Philanthropist Oprah Winfrey traded in a talk show audience of millions for a Commencement audience of 25,000 June 15 at Stanford Stadium.

Winfrey centered her speech around the theme of learning — learning from one’s gut, learning from life’s setbacks and learning the importance of giving back.

Though Winfrey is known for bestowing free cars on her audiences, her gift for the Class of 2008 was somewhat more cerebral. She left Stanford graduates with two of her favorite books, Eckhart Tolle’s “A New Earth” and Daniel Pink’s “A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future.”

“I really wanted to give you cars, but I just couldn’t pull that off,” she said, drawing laughter from the audience.

In a growing tradition, students made a grand entrance into the 117th Commencement with the Wacky Walk. Roaming the stadium field, they toted balloons, beach balls and bubbles. Many carried hand-painted signs reading “Thanks, Mom and Dad” and “Marry Me, Oprah,” while others donned creative costumes that included everything from the Magic School Bus to Magic 8 Balls.

President John Hennessy introduced Winfrey to loud applause and cheers.

“At Stanford, we encourage our graduates to think about the impact they can have on the world and to make good use of their skills,” Hennessy said. “Few people have done so better than Oprah Winfrey.”

Winfrey’s speech took a conversational and at times humorous tone as she offered the graduates inspiration and advice from her own experiences. Excited to be at Stanford — she finally got to see graduating goddaughter Kirby Bumpus’ dorm room — Winfrey implored graduates to be open to life’s lessons.

“Walk through life eager and open to self-improvement,” she told the audience. “I believe that there’s a lesson in almost everything that you do and every experience, and getting the lesson is how you move forward.”

She advised graduates to follow their “emotional guidance systems” and to trust their hearts. At 22, Winfrey endured a news anchor job that left her feeling miserable. A forced move to talk show hosting, she recalled, was like coming home.

“The moment I sat down, doing that talk show, it felt like breathing,” she said. “It felt right...When you’re doing the work you’re meant to do, it feels right and every day is a bonus, regardless of what you’re getting paid.”

Winfrey, however, did not deny the power of money.

“I like money,” she acknowledged. “It’s good for buying things.”

But success, Winfrey argued, came from having both money and meaning.

“You want your work to be meaningful,” she said. “Because meaning is what brings the real richness to your life.”

Winfrey’s second lesson to graduates emphasized learning from failures. She described her founding of a school for girls in South Africa last year. Heralded by the media upon the school’s opening, Winfrey’s hopes were dampened when one of the dorm matrons was charged for sexual abuse last fall. Winfrey said she was devastated, but took the setback as a lesson to reassess her priorities.

“I understand now the mistakes I made, because I had been paying attention to all of the wrong things,” she said, citing her focus on the school’s physical appearance. “I’d built that school from the outside in, when what really mattered was the inside out.”

Finally, Winfrey implored graduates to stand for something larger than their individual selves in order to find happiness.

“To move forward, you have to give back. And to me, that is the greatest lesson of all,” she remarked, adding that the University’s founding was only possible because Jane and Leland Stanford profoundly understood this lesson.

Whatever the graduates’ callings, Winfrey emphasized, operating from the paradigm of service would bring more value to their lives.

“If you choose to offer your skills and talents in service,” she said, “it turns everything you do from a job into a gift. And I know you haven’t spent all this time at Stanford just to go out and get a job.”

Winfrey’s speech was well-received by graduating students.

“I thought the speech was a good balance of lightness and humor, as well as inspirational advice,” said Philip Williams, who received a master’s degree in electrical engineering. “It really spoke to a lot of people.”

David Cohen, who graduated with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science, said he was surprised that Winfrey made no references to the upcoming election.

“I was like, ‘What is she going to say about Obama?’ — but no, she did a very professional job,” he said.

Matthew Czinger, who received bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and music, appreciated Winfrey’s emphasis on graduates having their entire lives ahead of them to make a positive impact.

“I think there’s too much of a focus on, ‘Immediately after Stanford, you automatically have to be tremendous,’” he said. “So I felt very inspired by the fact that I have good things to look forward to in my near future, but also many things to look forward to later on.”

Following the conferral of 1,702 bachelor’s degrees to 1,665 undergraduates -- as well as 2,017 master’s degrees and 947 doctoral degrees -- students received their individual diplomas at departmental ceremonies. But not before they snapped pictures, hugged loved ones and enjoyed a final performance from the Stanford Band.