What Do the CEO of Twitter, Conan O’Brian, and David Foster Wallace Have in Common?

Nothing really. At least nothing substantial on the surface. Some might say the title then is just a ploy to get people to click on the link, pandering to the instinct in all of us to read about all things celebrity. But I guess you could say most titles are ploys, at least most good ones. They grab at you and tickle your curiosity in just a few words, words that may have some sliver of deceit in them. Yet that doesn’t make them lies. And I submit that this title is no lie either (or you will forgive me the excess). There is something that the three men listed in the title have in common: they have all given truly excellent commencement speeches.

At a time when many UB students are planning their graduation parties and beginning down that nervously hopeful path that leads to the rest of their lives, I figured that I might help alleviate some of that nervousness by directing your attention to some of the most inspiring, funny, and reassuring commencement speeches on YouTube.

University of Michigan: Dick Costolo, CEO of Twitter

Dartmouth College: Conan O’Brien

Kenyon College: David Foster Wallace

Stanford University: Steve Jobs

Goucher College: Ira Glass

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