Bad gal RiRi was on hand at Harvard University on Tuesday night to accept her award for Humanitarian of the Year.
“I’m incredibly humbled to be acknowledged at this magnitude for something that, in truth, I never wanted thanking for,” Rihanna said during her speech. “We are all human and we all just want a chance: a chance at life, a chance at an education, a chance at a future.”
Noting that fame and fortune are not necessary to change a life, she challenged college students to use their education, their skills and their good fortune to lift up someone else or contribute to an organization that helps others.
“As I stare into this beautiful room, I see optimism, I see hope, I see the future,” she said. “I know that each and every one of you can help someone else. All you need to do is help one person, expecting nothing in return. To me, that is a humanitarian.”
Rihanna was honored for the work she’s done in Barbados, which includes funding a brand-new center for oncology and nuclear medicine.
Just think—she started singing about umbrellas ... and now she’s here.