Yesterday was graduation but I couldn't afford the cost or the time for the drive. It's ok, I walked for my high school diploma and my bachlor's degree in English and American Literature from New College of Florida and my Master's degree in Early Childhood Education from Georgia State University. I think the University of Georgia will forgive me for missing out on my Specialist in Education in, well, I'm not sure what the degree is in. They changed the name. We call it School Library Media but the piece of paper will either say Educational Psychology & Instructional Technology or it might say Learning, Design & Technology.
I don't really care. I have a job as a librarian where I can commence to follow Dr. Kakalios' advice to become both a geek and a nerd! Below are links to his convocation and some of the best graduation commencement speeches I've seen. I know I've probably liked to them all individually as I've come across them, but it's nice to have them all in one place. Dr. K's is short--less than 8 minutes. The rest are longer: 15-20 or so.
So bookmark this page and check them out when you get time or need the inspiration.
Thanks!
James Kakalios, "You must be simultaneously a geek and a nerd," U. of Minn. Convocation, 2009
Robert Krulwich, "Tell Me A Story," California Institute of Technology, 2008
J. K. Rowling, "The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination," Harvard, 2008
Margaret Edson at Smith College, 2008
Steve Jobs at Stanford, 2005
(image cc flickr)
