Graduations across the country have been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic but celebrities have been stepping up to offer some joy to students whose dreams of walking across the stage in a cap and gown have been shattered. 

In fact, the 2020 graduating class from Temple University in Philadelphia got some love from the legendary Lauryn Hill.
The Grammy winner penned an open letter for graduating seniors, posted to the university’s site. 

The letter reads, in part, “I know this message finds you in the unique and unprecedented circumstance of a graduation ceremony held remotely, but for the safety of you and your families consider this the beginning of a significant story you’ll have to share with those that follow you.”
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She continues, “For this time is indeed historic, and if we’re paying attention, pregnant with purpose. Purpose is powerful. The work one puts his or her hands to with purpose attached, becomes charged, activated and often deeply meaningful. Purpose-filled acts can change lives, move communities and alter the course of history.”

Hill also offered words of encouragement, “Be that intelligence. Be that ingenuity. Be that optimism. Be that light.”
Philadelphia’s stay-at-home order is reportedly in effect until June 4. According to the Philadelphia Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley by May 5, over 740 people had died in Philadelphia from  the coronavirus. 

For the latest on the coronavirus, check out BET’s blog on the virus, and contact your local health department or visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.