Long before Ken Jeong was our favourite judge on
The Masked Singer (Wednesdays at 8/9MT on CTV) or killing us with epic one-liners as Ben Chang on
Community, he was a student at Duke University, trying to figure out what he wanted to do with his life. After getting his MD, Ken practiced as a doctor for a while (and he's still a licenced physician to this day), but ultimately, his creative comedy-loving side won out and the rest, as they say, is history. Now, Dr. Ken's addressing the grads at his alma mater, and his speech is as unconventional as his career trajectory.Duke’s favourite child was asked to return to give the commencement speech for the 2020 graduating class, but COVID-19 had other plans (sigh, doesn’t she always?!). So Tuesday night on
The Late Late Show (weekdays at 12:37ET on CTV), James Corden invited Ken to give his planned graduation speech. Not only is it the sweet kind of encouraging content we need right now, it featured an extra special furry guest who upped the cuteness level to 1000.
“Don’t deny your potential,” Ken encouraged his audience. “Now more than ever, we need bright minds, fresh minds, people who think outside the box, people who can creatively problem-solve. You are the best investment right now in these unprecedented times, and I’m living proof of someone who didn’t deny their potential.”He continues on to admit the true reason he’s successful in Hollywood is thanks to his drive, ambition, and work ethic, rather than raw, natural talent. “I had no ambition to be in theatre or in comedy or acting before I went to Duke. I went to Duke so I could become a doctor [. . .] I’m not that talented. I’m just a hard worker. I do the best I can in everything I do, and if I can do it, so can you.” Someone give this man another doctorate, this stuff is gold![video_embed id='1501883']RELATED: Ken Jeong showed us his infamous dance moves and it was the best [/video_embed]After dropping those words of inspiration, Ken punctuated his speech with an extra-special appearance by the Jeong family's new Goldendoodle puppy, Mocha. Making her late night talk show debut, the pup admitted (somehow using Ken's mouth), “It’s a bit of an adjustment... I'm blessed" before James thankfully cut Ken's talking dog bit short with a candid “It feels weird when you do the dog’s voice.”As if training a young pupper isn't enough work already, Ken has been (virtually) everywhere during quarantine. He recently
reunited with his
Community cast mates for a
virtual table read, including Donald Glover, Joel McHale, Yvette Nicole Brown, Alison Brie and show creator Dan Harmon. He's also been on our screens thanks to
The Masked Singer, where he recently made his
first correct guess EVER ahead of this week's season three finale.With a dance card this full, and during a pandemic no less, Duke grads would be wise to heed Ken's words.Watch
The Late Late Show with James Corden weekdays at 12:37ET on CTV.[video_embed id='5536892538001']BEFORE YOU GO: Women are using a special towel for their boob sweat[/video_embed]
