Graduation Quotes

Graduation is an ending that feels like a beginning. These quotes capture the excitement, uncertainty, and wide-open possibility of stepping into whatever comes next — perfect for cards, speeches, or quiet moments of reflection.

“I was the first boy in the Kennedy family to graduate from college.”

Mark Kennedy

More Graduation Quotes

“I got all my work done to graduate in two months and then they were like, I'm sorry, you have to take driver's ed. I just kind of went, Oh, forget it.”

Fiona Apple

“I always wanted to have my own album released before I graduated from high school.”

Christina Aguilera

“Being considerate of others will take your children further in life than any college degree.”

Marian Wright Edelman

“Everybody wants you to do good things, but in a small town you pretty much graduate and get married. Mostly you marry, have children and go to their football games.”

Faith Hill

“I'm not retiring. I am graduating. Today is my graduation day. Retirement means that you'll just go ahead and live on your laurels and surf all day in Oceanside. It ain't going to happen.”

Junior Seau

“I was the first boy in the Kennedy family to graduate from college.”

Mark Kennedy

“This man used to go to school with his dog. Then they were separated. His dog graduated!”

Henny Youngman

“I learned law so well, the day I graduated I sued the college, won the case, and got my tuition back.”

Fred Allen

“For a man to attain to an eminent degree in learning costs him time, watching, hunger, nakedness, dizziness in the head, weakness in the stomach, and other inconveniences.”

Miguel de Cervantes

“A graduation ceremony is an event where the commencement speaker tells thousands of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that 'individuality' is the key to success.”

Robert Orben

“In this outward and physical ceremony we attest once again to the inner and spiritual strength of our Nation. As my high school teacher, Miss Julia Coleman, used to say: 'We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles.'”

Jimmy Carter

“Earlier today, Arnold Schwarzenegger criticized the California school system, calling it disastrous. Arnold says California's schools are so bad that its graduates are willing to vote for me.”

Conan O'Brien

“It is virtually impossible to compete in today's global economy without a college degree.”

Bobby Scott

“I first became interested in women and religion when I was one of the few women doing graduate work in Religious Studies at Yale University in the late 1960's.”

Carol P. Christ

“We don't stop going to school when we graduate.”

Carol Burnett

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