Jill Abramson tells grads she doesn't know what's next for her either. Courtesy Wake Forest University.

Canned New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson joined the ranks of the most memorable commencement speakers yesterday. Yes in her speech at Wake Forest University, she rallied grads to “show what you’re made of.”

But she also confessed, like them, she wasn’t sure what the future held.

"What's next for me? I don't know. So I'm in exactly the same boat as many of you," Abramson said. "And like you I'm a little scared, but also excited."

That’s something those grads will likely remember 10 years from now!

The best commencement speeches have a way of doing that; quotes stay in our heads long after they have been delivered. Punchlines make us smile whenever we think of them.

Sometimes it’s just the person who delivered the speech who we recall.

What was the most memorable commencement speech you’ve heard? Share a few lines in the comments below.

As you’re jogging your memory, you can meander over to NPR’s The Best Commencement Speeches, Ever. The microsite and app is a collection of over 300 quotes from speeches and full text dating back to 1774. You can search through the speeches by speaker name, school, year or keyword.

I had some fun in picking out quotes from some of the best commencement speeches delivered at Georgia graduations. Here are some of them:

Michelle Obama, Spelman College, 2011:“At a time when many workplaces were filled with not just glass ceilings but brick walls, this school was urging black women to become doctors and lawyers, engineers and ambassadors.”

Whoopi Goldberg, Savannah College of Art and Design, 2011: “You all have a lot of things you want to do and you’ll get some of them done.”

#115225195 / gettyimages.com

Kurt Vonnegut, Agnes Scott College, 1999: “A woman’s reach should exceed her grasp, or what’s a heaven for?”

Franklin D. Roosevelt, Oglethorpe University, 1932: “As you have viewed this world of which you are about to become a more active part, I have no doubt that you have been impressed by its chaos…”

Bryan J. Dyson, Georgia Tech, 1996: “Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.”

Robert M Gates, University of Georgia, 2009: “Whatever the job, serving in government requires a singular commitment to missions and themes larger than yourself…”