D. Tatum. (Photo: AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser

After a two-year campaign of letters and personal videos, Spelman College finally convinced First Lady Michelle  Obama to deliver the 2011 commencement speech for 550 Spelman graduates this past Sunday at the Georgia International Convention Center in College Park, GA. Mrs. Obama told the graduates:

I want to talk about the obligations that come with a Spelman education, and how I believe you all might fulfill those obligations going forward.

Mrs. Obama recalled to the graduates of their rich history and how the legacy is now their inheritance, a word she says she chose carefully saying:

And I’ve chosen that word, inheritance, very carefully, because it’s not an entitlement that you can take for granted. It’s not a gift with which you can do whatever you please. It is a commitment that comes with a certain set of obligations, obligations that don’t end when you march through that arch today.

Mrs. Obama confided in the young graduates sharing her own insecurites in life about doubting her potential but encouraged the students, after laughs errupted when she told them to take a long deep breath, to think about the women who came before them as she exclaimed:

You have an obligation to see each setback as a challenge and as an opportunity to learn and grow. You have an obligation to face whatever life throws your way with confidence and with hope.

Despite economic stability Mrs. Obama charged the graduates with finding a career in public service sharing her own experience with leaving her secure, high-paying job and eventually became the Executive Director of a non-profit, working to help young people get involved in public service. She went on to exclaim that she made a lot less money, but she went to work every day feeling excited because with every young person she inspired, she felt her becoming inspired.

Mrs. Obama didn’t shy away from giving a shoutout to one of her own staff members, Kristen Jarvis, who is a 2003 graduate of Spelman College and credited Kristen as being her right-hand woman and thanked Spelman for giving her Kristen.

Among other guest were actress Phyllicia Rashad and  world renown choreographer/dancer Debbie Allen who both received honorary degrees with Michelle Obama.