A week from today, Mark Zuckerberg will take to the stage in Cambridge, MA, to give the 366th Harvard commencement address. In advance of his speech, Zuckerberg posted a very appropriate video to his Facebook page today, showing the exact moment he found out he was accepted to Harvard.
The home video, aptly titled "Mark Hears From Harvard," features voiceover from Zuckerberg's dad, Edward, who is about ten times more excited about the news than his son. "Yay," Zuckerberg says in the most low-key manner possible. "I got accepted." His dad hoops and hollers.
Zuckerberg, sporting plaid PJs, a slight fro, and the disheveled look of many a teenage boy, offers little more than a subtle smile and very chill raised fist in celebration. Truthfully, it's Mr. Zuckerberg senior who steals the show, focusing the camera not only on his son, but also the adorable "dog that belongs to one of the newest members of Harvard 2006."
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
If Edward Zuckerberg, a dentist in Dobbs Ferry, wasn't too thrilled that his son decided to drop out of Harvard during his sophomore year to work on a small startup project originally known as Facebook, he feels okay about it now. Last year, Zuckerberg's dad said he had "tremendous pride" about the impact of Facebook. (Not to mention that Zuckerberg's net worth is currently over $60 billion.)
Plus, Zuckerberg is going to be Harvard's youngest commencement speaker ever, and he'll finally receive a Harvard degree. Granted, it isn't the Bachelor's degree that he would have gotten had he finished his four years, but it is an honorary Doctor Of Letters — which isn't too shabby.
Zuckerberg follows in the footsteps of Steven Spielberg, who spoke at Harvard's 365th commencement ceremony. He isn't the only Facebook executive to speak at a graduation this year: Last week, COO Sheryl Sandberg delivered remarks at Virginia Tech.
If you want to watch next week's address, tune in to Zuckerberg's Facebook page around 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 25. And please, let there be more geeky home videos like this one just waiting to be posted.