Lin-Manuel Miranda, the beloved musical theatre star and co-author of Hamilton: The Revolution, gave a commencement address for the University of Pennsylvania’s class of 2016. The video embedded above features Miranda delivering his speech.
Here’s an excerpt from Miranda’s piece: “Stories are essential. Don’t believe me? In a year where politicians traffic in anti-immigrant rhetoric, there is also a Broadway musical reminding us that a broke, orphan immigrant from the West indies built our financial system. A story that reminds us that since the beginning of the great unfinished symphony that is our American experiment, time and time again immigrants get the job done.”
In the past, a great number of authors have given moving commencement speeches. Back in 2013, The Fault in Our Stars novelist John Green spoke at Butler University. 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.