Brad Meltzer gave a commencement address for the University of Michigan Law School’s class of 2016. The video embedded above features the renowned lawyer and political thriller novelist delivering a speech called “The Greatest Risk You’ll Ever Take.”
Here’s an excerpt from Meltzer’s piece: “You have a degree that will serve you forever. Everyone has the right to a lawyer, but not everyone has the right to you. You get to decide who you give your talents to.”
In the past, a great number of authors have given moving commencement speeches. Last year, the novelist Joyce Carol Oates spoke at Niagara County Community College. Coraline writer Neil Gaiman’s 2012 “Make Good Art” talk went viral. Harry Potter series author J.K. Rowling’s 2008 “Very Good Lives” talk has drawn more than 1.5 million views on YouTube.