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Vice President Kamala Harris congratulated the class of 2021 in her keynote address.
Harris commended graduates for getting through a difficult year and reminded them that their resilience means that they have “strength to get through anything.”
She continued:
“And there are two things I would like you to remember. One, you now know that you have what it takes to get through pretty much anything. So, when you come up against an obstacle and when you experience a setback — and you will, we all do — remember the resilience that you showed this past year, the determination. Remember you have the strength to get through anything. Two, you do not have to get through anything alone. You are not alone. We are all in this together. When we look out for one another, everybody is better off,” Harris said.
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Vice President Kamala Harris told graduates that she believes young people “will help determine what our world will look like on the other side” of the pandemic.
Harris told students “you are not the first to shoulder this responsibility.”
She continued: “We need you. We need you to be as kind as you are courageous. We need you to be as ambitious as you are curious. We need you to dream, and we need you to do.”
Vice President Kamala Harris congratulated the class of 2021, as she spoke to several high school seniors via video conference.
“I couldn’t be more proud of you guys,” she told the seniors. “The things that you all have accomplished, you give me such inspiration.”
She went on to share some advice that her mother gave her.
“She said, ‘You know Kamala, you may be the first to be many things, but make sure you’re not the last,’” Harris told the seniors.
“Go forth and lead,” she told the class of 2021.
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Ahmed Muhammad will be Oakland Technical High School’s first Black male valedictorian when he graduates this year.
The Stanford University-bound senior started Kits Cubed, a nonprofit designed to “introduce youth to the wonders of science through fun, affordable and accessible means,” he said.
Ahmed said the nonprofit has distributed thousands of science kits across the country.
“I was able to create something that’s bigger than me,” he said.
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Aditya Bora found his silver lining while attending school remotely.
The tech-loving, student-athlete leads the robotics team at Johns Creek High School and has spent the last four years using his skills to help others.
Some of his creations include a pair of self-tying shoes and a robotic therapy device, which he built for a student to help him control a motorized wheelchair.
“I always enjoyed building things and exploring things in my free time,” the high school senior said.
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Holly High School senior Kristen Tefertiller was diagnosed with leukemia in August 2019 and spent eight months in the hospital.
“I wore masks before they were cool,” she said. “I washed my hands way more than the average person, and I kept everything clean.”
As she battled cancer, Kristen set her eyes on her goals: becoming her high school’s valedictorian.
“When I was in the hospital, my doctor said, ‘You don’t have to be No. 1 in your class. You’re going through too much,’ and I looked at him and I said, ‘Watch me,’” she added.
Kristen is now cancer free. She celebrated by going skydiving.
“If I can beat cancer, I can go skydiving,” she told CNN.
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Azzi Fudd, a senior from St. John’s College High School, is not only her school’s student body vice president, she’s also the No. 1 women’s high school basketball recruit in the nation.
She told CNN the most memorable day this school year was her birthday, which was also the day she signed on to play at the University of Connecticut.
Though the school year was challenging, Fudd remained positive.
“Looking back, I am grateful that I got all this extra time with my family,” she said. “I felt like I have really gotten a great relationship with my brothers over this past year and a half and I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”
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Former NBA basketball and all-star Dwyane Wade congratulated graduates for making it through a tough year and said that he’s excited about their future.
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NFL quarterback Russell Wilson told 2021 graduates that now they have a chance to “commit to your vision.”
He said that to “live with vision” you have to have discipline, be resilient and have faith.
“Don’t just think about the life you’ll lead, think about the lives you’ll change. Class of 2021, what’s your vision?” Wilson said.
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Basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal — who has four degrees of his own, including a doctorate in education — gave four pieces of advice to the class of 2021.
Here they are:
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Actress Jessica Alba told the 2021 graduating class that while this year “may not have gone as you expected, my hope for you is to focus on entering this exciting moment in your life.”
She told graduates: “Now more than ever, the world, the planet needs you to push for the greater good.”
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Rapper Ludacris congratulated the class of 2021 in his virtual message and also commended them for overcoming a year full of adversity.
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Alora Young, a senior from Nashville and a finalist to become the Youth Poet Laureate, shared her poem dedicated to the class of 2021, “Our First Exodus.”
“There is a distinct difference between being taught and learning. Education seems to me more than a right — it’s a necessity, creates creatives that lead us through the fight, running restlessly into tomorrow,” she read.
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Actor Matthew McConaughey offered a few pieces of advice in his message to the class of 2021.
“Life’s worth living, and now you’ve just made a big step to just doing that,” McConaughey said in his remarks.
He reminded graduates to invest in themselves and their own futures. He also encouraged graduates to take time to figure out who they are by finding out what they’re not.
McConaughey ended by letting the class of 2021 know that “Life’s scary. It’s ok to be scared. Just don’t be afraid.”
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Kim Kardashian West has something in common with the class of 2021: She, too, has been studying in the middle of the global pandemic.
Kardashian West, who began studying law two years ago in hopes of taking the California bar exam in 2022, said her studies have reminded her of the value of education.
She urged new graduates to “stay focused in whatever you choose to do in life,” and noted that the pandemic has taught us that “happiness, and health and choosing to do what you really love to do is probably the most important thing.”
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“Graduation 2021: A CNN Special Event,” CNN’s special honoring the class of 2021 is underway.
Vice President Kamala Harris is the keynote speaker of tonight’s event, which will also feature musical performances by Portugal, The Man, Andy Grammer, Lukas Grahm and EARCANDY.
The class of 2021 faced a year shaped by the Covid-19 pandemic, and many schools are holding virtual ceremonies for a second year in a row.
CNN will air “Graduation 2021: A CNN Special Event” at 7 p.m. ET tonight.
The special event honoring the class of 2021 will feature musical performances from artists including…
Students from the Duke Ellington School of Arts in Washington, DC, and the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City will also perform.
CNN’s graduation special will begin at 7 p.m. ET. “Graduation 2021: A CNN Special Event” will stream live, requiring a cable login, on CNN.com’s homepage and across mobile devices via CNN’s apps for iOS and Android.
It can also be viewed on CNNgo (at CNN.com/go on your desktop, smartphone and tablet, and via CNNgo apps for Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Chromecast, Samsung Smart TV and Android TV).
The special will also be available on demand to subscribers via cable/satellite systems, CNNgo platforms and CNN mobile apps.
“Graduation 2021: A CNN Special Event,” CNN’s special honoring the class of 2021, kicks off at 7 p.m. ET tonight.
The special will feature a keynote address from Vice President Kamala Harris.
Harris has a personal connection to the class of 2021: Last week, she posted that her stepdaughter, Ella, graduated.
“I am so proud of you,” Harris wrote on Instagram.
