Apple CEO Tim Cook will be part of a special podcast highlighting various college commencement speeches across the United States, featuring his virtual address last week to graduating students at Ohio State University. The speech will also be broadcast on some 850 road stations as part of commencement excerpts.
iHeartMedia announced Monday that the podcast – Commencement: Speeches for the Class of 2020 – will be released on May 15, ahead of “National Graduation Day” on May 17 in the U.S.
In his 8-minute speech, which was released May 3 on YouTube, Cook offered advice for navigating tough times and detailed some of his challenges before becoming the company’s CEO.
“It can be difficult to see the whole picture when you’re still inside the frame, but I hope you wear these uncommon circumstances as a badge of honor,” Cook said, referring to the coronavirus pandemic that precluded him from making the speech in person.
“I was going to spend the rest of my life working for Steve Jobs, but fate comes like a thief in the night,” Cook remembered.
His final thoughts included an urge to “build a better future than the one you thought was certain.”
The broadcast will feature commencement addresses from Cook as well as Bill and Melinda Gates, Hillary Clinton, Becky G, Rita Wilson, Khalid, Mary J. Blige, Hillary Clinton, Tom Brokaw, and T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert.
In addition, beginning May 15 iHeartMedia’s more than 850 broadcast radio stations across the country will air featured clips from the podcast every hour, culminating Sunday night with a series of 30-minute, on-air commencement specials on all music stations and 60-minute specials on all talk radio stations.
The on-air commencement specials will broadcast on every station between 7 p.m. and midnight local time and feature multiple speeches from the podcast – taking these inspirational speeches directly to hundreds of millions of graduates nationwide.
