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Unlike Kansas City Chiefs’ kicker Harrison Butker, Kylie Kelce, wife of the recently retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, was roundly praised for giving a commencement speech this past weekend.
While Butker was still being criticized for his homophobic, sexist commencement speech by many, including Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, Kylie Kelce was praised for giving a funny, emotional and inspiring speech to the final graduating class at her alma mater.
Kylie joked at the beginning of her speech that the graduates in attendance “couldn’t even get a top five Kelce” to give the commencement speech.
She also pointed out that her “husband, Jason Kelce, is known for giving Earth-shattering speeches… He did not help me, so lower those expectations.”
Kylie Kelce played field hockey for Cabrini University, winning the Colonial States Athletic Conference title two years in a row, and graduated in 2017 with a degree in communications.
After being purchased being by Villanova University, the small college in the Philadelphia area will be closing down after 67 years.
“This was home, and this was where you found your extended family,” she said. “In the next few months as the sign at the front entrance no longer reads Cabrini, and a new school moves in, know that your home still exists.”
“Everyone’s first question after graduation is, ‘What’s next?'” Kelce said in her speech. “‘I don’t know’ can be an honest and sufficient answer. The truth is that no one has their lives completely figured out. And if someone tells you otherwise, they are lying.”
Kelce added, “One of the most obvious forms of beauty in society is being unique. What a boring world it would be if you and your classmates sitting to either side of you thought exactly the same way, enjoyed exactly the same things and partook in exactly the same activities.”
She also told the graduates, “I am well aware that my current position in life is due to the wonderful people around me, but I’ll be damned if I don’t stay true to myself in everything I do and ensure that I am always authentically me.”
She’s not lying.
“So find the things that speak to you,” Kelce continued. “Your enthusiasm can be channeled to create change, and you are wonderful the way you are.”