Conan O'Brien delivers Harvard's commencement address from his backyard

Twenty years ago, Conan addressed Harvard's Class of 2000 in person. On Thursday, Harvard's Class of 2020 watched a virtual address that Conan delivered from a Harvard podium on the lawn of his backyard while wearing a T-shirt, shorts and Birkenstocks under a graduation robe while accompanied by his dog. Conan's speech was mostly comedic but also partly serious. A member of Harvard's Class of 1985, Conan told graduating seniors: “As you sit here today, or stand, or microwave a burrito, or ride a Peloton, or recline uncomfortably in your childhood bed, or mine Bitcoin, or Google ‘Who is Conan O’Brien?,’ you are witnessing many firsts in today’s ceremony." But on a serious note, Conan pointed out that the Class of 2020 has only known a post-9/11 world. “You’ve been handed more than your share," he said. “You’ve only known a world beset by terrorist hate. You’ve grown up with mass shootings and school lockdowns. Horror was completely absent from my childhood. You have now witnessed two economic meltdowns of stunning proportions. You are remarkable examples to my children of how to be smart, brave, and yes, resilient in a scary world."