Students from the University of Massachusetts, in Boston, U.S., had their joy doubled at their graduation ceremony recently after a pleasant surprise came their way.
Before walking the stage last week, 2,000 undergraduate students learned that they would be receiving two envelopes containing a total of $1,000 cash, according to the university, as per CNN.
However, the gift came with a catch.
At the graduation ceremony, commencement speaker Robert Hale, who is a billionaire CEO, interrupted chancellor Marcelo Su¨¢rez-Orozco as he began announcing the distribution of diplomas, the ceremony¡¯s livestream showed.?¡°You guys have survived, you¡¯ve prospered, you are to be celebrated,¡± Hale said at UMass Boston¡¯s 55th undergraduate commencement.
Hale told students they¡¯d also be getting $1,000 cash each, which led to a roar of excited cheers and applause, the livestream shows.
¡°You¡¯ve overcome. It¡¯s not easy,¡± said Hale, whose commencement speech followed that of co-keynote speaker, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.?¡°We¡¯re here and we are proud of you,¡± Hale said.
But the catch was that?one envelope contained a $500 gift for each student, while the other held $500 for the students to gift someone ¡°or another organization who could use it more than you,¡± Hale explained.
¡°This is a celebration of all you¡¯ve done to be here,¡± he said.
UMass Boston graduate Wendy Humphreys told CNN she and several other graduates were shocked when Hale returned to the stage for the announcement.
¡°I looked at my friend and jokingly said, ¡®he¡¯s going to give us each $2,000 each,¡¯ but I was completely kidding,¡± Humphreys said.?She was astounded to discover she wasn¡¯t completely wrong, she said.
¡°I can now scroll through GoFundMe and donate to causes that speak to me,¡± Humphreys, who majored in English, said of her plans for the gift portion of the cash. ¡°I care a lot about abortion access and LGBTQ rights, so I plan to donate to those causes.¡±
A friend of Humphreys, UMass Boston graduate Addie McElreath, 27, said she felt Hale likely introduced a new generation to the act of giving.
¡°A lot of college students probably never had the time, money or opportunity to donate or gift to others before now,¡± McElreath reportedly said.?Her grandparents traveled from Maine to see her earn her bachelor¡¯s degree in English.?¡°I think that¡¯s going to open a lot of people¡¯s eyes to something I think is really important societally, which is just giving as much as you can,¡± McElreath said.
Hale said he believes the graduates will put the funds to good use, he told CNN.?¡°We hope (they) take the money, give it to an individual or an organization and feel the joy, and I am telling you, it is intoxicating ¡ and they will want to do it more frequently,¡± Hale said.?¡°It will become a trait that carries on for the rest of their lives,¡± he said.
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Robert Hale?made the 2023 Forbes billionaires list with a net worth of around $5 billion, as per the report.?Hale is the founder and CEO of communications services provider Granite Telecommunications,? As per Forbes, billionaire?Hale has personally donated over $280 million towards cancer research, educational institutions and other charitable causes.
Hale has previously extended his generosity to recent graduates. In 2021, he received a standing ovation at Quincy College¡¯s commencement in Quincy, Massachusetts, after gifting graduates with $1,000 each.
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