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For the most part, commencement speakers are a pretty forgettable lot. They might be good for a few laughs but within a few months, they become a trivia question.

Suffice it to say, though, the Morehouse College seniors are not going to forget their commencement speaker.

Robert Smith had already announced a $1.5 million gift to the historically black college in Atlanta.

But then during his remarks on Sunday morning, he announced he and his family were providing a grant to pay off all the loans for the Class of 2019.

He left some words behind too, telling the graduates that it isn't enough to just be on the bus.

“You want to own it, you want to drive it, and you want to pick up as many people as you can along the way,” he said.

“I’m putting some fuel into your bus, “ he said. “I’m counting on you to load up that bus.”

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Bob Collins

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For the most part, commencement speakers are a pretty forgettable lot. They might be good for a few laughs but within a few months, they become a trivia question.

Suffice it to say, though, the Morehouse College seniors are not going to forget their commencement speaker.

Commencement speaker tells grads to ‘pay it forward.’ Then he pays off their student loans

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