Okay, okay, maybe not all commencement speeches follow the same unmemorable script. At the George Mason University last week, the dean of the engineering school rapped his words of inspiration to the Class of 2012 — while accompanied by a tuba. Dean Lloyd Griffiths told the graduates that one of his favorite parts of convocation has been the music, so he figured this year, “Why not have some music as part of my speech?” Griffiths was joined on stage by tuba-playing Michael Nickens, GMU’s director of the athletic bands who is known to students as “Doc Nix.” Grads laughed and cheered as Griffith rapped: “Today is real special. It marks a transition. From college to the world. It’s an ancient tradition.” (The video is rather ... Continue reading →
Welcome to Hangover Hamburger Friday: the Memorial Day weekend edition. Throughout May we’ve given you booze-soaking burgers in the form of triple-decker street meat, a poutine mashup, and a peanut butter bomb, but today we have something more portable for your Friday flight: the Frito Pie. We like to think of it as a deconstructed burger, but if that makes your head explode, simply refer to it as a “walking taco” and know that it contains everything your sluggish body needs to get you through hours of beach-bound traffic: ground beef, cheese, fried, salty bits, and a distracting twinge of shame. You’ll pick up this meal-in-a-bag at the corner of 19th and L streets, Northwest, where Yeshu Woldemicael mans the stationary Cart Cafe responsible for ... Continue reading →
There’s a Canadian out there living the dream. He graduated from law school at the University of Toronto in 2009, during the heat of the recession. But now, just three years later, he’s completely debt-free. A little while ago, he made his last debt payment of over $100,000, in cash. Of course, he didn’t make that kind of money being a lawyer. There aren’t a lot of people who graduated in 2009 from law school who were able to pay off their debts through their work in law. But I still consider Alex Kenjeev my hero. Slow rolls his debts, makes a bunch on money, then dumps bags of cash on the bank to leave him alone. It could still happen…. Business Insider ran the ... Continue reading →
Dean Lloyd Griffiths and Dr. Michael Nickens had a jam session during the 2011-2012 Convocation for the Volgenau School of Engineering at George Mason University Continue reading →
Confession: I don’t remember who spoke at my college graduation. I vaguely remember that it was a guy, but I can’t tell you what he said. When I asked my Facebook friends and followers about their memories, several were able to name the speaker but few could recall the message. Sure, there are commencement speakers who deliver truly memorable addresses that resonate with graduates. But I think we can all agree that most commencement speeches sound exactly the same. At Boston College’s commencement on Monday, one grad napped while another yawned. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia) (Stephan Savoia - AP) Therefore, I have compiled a commencement speech that could be given to any Class of 2012 anywhere using cherry-picked quotes from real (and, actually, quite wonderful) speeches. ... Continue reading →