In 2011, Conan O’Brien, a Harvard graduate, stood behind the same tree-stump lectern at Dartmouth and roasted the idea of elite higher education to uproarious laughter. Mr. O’Brien’s speech continues to be watched as a comedy master class, with 4.8 million YouTube views.
A 2005 speech by the writer David Foster Wallace to the graduating class of Kenyon College, titled “This Is Water,” circulated online as a transcript in the pre-social-media days and, in 2009, was published as a book.
Another noteworthy commencement speech, known as “Wear Sunscreen,” was not delivered as an address but rather written as a 1997 column for The Chicago Tribune by the journalist Mary Schmich. (It was the speech Ms. Schmich would have given, if asked.) Her piece inspired a hit spoken-word song by Baz Luhrmann, “Everybody’s Free (to Wear Sunscreen),” and was also published as a slim book, “Wear Sunscreen: A Primer for Real Life.”
Mr. Federer’s decision to quit school seemed to work out for him. Over a 25-year career, he won 103 tour singles titles, including 20 Grand Slam titles, and was acknowledged as one of the greatest tennis players. Two years after his retirement, Dartmouth awarded him an honorary doctorate, citing his work as an athlete, entrepreneur and philanthropist.
Grabbing a racket toward the end of his speech, he left the Dartmouth graduates with one final lesson: “OK, so, for your forehand, you’ll want to use an eastern grip. Keep your knuckles apart a little bit. Obviously, you don’t want to squeeze the grip too hard.”
Then he added, with a smile, “No, this is not a metaphor! It’s just good technique.”
