Ed Helms speaks at Cornell, his "Office" character's alma mater

Andy Bernard would have been elated

Published May 27, 2014 2:16PM (EDT)

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Though it's Cornell alum Andy Bernard who brought Ed Helms to the university's graduation ceremony, the actor shed his "Office" character to give some life advice to the Class of 2014 on Sunday.

"Andy Bernard's zealous embrace of Cornell is well-documented, but I can't tell you how meaningful and just plain cool it is to see Cornell embrace him right back," Helms said.

The fictional '93 Cornell graduate announced during "The Office" finale last year that he landed his dream job working at Cornell's admissions office.

"I directly embarrassed this school for eight years on national television, and no protests," Helms joked.

But Helms also drew inspiration from the foolish, socially awkward Bernard, and shared some of those lessons with the graduating students. Most important, "Be a fool and work hard on whatever is right in front of you."


By Prachi Gupta

Prachi Gupta is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on pop culture. Follow her on Twitter at @prachigu or email her at pgupta@salon.com.

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Andy Bernard Commencement Speeches Cornell Ed Helms The Office Video