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Commencement speakers dispense good advice

John Gillooly

Another day, another commencement address roundup. At the Simmons College send-off, philanthropist/activist Abigail Disney (above) — the granddaughter of Walt Disney Company cofounder Roy Disney — encouraged kids to dream big. “May we all choose a battle too large to see won in our own lifetimes,” she told grads. . . . “The Polar Express” author-illustrator Chris Van Allsburg was among the speakers at the Lesley commencement, telling grads not to worry if they don’t have their course already charted. He described his own path to success as a “meandering stream.” He told them, “I am being honored for achievement for a field I knew nothing about when I began working in it.” . . . Crisis-management expert Judy Smith attended BU, but she spoke at the Lasell College commencement. Smith, whose clients have included Monica Lewinsky and Michael Vick, is known as the inspiration for the hit TV show “Scandal.” . . . Meanwhile, CBS News legal analyst Rikki Klieman spoke at the UMass School of Law graduation ceremony, and was accompanied by her husband, New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton.