Today's chapter in our series "Pomp In These Circumstances" looks at graduation speeches, and one speech in particular. Chicago Tribune Columnist Mary Schmich wrote a column for the newspaper back in 1997 titled “Advice, Like Youth, Probably Just Wasted on the Young.” You probably remember it as the “Wear Sunscreen” speech. It went viral on the web. At one point it was considered a masterpiece written by Kurt Vonnegut for an MIT commencement speech, and it was even immortalized in a hit 1999 song. But the speech was never actually delivered. Mary Schmich joins The Takeaway to discuss her now famous speech.

Want more on the future of new grads? Listen to The Takeaway's series Pomp In These Circumstances.

Here's Baz Luhrmann's take on the speech:



PLUS: Check out the advice Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave yesterday to the graduating class at New York University:

In a continuation of our series "Pomp In These Circumstances" (examining the challenges that graduate face in these economic times), today we turn to Generation Y. This spring, 1.6 million people will grab their undergraduate diplomas and then walk off campus (with an average of more than $20,000 in student-loan debt) into the toughest labor market in at least 25 years, a workplace where there are approximately five people out of work for every available job. But Lindsey Pollak, author, speaker, and career consultant, is optimistic. She joins The Takeaway with advice for young graduates and finds a bright side even in this economy.

For more, read Lindsey Pollak's book, Getting from College to Career: 90 Things to Do Before You Join the Real World.

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Today we’re kicking off our series “Pomp in these Circumstances.” Over the course of this week we’ll be looking at the challenges that high school and college graduates are facing in these difficult economic times. This year 3.2 million students are expected to graduate from high school and of those, roughly 70% will go on to get a college education. But with two-thirds of college graduates carrying debt—and the average student loan debt topping $20,000 dollars— is a college degree worth it? What does it get you in today’s global economy? Joining us to talk about the value of a college education is career counselor and higher-education policy writer, Marty Nemko.