Hillary Clinton's return to her alma mater Wellesley College on Friday to address graduates will close a week dominated by powerful commencement speeches denouncing the administration of President Donald Trump.
The speech to the class of 2017 is a return to her roots for Clinton, who was the first student to speak at commencement day at Wellesley, a liberal women's college in the Boston suburbs, in 1969. In that speech, she defined politics as "the art of making what appears to be impossible, possible."
And Clinton almost succeeded in that goal. In 2016, she became the first woman in U.S. history to win the presidential nomination from a major party. Yet, she suffered a stunning loss to Trump in the November election, failing to shatter "that highest and hardest glass ceiling," as she described it in her concession speech.
After spending some time away from the limelight to recover from campaigning and the election defeat, Clinton made a comeback in March, announcing she was ready "to come out of the woods." Since then, she has made a series of public appearances, openly criticizing Trump and speaking publicly on issues including U.S. policy in Syria and the election outcome.
She told a New York conference earlier this month that she would have won if it had not been for the interference of Russian hackers and the announcement just days before the election by then-FBI Director James Comey that the bureau had reopened its probe into her use of a private e-mail server.
The 69-year-old—formerly a first lady during her husband Bill Clinton's two terms in the White House, a New York Senator and a Secretary of State during President Barack Obama's first term—also told the conference she had no plans to run for office. "I'm back to being an activist citizen—and part of the resistance," she said.
Wellesley announced Clinton as a commencement speaker in February. "As Wellesley students, we arrive here believing in a future that respects women's potential and accomplishment, but as graduating seniors, and at this moment in history, we look to Secretary Clinton, our sister, as someone who will inspire us to make that future now," said Casey Butler, co-president of the senior class, in a statement.
Amal Cheema, also co-president, added, "She is the best person to represent who we have become at Wellesley and who we strive to be in the world. Her tireless push for progress embodies the spirit—and the courage—we seek in breaking down barriers and shattering glass ceilings of all kinds."
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