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Advice for graduates: Listeners share songs, lessons from high school

Janelle Monáe gives a commencement speech at Loyola Marymount University's 2024 Graduate ceremony. JC Olivera/Getty Images hide caption

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JC Olivera/Getty Images

All Songs Considered

Advice for graduates: Listeners share songs, lessons from high school

Listeners share songs that take them back to the final days of high school, and the lessons they impart.

Advice for graduates: Listeners share songs, lessons from high school

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A concentrated dose of history: The class of 2024 looks back

From left: Alexis Jones (Cornell University), Mei Lamison (New York University), Anaka Srinivas (Northwestern University). Alexis Jones; Mei Lamison; Anaka Srinivas hide caption

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Alexis Jones; Mei Lamison; Anaka Srinivas

Consider This from NPR

A concentrated dose of history: The class of 2024 looks back

Everyone says you live through history, but "I don't think anyone prepared us for this much history," say the students in the Class of 2024.

A concentrated dose of history: The class of 2024 looks back

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Ukraine's Zelenskyy surprises Johns Hopkins grads as their commencement speaker

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses the graduating class of Johns Hopkins University via livestream from Ukraine on Thursday in Baltimore. Will Kirk/Johns Hopkins University via AP hide caption

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Will Kirk/Johns Hopkins University via AP

Ukraine invasion — explained

Ukraine's Zelenskyy surprises Johns Hopkins grads as their commencement speaker

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's virtual appearance at the commencement ceremony was a surprise for those in attendance. He was also awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.

Boston University grads booed the Warner Bros. Discovery CEO amid the writers strike

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav stands onstage while being introduced before delivering a commencement address at Boston University on Sunday in Boston. Steven Senne/AP hide caption

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Steven Senne/AP

Education

Boston University grads booed the Warner Bros. Discovery CEO amid the writers strike

The school began receiving backlash after it announced David Zaslav would be this year's commencement speaker a day after the Writers Guild of America went on strike.

Obama, Malala, Jonas Brothers Send Off Class Of 2020 In Virtual Graduation

With live ceremonies canceled across the U.S., former President Barack Obama gave graduating seniors a virtual commencement address on Saturday during the virtual event Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020. Getty Images for EIF & XQ hide caption

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Getty Images for EIF & XQ

Coronavirus Updates

Obama, Malala, Jonas Brothers Send Off Class Of 2020 In Virtual Graduation

In a Saturday broadcast, a star-studded event honored high school seniors who didn't get the traditional graduation because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Obama, Malala, Jonas Brothers Send Off Class Of 2020 In Virtual Graduation

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A Hidden Brain Commencement Address

Anderson High School senior Teyaja Jones, right, poses in her cap and gown and a bandana face cover, Tuesday, May 5, 2020, in Austin, Texas. Eric Gay/AP hide caption

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Eric Gay/AP

The Coronavirus Crisis

A Hidden Brain Commencement Address

Commencement ceremonies allow us to take stock of what we've accomplished and where we're headed. This is one of the key opportunities that students and families have lost, as social distancing precautions lead schools to cancel in-person graduations. In this "commencement address," recorded at the request of the public radio program 1A, Shankar Vedantam offers thoughts on what it means to mark such a milestone at this moment, and how graduates can use the disruption caused by the pandemic to think about their lives in new ways.

A Hidden Brain Commencement Address

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Students To Get Graduation Pomp At Drive-In Theater Despite Circumstances

Kristin Doherty (left) and Gina Kappes, advisers at North Salem High School in New York, performed a skit as part the video announcement that the 2020 graduation ceremony would take place at Four Brothers Drive In Theater next month. Courtesy of Gina Kappes hide caption

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Courtesy of Gina Kappes

The Coronavirus Crisis

Students To Get Graduation Pomp At Drive-In Theater Despite Circumstances

One high school in New York has found a way to have safe and memorable graduation: hold it at a drive-in movie theater.

Students To Get Graduation Pomp At Drive-In Theater Despite Circumstances

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A DACA Recipient Graduates Amid Deportation Fears

Jessica Moreno-Caycho graduates on Saturday from Virginia Commonwealth University. Courtesy of Jessica Moreno-Caycho hide caption

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Courtesy of Jessica Moreno-Caycho

National

A DACA Recipient Graduates Amid Deportation Fears

NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Jessica Moreno-Caycho, a DACA recipient who is graduating this weekend from Virginia Commonwealth University. She chronicles her experience of uncertainty.

A DACA Recipient Graduates Amid Deportation Fears

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For New Jersey DACA Student, The Road To College Is Bumpier Than Expected

Desiree Armas (center) and her parents, Olga and Carlos Armas, left Peru when Desiree was 3 years old. Her immigration status made finding financial aid for college complicated. Joel Rose/NPR hide caption

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Joel Rose/NPR

Kitchen Table Conversations

For New Jersey DACA Student, The Road To College Is Bumpier Than Expected

We first met Desiree Armas back in January. She graduated with honors from high school, but her home state of New Jersey doesn't allow state financial aid for students in the country illegally.

For New Jersey DACA Student, The Road To College Is Bumpier Than Expected

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Goodwill Helps 43-Year-Old Finally Get Her High School Diploma

The Goodwill Excel Center in Austin, TX. Gabriel Cristóver Pérez/KUT hide caption

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Gabriel Cristóver Pérez/KUT

NPR Ed

Goodwill Helps 43-Year-Old Finally Get Her High School Diploma

Most American adults have finished high school. For those who haven't, wages are rock bottom and the unemployment rate is more than 7 percent. That's why Goodwill opened a charter school for adults.

Goodwill Helps 43-Year-Old Finally Get Her High School Diploma

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