Whether you’re the one tossing the cap or cheering from the sidelines, these graduation quotes will inspire you!
Author’s Picks: Top 10 Graduation Quotes
1. “The fireworks begin today. Each diploma is a lighted match. Each one of you is a fuse.” — Edward Koch
2. “You are educated. Your certification is in your degree. You may think of it as the ticket to the good life. Let me ask you to think of an alternative. Think of it as your ticket to change the world.” — Tom Brokaw
3. “You could travel with the sheep, follow everybody else’s stuff, but then you’re not you. I guess if I want to say anything it’s ‘Be you.’ Be true to you, and that should make the ride a little more interesting.” — Whoopi Goldberg
4. “It is you, the young and fearless at heart, the most diverse and educated generation in our history, who the nation is waiting to follow.” — Barack Obama
5. “Your life is your story, and the adventure ahead of you is the journey to fulfill your own purpose and potential.” — Kerry Washington
6. “Now go, and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here.” — Neil Gaiman
7. “Congratulations! Today is your day. You’re off to great places! You’re off and away!” ― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
8. “You cannot dream of becoming something you do not know about. You have to learn to dream big. Education exposes you to what the world has to offer, to the possibilities open to you.” — Sonia Sotomayor
9. “Go make your big beautiful dent, and as you do so come down on the side of boldness. If you err, may it be for too much audacity, and not too little. For you really are enough. You have untold strengths and resources inside. You have your glorious self.” — Sue Monk Kidd
10. “I encourage you to live with life. Be courageous, adventurous. Give us a tomorrow, more than we deserve.” — Maya Angelou
Inspirational Quotes For Graduates
1. “Don’t be afraid. Be focused. Be determined. Be hopeful. Be empowered.” — Michelle Obama
2. “You are about to start the greatest improvisation of all. With no script. No idea what’s going to happen, often with people and places you have never seen before. And you are not in control. So say ‘yes.’ And if you’re lucky, you’ll find people who will say ‘yes’ back.” — Stephen Colbert
3. “Your life is your adventure. And the adventure ahead of you is a journey to fulfill your own purpose and potential.” — Kerry Washington
4. “Your education has prepared you for what lies ahead.” — Conan O’Brien
5. “Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.” — Malcolm X
6. “I learned many great lessons from my father, not the least of which was that you can fail at what you don’t want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.” — Jim Carrey
7. “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.” — Walt Disney
8. “Look back on the journey that brought you here. What moments challenged you most? When were you asked to step outside of your familiar territory in order to rise to the occasion of your potential? I want you to remember those moments because they will embolden you.” — Kerry Washington
9. “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…” — Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
10. “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” — Henry David Thoreau
11. “So, I say to you, forget about the fast lane. If you really want to fly, just harness your power to your passion. Honor your calling. Everybody has one. Trust your heart and success will come to you.” — Oprah Winfrey
12. “If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it.” — William Arthur Ward
13. “You’ll be on your way up! You’ll be seeing great sights! You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.” — Dr. Seuss, Oh the Places You’ll Go
14. “Education is the key to unlocking the world, a passport to freedom.” — Oprah Winfrey
15. “All dreams are within reach. All you have to do is keep moving towards them.” — Viola Davis
See also: 120 Follow Your Dreams Quotes To Keep You On The Track
Short Graduation Quotes
1. “Graduation is not the end; it’s the beginning.” — Senator Orrin Hatch
2. “Intelligence plus character — that is the goal of true education.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
3. “Celebrate endings — for they precede new beginnings.” — Jonathan Lockwood Huie
4. “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” — Arthur Ashe
5. “Be so good they can’t ignore you.” — Steve Martin
6. “Nothing is impossible. The word itself says ‘I’m possible.’” — Audrey Hepburn
7. “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” — Nelson Mandela
8. “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” — John Dewey
9. “The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory.” — Les Brown
10. “Kid, you’ll move mountains.” — Dr. Seuss
11. “When you leave here, don’t forget why you came.” — Adlai E. Stevenson
12. “The only impossible journey is the one you never begin.” — Anthony Robbins
13. “What we learn with pleasure we never forget.” — Alfred Mercier
14. “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” — Dr. Seuss
15. “Education is something we have to keep pursuing day after day.” — Premier Brian Gallant
Proud Grad Quotes
1. “We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.” — JK Rowling
2. “Today’s accomplishments were yesterday’s impossibilities.” — Robert H. Schuller
3. “Whatever you choose for a career path, remember the struggles along the way are only meant to shape you for your purpose.” — Chadwick Boseman
4. “Life affords no greater responsibility, no greater privilege, than the raising of the next generation.” — C. Everett Koop
5. “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.” — William Shakespeare
6. “A star is a rock that never gave up on its dream to rise.” ― Matshona Dhliwayo
7. “I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.” — Helen Keller
8. “Set out each day believing in your dreams. Know without a doubt that you were made for great things.” — Josh Hinds
9. “You don’t have to be famous. You just have to make your mother and father proud of you, and you already have.” — Meryl Streep
10. “I’ve learned it’s important not to limit yourself. You can do whatever you really love to do, no matter what it is.” — Ryan Gosling
11. “All those adults that you used to think were in charge and knew what they were doing? It turns out they don’t have all the answers. A lot of them aren’t even asking the right questions. So, if the world’s going to get better, it’s going to be up to you.” — Barrack Obama
12. “Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings.” — Samuel Johnson
13. “The best university in the world is neither Oxford nor Harvard. The best university is “youniversity”. YOU got the lecture halls of thoughts in YOU! You got everything you need to graduate with first-class accomplishments put in you! YOU can do it!” ― Israelmore Ayivor
14. “The future is always uncertain, but we who celebrate what you have done, who celebrate all of your achievements, we are certain of one thing on this day: You will not let us down.” — Tom Hanks
15. “People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.” — George Bernard Shaw
High School Graduation Quotes
1. “The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide you’re not going to stay where you are.” — J.P. Morgan
2. “Instruction ends in the schoolroom, but education ends only with life.” — Frederick W. Robertson
3. “There will be times when your best isn’t good enough. There can be many reasons for this, but as long as you give your best you’ll be OK.” — Robert De Niro
4. “Now the first suggestion is to aim high, but be aware that even before you have reached your ultimate professional destination if you always strive for excellence, you can and should have a substantial impact on the world in which you live.” — Sandra Day O’Connor
5. “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” — Henry Ford
6. “We may live in an age of instant messaging, instant gratification, and Instagram, but there is no way to short circuit the path to success.” — Tory Burch
7. “The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.” — B.B. King
8. “Dreams are lovely. But they are just dreams. Fleeting, ephemeral, pretty. But dreams do not come true just because you dream them. It’s hard work that makes things happen. It’s hard work that creates change.” — Shonda Rhimes
9. “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” — Benjamin Franklin
10. “You can’t do it alone. Be open to collaboration. Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you. Spend a lot of time with them and it will change your life.” — Amy Poehler
See also: 110 Superb Surround Yourself With Good People Quotes
College Graduation Quotes
1. “Take pride in how far you’ve come. Have faith in how far you can go. But don’t forget to enjoy the journey.” — Michael Josephson
2. “A university is a city of ideas, and we’re grateful you became citizens of our city.” — Mary Karr
3. “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” — Thomas Edison
4. “As you graduate, as you deal with your excitement and your doubts today, I urge you to try and create the world you want to live in. Minister to the world in a way that can change it. Minister radically in a real, active, practical, get your hands dirty way.” — Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
5. “The only thing you can do in this life is pursue your passions, celebrate your bloopers, and never stop following your fear.” — Grace Helbig
6. “You don’t go to university so you can punch a clock. You go to university so you can be in a position to make a difference.” — Janet Napolitano
7. “This path does not belong to your parents, your teachers, your leaders, or your lovers. Your path is your character defining itself more and more every day like a photograph coming into focus.” — Jodie Foster
8. “Life is my college. May I graduate well, and earn some honors!” — Louisa May Alcott
9. “Opportunity dances with those who are already on the dance floor.” — Jackson Browne
10. “Let us never be betrayed into saying we have finished our education; because that would mean we had stopped growing.” — Julia H. Gulliver
Wise Quotes About Graduation
1. “A great accomplishment shouldn’t be the end of the road, just the starting point for the next leap forward.” — Harvey Mackay
2. “There are two types of people who will tell you that you cannot make a difference in this world: those who are afraid to try and those who are afraid you will succeed.” — Ray Goforth
3. “Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.” — Bill Bradley
4. “Just because you don’t know what you want yet, it doesn’t mean that there’s nothing to want.” — Emily Henry, The Love That Split the Wind
5. “Your inexperience is an asset in that it will make you think in original, unconventional ways. Accept your lack of knowledge and use it as your asset.” — Natalie Portman
6. “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” — Henry David Thoreau, Walden
7. “You must have some vision for your life. Even if you don’t know the plan, you have to have a direction in which you choose to go.” — Oprah
8. “Fight for what makes you optimistic about the world. Find it, insist on it, dig into it, go after it.” — Jennifer Garner
9. “Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a better person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in.” — Martin Luther King, March for Integrated Schools
10. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” — Mark Twain
11. “Knowledge is not power. The implementation of knowledge is power.” — Larry Winget
12. “In the business world, everyone is paid in two coins: cash and experience. Take experience first; the cash will come later.” — Harold Geneen
13. “Graduation is only a concept. In real life every day you graduate. Graduation is a process that goes on until the last day of your life. If you can grasp that, you’ll make a difference.” — Arie Pencovici
14. “Learning is the only thing the mind never exhausts, never fears, and never regrets.” — Leonardo da Vinci
15. “It’s your turn to choose and define what success means to you. Now, others will try to define it for you, but yours is the only voice that matters.” — Octavia Spencer
See also: 220 Best Proverbs About Success To Give You Inspiration
Funny Graduation Quotes
1. “Now that you’ve graduated, just remember: Bosses don’t usually accept notes from your mother.” — Melanie White
2. “My dear terrified graduates, you are about to enter the most uncertain and thrilling period of your lives. The stories you are about to live are the ones you will be telling your children, and grandchildren, and therapists.” — Lin-Manuel Miranda
3. “Your families are extremely proud of you. You can’t imagine the sense of relief they are experiencing. This would be a most opportune time to ask for money.” — Gary Bolding
4. “When you graduate from college, they tell you to follow your dreams. Does anyone say you have to wake up first?” ― Bill Cosby
5. “Graduation day is tough for adults. They go to the ceremony as parents. They come home as contemporaries. After 22 years of child-raising, they are unemployed.” — Erma Bombeck
6. “The only thing that ever sat its way to success was a hen.” — Sarah Brown
7. “To those of you who received honors, awards, and distinctions, I say well done. And to the C students, I say you too may one day be president of the United States.” — George W. Bush
8. “Try not to have a good time … This is supposed to be educational.” — Lucy Van Pelt, Peanuts
9. “If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in the dark with a mosquito.” — Betty Reese
10. “A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car, but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad.” — Theodore Roosevelt
Wrapping It Up
This collection contains the most inspirational graduation quotes I could find on the internet. I hope you enjoyed reading it!
