---
title: A Commencement Speech Fit for a King
date: 2023-09-14T09:24:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://terp.umd.edu/a-commencement-speech-fit-for-a-king"
section: Articles
---
# A Commencement Speech Fit for a King

*September 14, 2023* — by [Sala Levin ’10](/authors/sala-levin-10)


- *Photo by John T. Consoli*

> News Anchor Gayle King ’76 Recalls Life, Love and Ledo on First Return to Campus

*Gayle King at podium — King in her commencement speech noted the signs wrapped around Purple Line construction: “‘Future home of something fearless.’ I love the sound of that. That’s us.” Watch her speech during the ceremony livestream at [go.umd.edu/Commencement2023](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZiLLoEDsF0).*

Preparing to write her first commencement speech at her alma mater, “CBS Mornings” anchor Gayle King ’76 turned to fellow Terp Larry David ’70 for advice. And when the famously cranky comedian failed to deliver, she tried a more reliable source for inspiration: Testudo.

King rubbed his nose during a tour of old College Park haunts and the University of Maryland campus in May before delivering the 2023 Commencement address to an audience of thousands at SECU Stadium.

She hadn’t been on campus since the day before her own graduation—which she skipped—and the memories came flooding back.

**ON ATTENDING HER FIRST COMMENCEMENT:** “For reasons that make absolutely no sense to me now,” King said, she and her sister missed her commencement to catch an early-morning flight to the Bahamas the next day. She had since declined “many, many” requests during her career to speak at commencements elsewhere: “If you’re going to do one, shouldn’t it be at the place where you got your degree?”


*Gayle King sits on bed in dorm — Photo by Stephanie S. Cordle*




**Issue:** [Fall 2023](https://terp.umd.edu/editions/fall-2023)


**Types:** [Campus Life](https://terp.umd.edu/category/campus-life)