Katie Holmes Delivers a Beautiful, Personal Commencement Speech in Her Hometown

Katie Holmes is originally from the Toledo, Ohio area, and one of the things I adore about her as an actress is that she brings that normal, girl next door vibe to her performances. This past weekend, Katie went back home to deliver a commencement speech to the graduates of the University of Toledo—and Katie channeled some sweet and surprisingly personal advice to the teens about to embark on their own adventures.

The Toledo Blade had some excerpts from Katie's speech: She spoke a bit about growing up in Ohio (including being coached middle school basketball by her dad), making it as an actress at an early age, and her advice on what the students should do with their big life dreams.

She spoke lovingly about her parents being supportive of her dreams, specifically when she became discouraged as a young actress. "My mom saw the look on my face, which was pretty deflated, and she ushered me out of there...Kate, don’t worry. You have nothing to be ashamed about," she said. "You are you and you are who you are and you are from where you’re from. Go in, have fun, and be yourself. The next audition I had, I nailed."

In turn, she said she wanted to be that resource for others. "If you’re waiting for a sign, this is it. I’m going to be that basketball coach and that producer and that big brother to you all and tell you that you are the person who is going to go out there and make things happen. That’s a terrifying and amazing responsibility but you deserve joy. Not in 10 years, but now."

"Do the best you can with what you have to work with, because you all have a lot to work with—more than you may know," she said. She added, potentially alluding to her own wild, precious life: "You’ve all been through a lot, you’ve had your own wild and precious lives, and may have been kicked around a little and learned how tough life can be." 

It also looks like Katie took a picture while she was onstage, which I love, saying it was a "true honor" to deliver the speech:

Katie apparently made a whole trip of it, visiting the Toledo Museum of Art:

And even learning the art of glass-blowing while she was there:

This looks like such a nice blast from the past for the actress. She also received an honorary degree of humane letters during the ceremony, so it must have meant a lot to her too.

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