Commencement season has largely come and gone at universities and colleges around the nation. And, once again, we’re left with the remains of speeches that ran the gamut from wonderful (thank you, Tom Brokaw.) So, here’s a quick, non-scientific roundup of 2009 commencement speeches. to horrendous (think Ellen DeGeneres). By nonscientific I mean that these are the ones that popped up first on a Google search. (No

The speakers were terrific, and those speeches were everything a good graduation speech should be: personal, hopeful, reflective, inspiring, cautionary and funny. So in a few days, I will be listening to a commencement speech firsthand. So it gives me pause to reflect on the commencement speech during this personally momentous graduation season. When my son was in the 8 th grade I had the privilege of preparing and coaching the graduation speakers of Kent Middle School in Kentfield, California. They were also well organized with a beginning,