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Elizabeth Warren At Springfield College Commencement: 'You Can't Predict It All' (VIDEO)

Elizabeth Warren Tells Grads 'You Can't Predict It All'

CBS 3 Springfield - WSHM

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) warned graduates at Springfield College that no matter how much planning they do, they won't be able to prepare for every twist and turn coming their way.

"You can't predict it all," said Warren, according to a release from the Springfield, Mass., college. "People will tell you to plan things out as best you can. They will tell you to focus. They will tell you to follow your dreams. They will all be right."

Warren, the college's 2013 commencement speaker, addressed graduates at the MassMutual Center on Sunday. The private college awarded 1,607 degrees over the weekend, The Republican in Springfield reports. Warren herself received an honorary doctor of humanics degree.

In her speech, the first-term senator emphasized unpredictability of life.

"Never be so faithful to your plan that you are unwilling to consider the unexpected," Warren said. "Never be so faithful to your plan that you are unwilling to entertain the improbable opportunity that comes looking for you. And never be so faithful to your plan that when you hit a bump in the road -– or when the bumps hit you -– you don't have the fortitude, grace and resiliency to rethink and regroup."

Earlier in her career, Warren taught at several law schools, including the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard. Prior to running for the U.S. Senate, she oversaw the Troubled Asset Relief Program, worked to establish the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and was an assistant to the president in the Obama administration. She insisted in her speech that she had never intended to run for office, according to WSHM.

"If you do not believe me," Warren said, "try to find a political consultant who will tell you that the best way to get elected to a national office is becoming a professor or tangling with bank CEOs."

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Before You Go

Politicians Giving Commencement Speeches In 2013
Gabby Giffords, Mark Kelly(01 of15)
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The husband-and-wife team will speak at Bard College.Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, listen to President Barack Obama deliver his State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress on Feb. 12, 2013, at the Capitol in Washington. (credit:AFP PHOTO/Mandel NGAN/Getty Images)
Mitt Romney(02 of15)
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Speaking at Southern Virginia University in Buena Vista, Va. Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney delivers the commencement address at the Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., May 12, 2012. (credit:AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)(03 of15)
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Elizabeth Warren will speak at Framingham State University in Massachusetts.In this March 7, 2013 file photo, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) pauses while questioning a witness at Senate Banking Committee hearing on anti-money laundering on Capitol Hill in Washington. (credit:AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
Steven Chu(04 of15)
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Steven Chu, former Obama administration Energy Secretary, will speak at his alma mater, the University of Rochester.In this Nov. 17, 2011 file photo, Energy Secretary Steven Chu testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. Chu will return to Stanford University after he steps down this year. Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, will rejoin Stanford's faculty, where he taught physics and applied physics from 1987 to 2008. (credit:AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
President Barack Obama(05 of15)
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President Barack Obama will speak at Ohio State University and Morehouse College. (credit:Alamy)
Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.)(06 of15)
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Sen. Saxby Chambliss will speak at the University of Georgia.In this April 21, 2010 file photo, Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. (credit:AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
Vice President Joe Biden(07 of15)
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Joe Biden will speak at the University of Pennsylvania.Vice President Joe Biden speaks at press conference with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and families from Newtown, Conn., to discuss the need for federal gun laws March 21, 2013 at City Hall in New York. (credit:AFP PHOTO/Stan Honda/Getty Images)
Former President Bill Clinton(08 of15)
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Speaking at Howard University in Washington, D.C.Former President Bill Clinton, speaks during the annual ThisDay awards ceremony, in Abeokuta, Nigeria, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. (credit:AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg(09 of15)
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Mayor Michael Bloomberg will speak at Cooper Union in New York City.In this Dec. 28, 2012 file photo, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, left, and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly speak to the media after a Police Academy graduation ceremony in New York. (credit:AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.)(10 of15)
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Speaking at Beloit College in Wisconsin.Vice President Joe Biden administers the Senate Oath to Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) during a mock swearing in ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013, as the 113th Congress officially began. (credit:AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
Newark, NJ, Mayor Cory Booker(11 of15)
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Cory Booker is speaking at Cornell University in New York.Newark Mayor Cory A. Booker congratulates parents graduating from the Nestlé/Newark Now! program at a luncheon held at the Newark Club, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013 in Newark, N.J. (credit:Jason DeCrow/AP Images for Nestlé)
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett (R)(12 of15)
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Gov. Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania will speak at Millersville University.National Governors Associations Economic, Development and Commerce Committee Chairman Gov. Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania listens to discussions about state and federal tax reform, during the committees meeting at the NGA 2013 Winter Meeting in Washington on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013. (credit:AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Erskine Bowles(13 of15)
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Erskine Bowles will speak at William Peace University in Raleigh, N.C.Debt Commission co-chairmen Erskine Bowles, left, and former Wyoming Sen. Alan Simpson, speak to the media after a meeting of the commission on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2010. (credit:AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.)(14 of15)
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Former funny man and current Sen. Al Franken is speaking at the University of Minnesota-Morris.Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) heads to a Senate Democratic caucus meeting in the U.S. Capitol Feb. 14, 2013, in Washington, D.C. (credit:Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder(15 of15)
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Speaking at Grand Valley State University's business school.Gov. Rick Snyder speaks in Detroit, Thursday March 28, 2013. (credit:AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
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