Usher Delivers Commencement Speech At Emory University

College graduation season is upon us, which means some of your favorite stars are flipping their tassels on stage and receiving honorary degrees. 

The latest celebrity standing behind that podium is Usher, who attended Emory University’s 180th commencement graduation this past Monday, May 12. Before giving the graduation speech, Usher accepted the Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, from President Gregory L. Fenves.

Despite rising to stardom at a young age, Usher tells the crowd that he, too, was once a student trying to find his way.

“Before I could sing, before I could dance and before I was a doctor,” he joked. “I had passion. The system didn’t know what to do with a student like me.”

Those struggles included his tough adjustment of moving from Chattanooga, Tenn., to Atlanta, which led to him falling “academically far behind.” So he dealt with the stigma of being placed in remedial classes, which he says “felt like a judgment on my ability as a Black man or kid at the time.”

Still, it propelled him to excel at what he could do well.

“Though I was misunderstood and passed on, that was the point of investment that I had to make in order to find my purpose,” he explained. “Because of that passion, I felt it would lead me in the right direction, and it has.”

Then it led to him creating his Atlanta-based non-profit, ‘New Look’, which helps serve underserved kids with a focus on education and financial literacy. 

With the overwhelming success he’s seen in the entertainment industry for decades, Usher still understands the importance of a traditional education while giving a slight dig at how social media-obsessed everyone seems to be.

“In a world where credentials can feel overshadowed by clicks, followers, and algorithms, does a diploma still matter?” he asked. “Yes, of course it does. But it’s not the paper that gives power. It’s you.”

He ended his speech with a message of wisdom for the new grads regarding balance en route to success.

“Be a little unrealistic, be a little delusional, even in your pursuit of happiness and fulfillment, he said. “At the same time, be patient, be respectful of the process, because life is filled with challenges, and they would either make you or break you.”

You can watch the entire commencement address above.

Usher Delivers Commencement Speech At Emory University: “Be A Little Unrealistic, Be A Little Delusional”  was originally published on cassiuslife.com