The graduating class of 2020 has a big reason to celebrate their stalled milestone in the comfort of their homes due to the coronavirus pandemic. YouTube announced on Tuesday that it would host a virtual graduation ceremony that will be headlined by former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama.
"Dear Class of 2020" is YouTube's original special that will give honor to graduating students from class 2020 who will not be able to walk on stage and get a hand on the anticipated diploma for the hard-worked school year, no thanks to the spread of COVID-19.
YouTube has tapped no less than Barack Obama to deliver a commencement speech, along with his wife, Michelle, who will each give separate and joint addresses. The powerful couple is expected to impart inspiring and encouraging messages to the class of 2020. The former First Lady posted the invite to the meaningful event on her Twitter account, where she wrote that she and the former president "want to give you the celebration you deserve."
On another tweet, Mrs. Obama wrote a shout-out to the graduating students of high school, college, or "any kind of school" and to their family and loved ones to join the celebration. The superstar Lady Gaga, Kpop's biggest band, BTS, and former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, will also be giving out their respective speeches to the graduates who are forced to stay indoors. Other special speakers to be featured are former Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai. "Dear Class of 2020" special online multi-hour event will premiere on June 6, 2020, Saturday at 3 pm ET/ 12 pm PT on the YouTube Originals channel and YouTube's Learn@Home site. YouTube created it to be a festival-style ceremony that, apart from the traditional speeches focusing on graduation-day themes, individual musical performances will be part of the program. Reach Higher Initiative, launched six years ago by Mrs. Obama, will kick-off the special celebration with an hour-long of relevant content. Special video appearances will also be included coming from singer-songwriter Alicia Keys, Kerry Washington, Kelly Rowland, Zendaya, Chloe x Halle. Also, in the line up are YouTube creators Jackie Aina, AsapSCIENCE, Mr. Kate, The Try Guys, and Dude Perfect. After the inspirational speeches, there will be more celebration for the graduates via a virtual after-party graduation night that will feature performances from BTS, Lady Gaga, and other musical artists. The full schedule from YouTube of "Dear Class of 2020" commencement events will be posted on the Learn@Home site beginning on May 17. The students are encouraged to set a reminder for the special event and are asked to register their names on yt.be/dearclassof2020, "Dear Class of 2020" Shout Out Board. Along with Michelle Obama's Reach Higher Initiative, YouTube is working this out together with Born This Way Foundation, Lady Gaga's non-profit organization, Malala Fund, which is co-founded by Malala Yousafzai. NBC's "Today," and Ideas United. Student stories will be showcased, and graduates all over the world will be featured along with a crowd-sourced commencement speech.Whether you’re graduating from high school, college, or any other kind of school––we want you, your family, and all of your loved ones to be a part of this celebration. Tune in @Youtube on June 6 at https://t.co/VIQRGjEyuZ. Can't wait to see you there! — Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) May 5, 2020
Whether you’re graduating from high school, college, or any other kind of school––we want you, your family, and all of your loved ones to be a part of this celebration. Tune in @Youtube on June 6 at https://t.co/VIQRGjEyuZ. Can't wait to see you there! — Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) May 5, 2020
