MADISON, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin’s 2022 Winter Commencement Ceremony sent more than 1,250 students to their next stage of life Sunday. The keynote speaker was Wisconsin’s funniest man, Charlie Berens.
The 2009 UW graduate used his stand-up comedy skills to write the speech.
“Yeah, so I’m hoping to go in hot off the punch lines, you know, slip in a little wisdom, close with a nice solid punch line and call it a day,” Berens explained. “Hoping to get these people home in time for a noon Bloody Mary, spicy.”
He was honored, even if he satirically questioned the university’s selection.
“It is really an honor. If you go to the UW website, they have a webpage for notable alumni; they’ve got astronauts, they’ve got US Senators, and somehow they ended up with me as their speaker,” Berens said. “But you’ll notice I’m not on that webpage. Maybe one day.”
While cracking jokes on stage, Berens whipped out some wisdom, too.
“Find your light, find what lights your soul up, and then let that sort of guide your path,” Berens said. “Because you know what it feels like inside when you’re not living your true sort of self, and when you are, it feels so good.”
The comedian provided each student with a copy of his book, but joked that he couldn’t afford to buy each graduate beef jerky and brandy.
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