So, he’ll ask his classmates to recall their moms, dads and anyone else who helped get them to the stage.

“We’re the product of decisions that were kind of out of our hands,” Njongmeta said. “We were dealt hands that we were dealt, and we all played them, and somehow that led us here.”

What Delaney Egan likes so much about this speech, and she’s one of the few who knows what’s coming, is the humility of a man who played his first 17 NFL games and then committed to one of the school’s most demanding programs as part of a team managing a $7 million business portfolio.

“If all you ever do is get stuck in your occupation, I think you miss out on something bigger,” Njongmeta says. “So I can talk about my occupation, but I’d rather talk about my vocation. To me, that’s serve and leadership. I talk about that, and then I kind of finish with a question. Like, hey, you’ve become what you’ve become by doing what you need to do. Now the question is, who will you be?”

From what Egan can see, he’s going to be a lot more than an NFL linebacker. His application to speak was impeccable and the brief moments she saw him speak before various small groups of students impactful.

“All parts of his story are quite commendable,” Egan says. “I thought it was a really interesting thing that he talks about how he is, yes, a football player, but he wants to be known for his impact not only on the field, but who he is as a person. That level of humility and awareness was really great to see. I think that message carries through his speech very strongly.”

Leo Njongmeta, a pharmaceutical executive, and Lynda Njongmeta, a group leader in quality innovation at The Kraft Heinz Company, are for sure taking Saturday off from their examples of excellence to attend the speech. Lynda’s raft makes another trip.

“They’re proud not because of the outcome, but because I internalized kind of what they were trying to preach to me as a kid,” says Maema Njongmeta, who could be talking to a roomful of undrafted NFL rookies. “In this life, you have one shot. Make sure it’s your best shot.”