头戴学位帽、身穿长袍礼貌的毕业生们在领取毕业证书之前，往往会聆听一位名人给他们作毕业典礼演讲，传授人生体验和生活观察（英文演讲汇录）。

5月15日,在新泽西州的皮斯卡塔韦(Piscataway, New Jersey)，欧巴马总统对罗格斯大学（Rutgers University）的毕业生说，棘手的问题不能单独孤立地解决。他还批评了他所说的经常渗透到政治中的反科学、反知性的心理。

欧巴马说：“在政治和在生活中，无知不是美德。 不知所云并不酷。那并不是保持真实或者实话实说。那并不是挑战政治正确。那只是说明你不知道你在说什么。”

5月14日，脸书(Facebook)首席运营官雪莉·桑德伯格(Sheryl Sandberg)在对加州大学伯克利分校(University of California, Berkeley)应届毕业生的讲话中告诉他们，她的丈夫在2015年的突然去世成为一个转折点，教她懂得了什么是坚韧顽强。

她说：“我懂得了悲伤的深切和丧失的残酷。但我也懂得了，当生活将你拉到水底时，你可以反蹬水底，冲出水面，再次呼吸。我懂得了在空落面前，或在任何挑战面前，你可以选择快乐和意义。”

5月15日，前电视脱口秀主持人奥普拉·温弗里(Oprah Winfrey)在北卡罗来纳州的夏洛特(Charlotte, North Carolina)对约翰逊C.史密斯大学(Johnson C. Smith)的2016届毕业生发表了演讲。

她敦促毕业生要追求卓越，但在遇到困难的时候不要灰心，因为“失败是上帝让你朝另一个方向前进的途径。”

西雅图海鹰(Seattle Seahawk)美式足球队四分卫拉塞尔·威尔逊(Russell Wilson)回到母校威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校(University of Wisconsin, Madison)，5月15日在毕业典礼上发表演讲。

威尔逊在2014年带领他的球队获得了超级碗(Super Bowl)的胜利。他回忆说，在一所学校的前教练曾告诉他，想进入国家美式足球联盟(National Football League)从事职业生涯是不现实的。他对威斯康星大学的毕业生说，他没有听从这位教练的劝告，而是更坚定地要实现自己的体育潜能。

威尔逊说:“生活对你说‘是’的那些时刻并不是塑造你的时刻。真正重要的时刻是当生活对你说’不’的时候。”

“当生活对你说’不’的时候，要诚实地问自己：‘我的能力是什么？’一旦你知道了答案，就不要害怕让其他人也知道这一点。”

关注ShareAmericao更多了解校园生活和如何来美国留学。

In May, the annual ritual begins. At U.S. colleges and universities, newly minted graduates gather one last time for a formal ceremony before they scatter to seek their fortunes.

Wearing caps and gowns, before they can collect their diplomas, the graduates sit politely and listen to commencement speeches by prominent people who share their stories and observations on life.

President Obama, at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey, told graduates on May 15 that tough problems can’t be solved in isolation. He also criticized what he described as an anti-science, anti-intellectual mindset that too often permeates politics.

“In politics and in life, ignorance is not a virtue,” said Obama. “It’s not cool to not know what you’re talking about. That’s not keeping it real or telling it like it is. That’s not challenging political correctness. That’s just not knowing what you’re talking about.”

Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, speaking May 14 to new grads at the University of California, Berkeley, cited her husband’s sudden death in 2015 as a turning point that taught her about resilience.

“I learned about the depths of sadness and the brutality of loss,” she said. “But I also learned that when life sucks you under, you can kick against the bottom, break the surface and breathe again. I learned that in the face of the void, or in the face of any challenge, you can choose joy and meaning.”

Former TV talk-show host Oprah Winfrey addressed the Class of 2016 at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina, on May 15.

She urged the grads to strive for excellence, but not to lose heart when they stumble, because “failure is God’s way of moving you in another direction.”

Russell Wilson, quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks football team, returned to his alma mater — the University of Wisconsin, in Madison — to deliver a May 15 commencement speech.

Wilson, who led his team to a Super Bowl victory in 2014, recalled that a former coach at another school had told him it wasn’t realistic to hope for a National Football League career. He rejected the coach’s advice and became even more determined to fulfill his athletic potential, he told the Wisconsin grads.

“The moments when life tells you ‘yes’ aren’t the ones that define you. The moments that really matter are the moments when life tells you ‘no,'” said Wilson.

“When life tells you ‘no,’ ask yourself honestly: ‘What am I capable of?’ Once you know the answer, don’t be afraid to let everyone else know it too.”

Follow ShareAmerica to learn more about campus life, graduation rituals and attending college in the United States.