Best Graduation Quotes to Inspire, Uplift & Motivate You Every Day

“I graduated a the top of my class in the '84 Olympic Games; I won a gold medal.”

“Each year India and China produce four million graduates compared with just over 250,000 in Britain.”

“Being considerate of others will take your children further in life than any college degree.”

“When I graduated from Santa Monica High in 1927, I was voted the girl most likely to succeed. I didn't realize it would take so long.”

“For students today, only 10 percent of children from working-class families graduate from college by the age of 24 as compared to 58 percent of upper-middle-class and wealthy families.”

“College graduates should not have to live out their 20s in their childhood bedrooms, staring up at fading Obama posters and wondering when they can move out and get going with life.”

“Yeah, I spent about 20 years in a dorm room. It took me a while to graduate.”

“I graduated from the University of Whatever.”

“When my mother took her turn to sit in a gown at her graduation, she thought she only had two career options: nursing and teaching. She raised me and my sister to believe that we could do anything, and we believed her.”

“ACT and SAT each have their own parts of the country. The GRE has its lock on graduate admissions. And so, one could blame the companies, but really, economically, they have no incentive to change things very much because they're getting the business.”

“College atheletes used to get a degree in bringing your pencil.”

“I wrote a novel for my degree, and I'm very happy I didn't submit that to a publisher. I sympathize with my professors who had to read it.”

“I didn't even walk for graduation - I did graduate, though. I got this homeschool deal. I didn't have to go to school because I was depressed, and my mom wrote all these essays for me. I didn't write one of them. She literally got me my diploma.”

“While I do commend the Administration on its commitment and focus on high school reform, I believe that we must focus on graduation as the key accountability measure.”

“I dropped out of college before graduation. I opted to begin work as an actress.”

“After my graduation from Sydenham College with a degree in Commerce, I was spotted by late Sunil Dutt, my idol, to act in films.”

“After graduation, I discovered that I'd hit the limit of what I could learn from the women in my family. On top of that, in the workforce, all of the things that mattered in college suddenly weren't enough.”

“Just after graduation in 1966, like many of my contemporaries, I applied for research training at the National Institutes of Health. Perhaps because his wife was a poet, Ira Pastan agreed to take me into his laboratory, despite my lack of scientific credentials.”

“After graduation, I wanted to work for 'Sassy', which I loved, but it had folded. So I wound up at 'Seventeen' for three years on staff and two as a contributor, and I wrote these great stories that nobody ever believes 'Seventeen' does. Serious stories for teens about social justice issues - gun control, migrant farm workers.”

“I applied to only one college - the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania - and was fortunate to be accepted. After graduation, I headed to Wall Street and worked as I had dreamed.”

“I got a lot of very bad hate on social media from some people from my school. I think people thought I changed because they saw me on TV. They weren't close enough to know that I was still the same human being... When I walked at graduation, I got booed. It was kind of stupid.”

“Upon graduation, I hit a wall. All of my good friends from UCLA were taking on jobs they were passionate about, and I felt left behind. It took a bit of soul searching, but in the end, I finally had the guts to pursue acting.”

“I started training at a local gym in New Jersey, and the day of my high school graduation, I packed up everything in my car and moved to Coconut Creek, Florida, where I trained with one of the best gyms in the world, American Top Team.”

“I think about the milestones from my childhood and what it will be like to watch our kids go through them. Taking Riley to her first day of school was a whirlwind. I can't imagine what middle school is going to be like, and high school, and graduation.”

“After graduation from high school, I attended the university entrance examination, and fortunately, I was accepted by the Department of Pharmacy and became a student at the Medical School of Peking University.”

“It's not how much you spend, it's how you spend it. We have been putting a lot of money into education in the state of Nevada, and it's gotten us to 50th in the country in graduation rates. We needed more accountability in our system.”

“I did my graduation in hospitality in Jaipur. When I was working, I started getting offers in modeling and did a few South films.”

“I was given a new coat as a high school graduation gift.”

“I couldn't finish my graduation so there were no jobs for me.”

“I started with a television serial, 'Just Mohabbat,' when I was in the first year of my graduation.”

“Right after graduation, I married Samuel Fisher Babbitt, an academic administrator. I spent the next ten years in Connecticut, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C., raising our children, Christopher, Tom, and Lucy.”

“A month before graduation I got an off-Broadway job. Then I did some commercials, including one for MCI. You can only see half of me, but it paid well. Thank God for commercials.”

“To my time at Harvard Law School and the many professional experiences that I've been blessed to have since graduation: Thank you.”

“Following graduation from Amherst, a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship enabled me to test the depth of my interest in literary scholarship by beginning graduate studies at Harvard University.”

“I did my first film when I was in the final year of my graduation. At that time, I was still a kid, and I couldn't read the industry very well.”

“I disagree with a lot of those changes, however at the end of the day - I go down to recruit graduation at least once or twice a year.”

“We had an argument, and he told me to be home at midnight, and I said no. And so when I did come home, the door was locked. And I had gotten a set of luggage for graduation that day, and it was on the front porch, packed. He thought that he was going to prove a point and I was going to say, 'Oh, I'm sorry, Daddy, I'm sorry'.”

“Adults tell students that it gets better, that the world changes after school, that being 'different' will pay off sometime after graduation. But no one explains to them why.”

“I commuted to the prestigious Hibiya High School from my uncle's home in Tokyo. During the high school years, I developed an interest in chemistry, so upon graduation, I chose to take an entrance examination for the Department of Chemistry of the University of Kyoto, the old capital of Japan.”

“One of the most difficult speeches to prepare is an address to a graduation class, which is why I don't often do them.”

“From an offensive standpoint, because a lot of times your personnel can change - whether it's through graduation in high school and college, or whether it's through different changes in the NBA - I think you've got to locate and figure out what each guy's strengths and talents are.”

“I attended an evangelical Christian university on the outskirts of suburban Los Angeles and by the time of my graduation was neither evangelical nor Christian.”

“I've always been short and stocky. So when I got into repertory theatre after graduation, I found myself doing character roles: because of my deep voice, shape and height, I was playing 40-year-old, 50-year-old roles at the age of 23.”

“It's my goal to make martial arts compulsory for girls in school. In China, you have to do two years of martial arts' training without which you cannot get a graduation degree.”

“My first college internship was at Sony Pictures Entertainment in Los Angeles. My second internship was at McKinsey & Company as a consultant - that turned into my first job after graduation.”

“I quit drinking in 2002, mere months before my college graduation.”

“I received $100 per week when I started working at the Globe after graduation.”

“I've done photo shoots for fashion brand catalogues and participated in graduation shows for fashion colleges.”

“After the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971, primary education was made free. We are now thinking to make education in the public sector free up to graduation level. We are also thinking of providing a light meal at primary and secondary schools in order to increase the student retention level.”

“Upon graduation, believe it or not, I had no job. I had no interviews. I had no prospects. I had no worries. What I did have, I had passion. I had enormous passion. I had passion for financial markets. I had fallen in love with financial markets.”

“After graduation, I moved to Los Angeles to do more theater, not realizing there is very little theater in L.A. It was a lucky mistake, though, because after just 2 1/2 months of waiting tables, my TV and film career really took off.”

“All my graduation money went to paying for bartending classes so I could have a side gig. I bartended for two months before I was supposed to move to New York and then two months later I got the job as an understudy in 'Sister Act' and haven't looked back since.”

“I thought I should go to New York because it was the place to go to study. I went and tried to get an application from the Juilliard School but they wouldn't even give me one because I didn't have my high school graduation.”

“I have done my post graduation in Business Administration.”

“I was the girl that didn't go to prom or my graduation because I was too busy working with producers and making music.”

“I always thought I would move to New York after graduation, but, instead, I moved to Los Angeles. I realized I was more scared of that choice than I was of New York, and I thought, at 22, I should get it over with.”

“I had the luxury of skipping the cabinet meeting to attend my daughter's graduation. So many people don't have the luxury of taking an hour away from the workplace to attend indispensable family commitments. We have to change that dynamic.”

“I loved school, was an exceptional student, and found a passion for math and science that led me to Vanderbilt University, where I discovered the world of electrical engineering. I did well in college, loved the work I was doing, and soon found myself climbing the corporate ladder after graduation. I was one of the lucky ones.”

“Thirty days after high-school graduation, I went straight into the Marines.”

“Graduation speeches force you to reflect. They are about consciousness. Nothing is better than consciousness.”

“It was only when I finished the course and left my graduation diploma on the bus that I realised I'd become an actor.”

“If someone comes to you with, 'It's my kid's graduation,' you don't tell them, 'Sorry, you can't go to that.' You just don't do that. You figure out some other way.”

“I have a good cry once in a while; it's such a great release. Or it could be a cry of joy - watching your child being born or your child walking across a graduation stage.”

“I have the loving support of my girlfriend who still attends Wake Forest and is nearing graduation. She helps me cope with the everyday rigors of being an NBA player.”

“I love graduation speeches. I have always loved them; I will always love them.”

“Following graduation from high school in 1948, I attended Harvard University where I became a physics major. Having grown up in a small town, I found Harvard to be an enormously enriching experience. Students in my class came from all walks of life and from a great variety of geographical locations.”

“When I was growing up, we were in a high income bracket, one of the highest. I was one of the first in high school to get a car. And I didn't have to wait for it to be a graduation present, either. We've probably got one of the nicest houses in Sacramento.”

“After completing my graduation, I went to Mumbai and started working as an assistant casting director. I worked on films like 'Talaash,' 'Ek Mai Aur Ekk Tu,' 'Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani' and 'Student Of The Year,' among others.”

“Mentors provide professional networks, outlets for frustration, college and career counseling, general life advice, and most importantly, an extra voice telling a student they are smart enough and capable enough to cross the stage at graduation and land their first paycheck from a career pathway job.”

“I'm not retiring. I am graduating. Today is my graduation day. Retirement means that you'll just go ahead and live on your laurels and surf all day in Oceanside. It ain't going to happen.”

“I had a chance to win $2 million, a week after high school graduation, and if I turned pro, the sponsor was going to financially support me.”

“I received my draft notice right after graduation from college and had three months before going into the Army in September to think about it.”

“I decided to move out of the apartment I was sharing with my best friend before graduation and move back home. My parents had recently separated, and I wanted to move back home with my mom and my siblings.”

“While we should certainly be investing in our own STEM education, we should take advantage of the thousands of international students who come here to study and are ready to fill these gaps immediately upon graduation.”

“School desegregation is associated with higher graduation rates, greater employability, higher earnings, and decreased rates of incarceration.”

“I pretty much bailed on high school. I mean, I graduated, but I wasn't even there for my own graduation.”

“I studied journalism at Binghamton University, even interning for NBC's longtime anchor Carol Jenkins. Before graduation, I told my parents I wanted to pursue broadcast journalism.”

“I went to my son's graduation this weekend, and I heard a great quote I've never heard before from Albert Einstein. It was that the greatest danger to the world is not the bad people but it's the good people who don't speak out.”

“I'll co-host 'TODAY' from Los Angeles Saturday morning and then make my way up to Merced for that evening's graduation ceremony. I'm still touching up my remarks, but my challenge to the Class of 2010 will be to break through the deafening and too often negative echo chamber of the digital era and become critical and independent thinkers.”

“When I was in college, my graduation thesis was called 'Female Directors.' I interviewed all of the important female directors from Mexico. There were four. That was it.”

“I wrote the screenplay for 'Water Lilies' while I was studying screenwriting at La Femis film school in Paris, and the director Xavier Beauvois, who was on the graduation committee, told me I had to make the film myself.”

“My daughter finished high school the same month I got my master's degree. I'm glad I didn't know when I gave birth to her at 21 what it would cost in terms of time, money and sacrifice to bring her to that graduation day.”

“From daycare to graduation, our education system stacks the odds against the poor. Predicted grades is just one of many hurdles that are set a little higher for those whose parents do not have the money to smooth their path in life or the inside knowledge of how the system works.”

“I missed out on a few proms, homecomings, might miss my graduation. I wouldn't want it any other way... it's worth it.”

“I was full of pride when President Obama talked about coding in his last State of the Union address. I was proud when Chicago recently made computer science mandatory as a requirement for graduation. To see this elevate to the level of a bigger conversation is progress.”

“I fell in love with theater there, and after graduation I moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting.”

“Simple health interventions such as lead paint abatement and home visiting for pregnant women result in not only improved health for children but also higher rates of graduation, reduced crime, and a more robust workforce.”

“I was a lesbian for a semester at Wesleyan - it was a graduation requirement.”

“No graduation speaker will ever tell you that the future is anything but uncertain. It never is. But graduations need not only be obsessed with looking ahead; a graduation can be a day on which we turn back and trace our steps to see how we ended up where we are.”

“The only thing urban about me is the parties. I have almost always been a suburbanite. I got a car for my graduation. I want to have a manicured lawn and have my son go to a good college.”

“I was into movies before my graduation results got out. In fact, I was on location of a movie when they came.”

“People in my family and camp who grew up listening to rap music love 'We Are Young.' I've heard it play at weddings. I've heard it in graduation parties. It's a big idea and big song.”

“I did freelance cartooning off and on from college graduation in 1991 through ABC News hiring me in 2003. I did a weekly comic strip for 'Roll Call' for about nine years. I sold cartoons and caricatures to 'The Los Angeles Times' and 'The Washington Post.' I drew as much as I could. It's really tough to make a living doing it.”

“I would say the most memorable thing that has ever happened to me has to be when I got my First class honours Law degree at my University graduation. All my family from all over the world were there when I collected my degree. I will never forget that day.”

“I was on the yearbook staff, so I would take out film cameras and Nikons and take photos around school and at sporting events and things like that. We had a darkroom as well. I just loved it. I also saved up for a video camera to video my friends and cut and paste the videos together and I gave them to all of my friends for graduation.”

“I have a 4-year-old and a 14-year-old, and think I missed a recital and a graduation, and they were like 'It's OK mommy, we'll take pictures.' It was my upset, though... they were just fine! I just give them a kiss and a hug and let them know that I love them every day.”

“After graduation, I was floundering in L.A., doing stand-up comedy and working in a shoe store in the Valley.”

“High levels of homeownership have been shown to foster greater involvement in school and civic organizations, higher graduation rates, and greater neighborhood stability.”

“What I like about graduation speeches is that they're an opportunity for someone to make sense of their life and to impart that wisdom to someone else. It's like a sanctioned self-help moment.”

“Truancy rates are directly correlated to low graduation rates.”