Kylie Kelce delivers Cabrini University commencement address: "Find the things that speak to you"
RADNOR, Pa. (CBS) -- Though her husband Jason is famous for delivering one of the greatest speeches in Philadelphia sports history, Kylie Kelce got her turn at the mic this weekend.
On Sunday, Kylie delivered the commencement address at Cabrini University's undergraduate graduation ceremony, the final commencement in school history.
Kelce joked that the graduates "couldn't even get a top five Kelce" as their commencement speaker and told the crowd inside the Dixon Center that "my husband, Jason Kelce, is known for giving Earth-shattering speeches... He did not help me, so lower those expectations."
Kylie, whose maiden name is McDevitt, graduated from Cabrini in 2017 with a BA in Communications after transferring from Montgomery County Community College. A field hockey player throughout her college career, Kelce helped Cabrini win the Colonial States Athletic Conference title two years in a row and was named the Colonial States Athletics Conference (CSAC) Rookie of the Year, along with numerous other accolades collected throughout her years as a college athlete.
During her address to undergraduate students, their families and faculty, Kelce reiterated that much of life can be chalked up to figuring things out as you go and faking it until you make it.
"Everyone's first question after graduation is, 'What's next?'" she said. "'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," she cautioned.
Kelce went on to encourage the Class of 2024 to hold on to the qualities that make them different as they prepare to leave the Cabrini campus and start their post-graduate lives. "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 said.
"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," Kelce said through a smile. "So find the things that speak to you. Your enthusiasm can be channeled to create change, and you are wonderful the way you are."
In June 2023, Cabrini University announced that neighboring Villanova University would acquire the school in a merger of the two Catholic institutions.
A joint statement from the two schools explained that "despite efforts to improve revenue streams, and changes to the leadership and academic ranks, Cabrini's operating deficit remained insurmountable," and merging with Villanova "would preserve Cabrini's legacy and mission and honor the original intention for the Cabrini campus to promote opportunities in Catholic education."
Kelce became emotional while addressing the college's impending closure. "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."
According to a joint statement from Villanova and Cabrini in November, school leadership reached an agreement to maintain the Cabrini name for the campus in the future.