Advice For Graduates

A Look At 2003 Commencement Speeches

(CBS)  One of the rituals of graduation is the commencement speech, which is usually ripe with words of wisdom and advice for graduates.

On Friday, The Early Show wrapped up a week-long series on graduation with a look at some of this year's college commencement speeches.

Here are some of the words of wisdom from actors, politicians, musicians and journalists to the class of 2003.

Laura Bush – Georgetown University
“Today marks the culmination of many years of determination and hard work, many years of sleep deprivation, takeout, doing your own laundry, circling the campus for a parking spot. Congratulations to all of you. Now it's time to get a job and pay those parking tickets.”

Meryl Streep – University of New Hampshire
“If I have to make a political speech, you'll sleep, but if I make a speech about sex, you'll wake up.”

Alan Alda – Southhampton College
“I am the perfect one to talk to you because I learned practically nothing in college.

Andy Rooney – Miami University in Oxford, Ohio
“If you are smart at all, you should be nervous about facing new worlds and going to be out on your own. You're going to have to find a job and you're going to have to learn how to do the job. It's likely that nothing like you learned in college will help with that. The good thing about an education is simply having one. You don't have to do anything with it to enjoy it.”

Meryl Streep – University of New Hampshire
“Put blinders on through all the things that conspire to hold you back especially the ones in your own head. Guard your good moods, listen to music every day, joke, love and read more for fun.

Yoko Ono – Maine College of Art
“I say you can't stand if you've got too much muck in your head. Let it go and dance through life. After all, in the big picture, we're all just part of the harmony called the universe.”

Sigourney Weaver – Southern Connecticut State University
“Have faith in yourself and get out there and conquer the world in your own way, at your own time. The happiest people I know are all late bloomers. And the important thing as you conquer the world is to take care of yourself, take care of your health, take care of each other, relax, laugh, breathe. So when your moment comes, you are fit and ready to go.”

Bill Cosby – Hampton University
“Well, you know the old joke. Some of you are graduating summa cum laude, magna cum laude, cum laude, and Thank You, Lawdy. Yeah.”

Alan Alda – Southhampton College
“OK, OK This is important. Number one, be very lucky.”

Steven Tyler – Berklee College of Music
“We share qualities of passion and ambition. All of us in this room may be different shapes, sizes, colors, may have different interpretations of a G string and come from different places, but it's the DNA that tags us as members of the same tribe. In other words, we're all here 'cause we're not all there. And that's a really good thing.”

Alan Alda – Southhampton College
“So what chance do you have to be our future? This chance. You can decide to think for yourself with every step you take. You can say to yourself, I will make a silk purse out of every sow's ear that comes down the assembly line.”

Bill Clinton – Syracuse University
“All of human history can be seen in part as a race between the forces of the builders and the forces of the wreckers. And every single time, since people first rose out of the African savannah 100,000 years ago, when it came down to it, the builders have prevailed, the people who believed in our inner dependence, people who believe in our common humanity, have prevailed.”

Laura Bush – Georgetown University
“Think about everything you've accomplished in the past four years. Before you leave today, stand on the hilltop, maybe one last time for some of you, and smile.”

Bill Cosby – Hampton University
“You are big stuff today. Yeah. Congratulations. Do your work.”