I Chilled With Whoopi At SCAD
On Saturday I graduated with my MFA from SCAD as the 2011 Excelsius Laureate, which is the Valedictorian of the graduate schools. It’s an incredibly weird and flattering honor, and also pretty glamorous because I got to hang out in a class-A green room with honey-almond Croissants and also Whoopi Goldberg. I gave some kind of commencement speech, but who cares about that? I asked Whoopi about Star Trek.
Whoopi, apparently, wanted to be on The Next Generation when she heard about it from Whoopi-bestie LaVAar Burton, but no one believed her because she is Whoopi Goldberg. Anyway, she got on the show and Gene Roddenbary designed her costume before he died. Also, Picard is Whoopi Goldberg’s grandson, which I did not know. Whoopi seems to really have enjoyed her time as evidenced by this incredibly laudatory segment from daytime television’s THE VIEW.
The whole thing was pretty surreal, and a good way to finish off a million years in college. I’m going to start writing more here, I think.
Congratulations Ben!
Ben, we’re all so proud of you! My Mom says congratulations as well! Very cool about meeting Whoopi Goldberg, I listened to her speech on youtube. Why isn’t yours on youtube?! I’d really like to read a copy, Elizabeth said it was a great one.