Under sunny skies and before a standing ovation, a joyful Eric LeGrand accepts his diploma from President Robert Barchi. Moments later, he gave an emotional speech, exhorting his fellow graduates of the Class of 2014 with the words, “I hope you guys continue to believe in me, and believe in yourselves, because we are all going to change the world together.’’ LeGrand was injured in October 2010 while tackling a kick returner during a Scarlet Knights-Army football game, rendering him paralyzed from the shoulders down. Nonetheless, he was back studying the following January and worked steadily toward his degree in labor relations. The commencement speaker was former New Jersey governor Thomas H. Kean, who called on the Class of 2014 to play its role in returning the nation to a sense of civility. Kean and LeGrand addressed the largest graduating class in Rutgers history—an estimated 16,431 graduates—and the first since Rutgers’ integration with most of the former University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Read more on Commencement 2014.