The 7 Most Hilarious and Inspirational Graduation Speeches of the Decade

Posted by DebtKid :: June 12, 2008 @ 2:37 pm

Just as entering college can be a time for making smart financial choices, leaving it is one too, and doing so with a smile on one's face and one's chin held high certainly doesn't hurt. In that spirit, here are my picks for the 7 best funny and/or inspirational graduation speeches of the past decade.

Conan at Harvard

Very Funny

Right off the bat Conan is absolutely hilarious. Pure genius.

This is the gold-standard of funny graduation speeches at Harvard in 2000.

Bill Gates at Harvard

Funny/Inspirational

This is surprisingly funny, especially Part I which really shows the human side of Gates.

"...how those discoveries are applied to reduce inequity"

Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V

"Last Lecture" professor Randy Pausch at Carnegie Mellon

Inspirational

Short, concise and brilliantly moving. May 2008.

"We don't beat the reaper by living longer. We beat the reaper by living well."

JK Rowling at Harvard

Funny/Inspirational

Harvard gets all the best speakers. JKR delivers a steady stream of laughs, poking fun at the Harry Potter Universe. Yet her sincere stories of pain and hardship pull at your heartstrings in an incredibly eloquent way. June 2008.

5:40 - "Poverty is only romanticized by fools"

I found Part I moved along more than the second half of the speech (Part II here), but overall the speech was very inspiring.

Conan at Private HS (2006)

Funny

I wish Conan had spoke at my high school... Again, Conan = Brilliant.

Part II is here....

Pokémon HS Commencement Speech

Funny

This kid may be a complete nerd, but at least he's got some creativity...

Colbert on Credit Cards

Funny/Serious

Colbert gives some great advice about pre-approved credit cards after a minute or two of serious, good advice.

Sadly, only Part 3 of this speech could be located. If you have a link to a working Part I and II, do share! We all need more truthiness in our lives!