Jennifer Nettles spent Mother’s Day weekend at a place that helped shape her into the woman she is today, her alma mater. The ’97 alumna delivered a moving commencement speech at Agnes Scott College’s 129th Commencement in Decatur, GA to inspire students to follow their dreams and forge their own path. Nettles pondered, “what kind of woman do you want to be? ‘Cause I know what kind of women I want you to be. I want you to be fearless dream warriors, I want you to be the boss ladies of your own lives. I want you to live authentically in your truth. I want you to be so in touch with your truth that nothing can pull you off your path.”

The GRAMMY® Award-winning musician is no stranger to using her platform and charisma to create opportunities for conversation. Nettles passionately spoke about the social media haters, the language of pain and the power of connecting on a human level. She closed the speech with a beautiful rendition of an Irish blessing. Watch her full speech/performance here:

As one half of duo SUGARLAND, Nettles and Kristian Bush will release their new album BIGGER on June 8 under their joint venture with Big Machine Records and UMG Nashville. A few songs are already available now through the pre-order.

Since the band’s inception in 2002, Sugarland has sold nearly 10 million albums domestically, earned seven No. 1 singles to date and amassed more than 320 million on-demand streams, making them one of the most popular Country music duos of all time. Sugarland will kick off their highly-anticipated STILL THE SAME 2018 TOUR May 25, hitting 48 cities in the U.S. and Canada. For tour dates, visit https://sugarlandmusic.com/.