Zendaya was one of the many celebrity cameos during Saturday night’s Graduate Together event. — The LeBron James-run primetime special honoring graduates across the globe whose ceremonies were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Spiderman actress, 23, dazzled during speech during the opening of the special. “Hello class of 2020,” Zendaya said in her video message to graduates. “I just want to give a shout-out to all of the teachers out there. My mother is a teacher so I know how hard all of you guys are working.”
“What makes a senior, is it the tradition of proms and pranks? Is it the start of a new chapter? Thankfully, being a senior is so much more than just your senior year,” Zendaya continued. “It is every moment, from the day you were born, leading up until right now. The tiny ones, the life-changing events, they all add up to make you the class of 2020.”
Graduate Together was made possible by the Lakers star, whose Family Foundation, SpringHill Entertainment company partnered with XQ Institute and the Entertainment Institute Foundation. “We learned early on in our work with students and families in Akron that education is so much more than academics. It’s about a shared experience, a journey we’re all on together — students, parents, educators, community members, and everyone around them. With that not being possible right now, we’ve been working to find ways to help families get through this really difficult time,” the 3-time NBA champion said in a statement about the special.
okay i geniunely don’t know a better person??? zendaya if you’re seeing this i love you girl pic.twitter.com/x3wgDQEb84
— lee | luke lovebot (@thwiptom) May 17, 2020
“These students have worked incredibly hard for this and there’s no way we can let that go unrecognized. While this won’t be the graduation experience they were supposed to get, we hope we can still give them something special because they deserve it,” he said.
Other stars participating in the event include, former president and first lady Barack and Michelle ObamaKane Brown, David Dobrik, Liza Koshy, Maren Morris, Olivia Wilde, Bad Bunny, H.E.R., Ben Platt, Megan Rapinoe, Yara Shahidi, Lena Waithe and many more.Graduation Together will also honor diverse families and educators. Congratulations to all of the graduates!