Getty Images/Jerritt Clark(LOS ANGELES) — Will Ferrell delivered the commencement address at his alma mater, the University of Southern California, on Friday, capped off with an a capella version of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.”
“Class of 2017, I just want you to know you will never be alone on whatever path you may choose,” he told the grads.
“If you ever have a moment where you feel a little down, just think of the support you have from this great Trojan family and imagine me — literally picture my face — singing this song gently into your ear,” he said before launching into the song.
Ferrell recalled his time at the University, from which he graduated in 1990 with a degree in sports information, “A program so difficult, so arduous, that they discontinued the major eight years after I left.”
After reminiscing about his days on campus, where he was “always trying to make my friends laugh” by crashing lectures as different characters — including a maintenance man — the 49-year-old funnyman said he never imagined that he’d become “one of the most famous alumni of this university — mentioned in the same breath as John Wayne, Neil Armstrong and Rob Kardashian.”
In a serious moment, Ferrell recalled sitting in his apartment “eating spaghetti topped with mustard” with only $20 in his checking account.
“Yes, I was afraid. You’re never not afraid. I’m still afraid,” he admitted, before adding, “My fear of failure never approached in magnitude my fear of ‘What if? What if I never tried at all?’”
“Enjoy the process of your search without succumbing to the pressure of the result,” he urged. “Trust your gut. Keep throwing darts at the dart board. Don’t listen to the critics, and you will figure it out.”
Copyright © 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
