFREY: I can say that nobody knows for sure where you will go in your life. What impact you will have on others. But each one of us may have a better chance than most, because you all have spent four years responding to the nurturing, which is the truest meaning of teaching.

You sat in your different classes. You have tested. You have done your reports. You have turned in your exams. And you deserved to be here today. Congratulations.

(APPLAUSE)

WINFREY: And all after all of the partying is over, and I know there will be some partying up in here, the anxiety may start to creep in. What do you now do with all of this education? I'm here to tell you today, don't worry. Don't worry about it. Relax. Take a breath.

You are in really good hands, because God has got your back.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

WINFREY: All you need to do is know who you are. And I know you know who you are. Because I have, as a part of my Harpo production team two former graduates of Howard, 1991 and '94, Terry Mitchell (ph) and Jackie Taylor (ph), who came with me today, and all the way here they were telling me that when you leave Howard, one thing you know for sure is who you are.

Because Howard teaches you to define yourself by your own terms and not by somebody else's definition. So here are a few things I want you to know that I know for sure. Don't be afraid. All you have to know is who you are. Because there is no such thing as failure. There is no such thing as failure.

What other people label or might try to call failure, I have learned is just God's way of pointing you in a new direction.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

WINFREY: So it's true. You may take several paths that end up on what might be a dead end for you at the moment. But this is what I also know for sure. You must trust in the words of my favorite Bible verse that say: "And know the lord will lead to you a rock that is higher than thou."

Every one of us has a calling. There is a reason why you are here. I know this for sure. And that reason is greater than any degree. It's greater than any paycheck. And it's greater than anything anybody can tell you that are you supposed to do. Your real job is to find out what the reason is and get about the business of doing it.

Your calling isn't something that somebody can tell you about. It's what you feel. It's a part of your life force. It is the thing that gives you juice. The thing that are you supposed to do. And nobody can tell you what that is. You know it inside yourself.

You know, I come from good stock. Dr. Swygert was mentioning my grandmother who had a dream for me. And her dream was not a big dream. Her dream was that one day I could grow up -- she used to say, I want you to grow up and get yourself some good white folks, because my grandmother was a maid and she worked for white folks her whole life.

And her idea of having a big dream was to have white folks who at least treated her with some dignity, who showed her a little bit respect. And she used to say, I want you to -- I hope you get some good white folks that are kind to you. And I regret that she didn't live past 1963 to see that I did grow up and get some really good white folks working for me.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

WINFREY: Oh, yes. So have no fear. Have no fear. God has got your back. And sometimes, sometimes you find out what you are supposed to be doing by doing the things you are not supposed to do. So don't expect the perfect job that defines your life's work to come along next week. If that happens, take the blessing and run with it. But, if not, be grateful to be on the path where you eventually want to live.

Abide in the space of gratitude, because this is what I know for sure. That only through being grateful for how far you've come in your past can you leave room for more blessings to flow. Blessings flow in the space of gratitude. Everything in your life is happening to teach you more about yourself so even in a crisis, be grateful. When disappointed, be grateful. When things aren't going the way you want them to, be grateful that you have sense enough to turn it around.

I spent eight years in Baltimore. I knew in those years in Baltimore that I was unhappy being a television news reporter. But the voice of my father, who thought he knew what I was supposed to do was in my head. He said don't you give up that job, girl. You're never going to $25,000 in one year. That's my father's dream for me. But God could dream a bigger dream than you can dream for yourself. And so I tried to live in the space of God's dream. And the television executives told me when I was in Baltimore that I was just -- it was too much. I was too big, and I was too black.

They told me that I was too engaged, that I was too emotional, I was too -- too much for the news and so they put me on a talk show one day just to run out my contract. And that was the beginning of my story. So I say, even when things are difficult, be grateful. Honor your calling, don't worry about how successful you will be. Don't worry about it. Focus on how significant you can be in service and the success will take care of itself. And always take a stand for yourself. Your values, you are defined by what you stand for. Your integrity is not for sale.

From the very beginning of my career in Baltimore, and I walked in the room and all of the men in the room said to me you need to change your name, because nobody is going to remember your name. You need to change your name and I said what do you want me to change it to? They said we think Susie is a good name. Susie is a friendly name. Susie is a name that people will remember. People can relate to Susie. I said I think I'm going to keep my name if people remember it or not. It is my name. You have to be willing to stand up for what you believe in. If I -- if I could count the number of times I have been asked to compromise and sell out myself for one reason or another, I would be a billionaire 10 times over. My integrity is not for sale and neither is yours.

There are many times -- there are many times Diane Hudson, who has working with me for 20 years can tell you this, many times when we were told that we would lose the advertisers, we would lose the ratings. I said I'm going to take the high road. They said you won't be able to survive in this business taking the high road. You won't be able to get the numbers. The advertisers will drop out and I said let them. Let them. We will chart our own course. We will stand up for what we believe in. And 21 years later, we're still the number one show.

The human death of our integrity is the most we have to offer and I would beseech you to remember what Harriet Tubman said of her efforts to spirit slaves from the plantation. Harriet Tubman once said that she could have liberated thousands more if only she could have convinced them that they were slaves. So do not be a slave to any form of selling out. Maintain your integrity. It has always been, I believe, the only solution to all of the problems in the world and it remains the only solution.

Through your presence here today, you come from a long line of giants whose shoulders you strand on, giants who graduated from this school and giants who never made it to school. I believe in the words of Jimmy Baldwin, your crown has been paid for, so put it on your head and wear it. Your crown has been paid for and so as you walk forth from this place, these hallowed grounds today, the most important lesson I can offer you from my own life is that in order to remain successful, to continue to wear the crown, as you walk the path of privilege, you must not forget the less privileged you left behind.

You cannot continue to succeed in the world or have a fulfilling life in the world unless you choose to use your life in service somehow to others and give back what you have been given. That's how you keep it. That's how you get it. That's how you grow it.

We are in a crisis in this country with black youth. They don't know what you know. They are falling and they're failing. They are dropping out at rates of 50 percent and higher because we, our generation, didn't teach them who they are. We have a responsibility to raise them up, to lift them up to save them, to liberate them from themselves, go out and save a child. And sometimes it doesn't even take a lot to save somebody. As you all know, I built this beautiful school in South Africa, and I spent a lot of time trying to grow my daughters into a future as bright as yours and I can't wait to see some of them come to Howard University.

Recently, I was with them and we were all sitting around talking about careers and the possibility for them and I speak to what is possible. When you see me, you see what is possible. Many years ago, I saw Sidney Poitier receive the academy award in 1964. I was 10 years old and I watched him get the award for "Lilies of the Field." And as he accepted his award, I had never seen a black man on television in a suit. I'd never seen a black man get out of limousine and go anywhere on television. And when I saw Sidney Poitier accept his academy award for "Lilies of the Field," I remember sitting on my linoleum floor baby sitting for my half sister and brother, saying, if a black man can do that, I wonder what I can do.

I stand here a symbol of what is possible when you believe in the dream of your own life. I stand as a symbol of that turtle on the fence. Somebody helped me to get here, just as I know you were helped to get here, Howard, because I know a lot of you came here with only the clothes on your back and a dream for what could be. And so as you have been saved, as you have been liberated, you must liberate others.

I want to share the story about one of our honorees here today. I was in class with all of my girls and we were talking about careers and all -- a lot of my girls say they want to be doctors, because they have seen the ravages of AIDS and they want to grow up and be doctors and some say they want to teach and others say they want to sing or act or dance and there was one girl, one girl who said she wanted to be a historian. And all the other girls started to snicker, because I don't think they had heard the word historian and later that afternoon, I saw her sitting in the computer lab and she was slumped in the chair, and I said, Vindelli (ph), tell me, why are you sitting slumped in the chair? And she said I'm feeling very silly. I'm feeling very, very sad. I said why? She said because I'm not like the other girls. They all want to be really fun things. But I have to tell you, mama Oprah, history is my passion. When I read about the ancestors, it makes me come alive.

So we're sitting there at the computer and I said you know what? I know a famous historian, let's see if we can look him up on the computer and so we punched in Dr. Henry Louis Gates and her expression was you mean he's black? And she said and is he alive? I said, yeah, he's both black and alive. I said you know what? I'm going to e-mail him and see if he will e-mail us back. So I e-mailed Dr. Henry Louis Gates and I told him about my -- my daughter, who was feeling ostracized because she wasn't like all the other girls who wanted to be fun things and Dr. Gates e-mailed back a three-page letter, telling her how as a young boy, he too was one of the only ones who wanted to be a scholar, a Rhodes scholar, telling her how they carried the torch of our ancestors into the future, telling her how it's all right to be what you want to be.

And as she read that letter, I had her read the letter out loud before me. I saw her shoulders get a little straighter, I saw her head get a little taller, I saw her straighten her back and I saw the biggest smile I've ever seen come from the face of a child. And I said tell me how you are feeling now. And she said I'm feeling all right. I'm feeling like I'm not the only one. And so in that moment, through a letter, I saw her get saved. I know that it's possible to do, for every one of our lives, every one of us in our lives to help somebody, to liberate somebody, to save somebody. I know that the motto for Howard is truth and service. And I know when you move through life living your own truth and live through the paradigm of service, you too will be all right. So I beseech you to go forth and serve. Serve first yourself. Honor your calling, do what you are supposed to do. Honor your creator, your family, your ancestors and when you walk this path of privilege, don't forget the less privileged you leave behind.

NGUYEN: Oprah Winfrey speaking there at Howard University. What a speech that was. She talked about honoring your calling and not losing site of your integrity and making sure that you help those along the way get to where they're going. It was really a wonderful speech and then she also talked a little bit about her own history, how people tried to change her when she was coming up. They wanted to change her first name to Susie. Would not be the same as Susie Winfrey, no. Oprah Winfrey is her name and in fact, she is going to be joining "Larry King Live" tomorrow night at 9:00 Eastern. It's a replay of an interview. You don't want to miss that either. We've got much more coming up here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Don't go away. We'll be right back.

Bowie State University-First Lady Michelle Obama

Remarks by 

First Lady Michelle Obama 

at the Bowie State University 

Commencement Ceremony

 Speech by First Lady Michelle Obama 

At University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland

May 16, 2013

MRS. OBAMA:  Well, thank you.  (Applause.)  Oh, my goodness.  Thank you so much.  (Applause.)  Oh, my goodness.  It is such a -- you all, rest yourselves.  You’ve got a long day ahead.  It is beyond a pleasure and an honor for me to be here with all of you today.
Of course, I want to start by thanking President Bernim for that very kind introduction, for this wonderful degree, and for his outstanding leadership here at Bowie State University.  I also want to recognize Chancellor Kirwan, Provost Jackson, Executive Vice President and General Counsel Karen Johnson Shaheed, Vice Chair Barry Gossett.  And of course, I want to thank the BSU Madrigal Singers -- they did a great job -- the university choir, and DeMarcus Franklin for their wonderful performances here today.  You all are amazing.  I just wish I could sing.  Can’t sing a lick.
I also want to recognize today’s Presidential Medal of Excellence recipient, Professor Freeman Hrabowski, who’s a for-real brother as well.  (Applause.)  And I want to thank him for his tremendous work as the Chair of the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans.  He has done some magnificent work, but we have so much more work to do.
And let’s take another moment to thank all of the beautiful people sitting all around us today -- the folks who have loved you and pushed you and put up with you every step of the way.  (Applause.)  Give another round of applause to all the family members who are here today.  (Applause.)  Yes, indeed.  This is your day, too.
But most of all, to the Bowie State University class of 2013, congratulations.  (Applause.)  Oh, congratulations.  You don’t know how proud we all are of you.  Just look at you.  We’re so proud of how hard you worked, all those long hours in the classroom, in the library.  Oh, yeah.  Amen.  (Laughter.)  All those jobs you worked to help pay your tuition.  Many of you are the first in your families to get a college degree.  (Applause.)  Some of you are balancing school with raising families of your own.  (Applause.)  So I know this journey hasn’t been easy.  I know you’ve had plenty of moments of doubt and frustration and just plain exhaustion.
But listen, you dug deep and you kept pushing forward to make it to this magnificent day.  (Applause.)  And in doing so, you didn’t just complete an important chapter in your own story, you also became part of the story of this great university -- a story that began nearly 150 years ago, not far from where we all sit today.  As you all know, this school first opened its doors in January of 1865, in an African Baptist church in Baltimore.  And by 1866, just a year later, it began offering education courses to train a new generation of African American teachers.
Now, just think about this for a moment:  For generations, in many parts of this country, it was illegal for black people to get an education.  Slaves caught reading or writing could be beaten to within an inch of their lives.  Anyone -- black or white -- who dared to teach them could be fined or thrown into jail.  And yet, just two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, this school was founded not just to educate African Americans, but to teach them how to educate others.  It was in many ways an act of defiance, an eloquent rebuttal to the idea that black people couldn’t or shouldn’t be educated.  And since then, generations of students from all backgrounds have come to this school to be challenged, inspired and empowered.  And they have gone on to become leaders here in Maryland and across this country, running businesses, educating young people, leading the high-tech industries that will power our economy for decades to come.
That is the story of Bowie State University, the commitment to educating our next generation and building ladders of opportunity for anyone willing to work for it.  All of you are now part of that story.  And with that tremendous privilege comes an important set of responsibilities -- responsibilities that you inherit the moment you leave this stadium with that diploma in your hand.
And that’s what I want to talk with you about today.  I want to talk about the obligations that come with a Bowie State education, and how you can fulfill those obligations by how you live your lives.
So let’s return, for a moment, to the time when the school and others like it were founded.  Many of these schools were little more than drafty log cabins with mud floors, leaky roofs and smoke-wood stoves in the corner.  Blackboards, maps, and even books were considered luxuries.  And both students and teachers faced constant threats from those who refuse to accept freedom for African Americans.
In one Eastern Shore town, a teacher reported to work one morning to find that someone had smashed the windows of her schoolhouse.  Other black schools across Maryland were burned to the ground.  Teachers received death threats.  One was even beaten by an angry mob.  But despite the risks, understand, students flocked to these schools in droves, often walking as many as eight to ten miles a day to get their education.  In fact, the educational association that founded Bowie State wrote in their 1864 report that -- and this is a quote -- “These people are coming in beyond our ability to receive them.”  Desperately poor communities held fundraisers for these schools, schools which they often built with their own hands.  And folks who were barely scraping by dug deep into their own pockets to donate money.
You see, for these folks, education was about more than just learning to read or write.  As the abolitionist Fredrick Douglas put it, “Education means emancipation,” he said.  He said, “It means light and liberty.  It means the uplifting of the soul of man into the glorious light of truth, the only light by which men can be free.”  You hear that?  The only light by which men can be free.  (Applause.)
So to the folks who showed up to your school on that January day back in 1865, education meant nothing less than freedom.  It meant economic independence, a chance to provide for their families.  It meant political empowerment, the chance to read the newspaper and articulate an informed opinion, and take their rightful place as full citizens of this nation.
So back then, people were hungry to learn.  Do you hear me?  Hungry to get what they needed to succeed in this country.  And that hunger did not fade over time.  If anything, it only grew stronger.  I mean, think about the century-long battle that so many folks waged to end the evil of segregation.  Think about civil rights icons like Thurgood Marshall, Dr. King, who argued groundbreaking school integration cases, led historic marches, protests, and boycotts.  As you know, Dr. King’s house was bombed.  A police chief pulled a gun on Thurgood Marshall.  They both received piles of hate mail and countless death threats, but they kept on fighting.
Think about those nine young men and women who faced down an angry mob just to attend school in Little Rock, Arkansas.  And that was just the first day.  For months afterwards, they were spat on, jeered at, punched, and tripped as they walked down the halls.  Their classmates threw food at them in the cafeteria and hurled ink at them during class.  But they kept on showing up.  They kept claiming their rightful place at that school.
And think about little Ruby Bridges, who was just six years old when she became one of the first black children in New Orleans to attend an all-white school.  Parents actually pulled their children out of that school in protest.  People retaliated against her family.  Her father lost his job.  And only one teacher at that entire school would agree to teach her.  But the Bridges family refused to back down.  So for an entire year, little Ruby sat all alone, a class of one, dutifully learning her lessons.
See, that is the sacrifice that those folks and so many others have made.  That is the hunger they felt.  For them and so many others, getting an education was literally a matter of life or death.
But today, more than 150 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, more than 50 years after the end of “separate but equal,” when it comes to getting an education, too many of our young people just can’t be bothered.  Today, instead of walking miles every day to school, they’re sitting on couches for hours playing video games, watching TV.  Instead of dreaming of being a teacher or a lawyer or a business leader, they’re fantasizing about being a baller or a rapper.  (Applause.)  Right now, one in three African American students are dropping out of high school.  Only one in five African Americans between the ages of 25 and 29 has gotten a college degree -- one in five.
But let’s be very clear.  Today, getting an education is as important if not more important than it was back when this university was founded.  Just look at the statistics.  (Applause.)  People who earn a bachelor’s degree or higher make nearly three times more money than high school dropouts, and they’re far less likely to be unemployed.  A recent study even found that African American women with a college degree live an average of six and a half years longer than those without.  And for men, it’s nearly 10 years longer.  So yes, people who are more educated actually live longer.
So I think we can agree, and we need to start feeling that hunger again, you know what I mean?  (Applause.)  We need to once again fight to educate ourselves and our children like our lives depend on it, because they do.
We need to dig deep and find the same kind of grit and determination that drove those first students at this school and generations of students who came after them.  I am talking about the kind of grit and determination displayed by folks right here at Bowie State.  Folks like Ariel Williams-Edwards, one of today’s graduates.  (Applause.)  Yeah, Ariel!  Ariel’s mother struggled with substance abuse, and Ariel and her sister were removed from her care and sent to live with their grandmother.
But Ariel decided to draw inspiration from her struggle -- she majored in Social Work so she could help families like hers.  (Applause.)  Yes!  She became a member of the Phi Alpha National Honor Society.  And she’s been accepted to graduate school to get her master’s degree in Social Work starting in September.  Yes, indeed.  (Applause.)
And then there’s Audrey Marie Lugmayer, another one of this year’s graduates.  Audrey is the daughter of a single father, and her dad has struggled with some serious health issues.  So after graduating from high school, Audrey worked full time for a year, because she couldn’t bear the thought of putting any more financial burdens on her father.  She kept on working here at Bowie State, even while juggling a full course load.  And today, she is graduating with a perfect 4.0 GPA.  (Applause.)  Yes.  God is very good.
It is that kind of unwavering determination -- that relentless focus on getting an education in the face of obstacles -- that’s what we need to reclaim, as a community and as a nation.  That was the idea at the very heart of the founding of this school.
It’s even in the words of your school song:  “Oh Bowie State, dear Bowie State, may you forever be the flame of faith, the torch of truth to guide the steps of youth.”  And that’s not just a lyric -- it is a call to action.  Many of you will answer that call by carrying on the proud Bowie State tradition of serving as teachers, devoting your careers to guiding the steps of the next generation.
But for those of you who aren’t going into education, you’re not off the hook.  Oh, no.  Oh, no.  No matter what career you pursue, every single one of you has a role to play as educators for our young people.  So if you have friends or cousins or siblings who are not taking their education seriously, shake them up.  Go talk some sense into them.  Get them back on track.  (Applause.)
If the school in your neighborhood isn’t any good, don't just accept it.  Get in there, fix it.  Talk to the parents.  Talk to the teachers.  Get business and community leaders involved as well, because we all have a stake in building schools worthy of our children’s promise.
And when it comes to your own kids, if you don't like what they're watching on TV, turn it off.  (Applause.)  If you don't like the video games they're playing, take them away.  (Applause.)  Take a stand against the media that elevates today’s celebrity gossip instead of the serious issues of our time.  Take a stand against the culture that glorifies instant gratification instead of hard work and lasting success.
And as my husband has said often, please stand up and reject the slander that says a black child with a book is trying to act white.  Reject that.  (Applause.)
In short, be an example of excellence for the next generation and do everything you can to help them understand the power and purpose of a good education.  See, that's what my own parents did for me and my brother.
See, my parents didn't go to college, but they were determined to give us that opportunity.  My dad was a pump operator at the city water plant, diagnosed with MS in his early thirties.  And every morning I watched him struggle to get out of bed and inch his way to his walker, and painstakingly button his uniform, but never once did I hear him complain.  Not once.  He just kept getting up, day after day, year after year, to do whatever he could to give our family a better shot at life.
So when it came time for my brother and I to go to college, most of our tuition came from student loans and grants.  But my dad still had to pay a small portion of that tuition each semester, and he was always determined to pay his share right on time -- even taking out loans when he fell short, because he couldn’t bear the thought of us missing a registration deadline because his check was late.
And there is not a day that goes by when I don't think about the sacrifices that my mom and dad made for me.  There is not a day that goes by when I don't think about living up to the example they set, and how I must do everything in my power to make them proud of the daughter they raised.  (Applause.)
And today, I am thinking about all the mothers and fathers just like my parents, all the folks who dug into their pockets for that last dime, the folks who built those schools brick by brick, who faced down angry mobs just to reach those schoolhouse doors.  I am thinking about all the folks who worked that extra shift and took that extra job, and toiled and bled and prayed so that we could have something better.  (Applause.)
The folks who, as the poet Alice Walker once wrote, “Knew what we must know without knowing a page of it themselves.”  Their sacrifice is your legacy.  Do you hear me?  And now it is up to all of you to carry that legacy forward, to be that flame of fate, that torch of truth to guide our young people toward a better future for themselves and for this country.
And if you do that, and I know that you will, if you uphold that obligation, then I am confident we will build an even better future for the next generation of graduates from this fine school and for all of the children in this country because our lives depend on it.
I wish you Godspeed, good luck.  I love you all.  Do good things.  God bless.  (Applause.)