But just as seniors were ready to celebrate crossing the finish line, the coronavirus pandemic hit.
Acknowledging the new uncertainties introduced by the pandemic, Obama told the class of 2020 the global health crisis would force them to grow up faster.
“When everything’s up for grabs, this is your generation’s world to shape,” Obama said.
“This pandemic has shaken up the status quo, and laid bare a lot of our country’s deep-seated problems,” he said, pointing to economic inequality, systemic racism and health care disparities.
The former president closed with a final piece of advice: Build a community.
“No one does big things by themselves,” he said. “If we’re going to save the environment and defeat future pandemics, we’re going to have to do it together. So be alive to one another’s struggles. Stand up for one another’s rights. Leave behind all the old ways of thinking that divide us.”
Basketball star LeBron James, whose activism has centered on primary education, flipped the “stay home” message spread during the public health crisis into a metaphorical one: “Stay close to home.”
“Class of 2020, the world has changed. You will determine how we rebuild, and I ask that you make your community your priority,” James said.
Megan Rapinoe, soccer player for the U.S. Women’s National Team, told the seniors, “I’m not gonna ask you to come together. I’m going to ask you to demand better.”
She encouraged students to vote in November, adding, “Who is leading matters.”