The graduating seniors of Princeton University invited actress Brooke Shields, a 1987 alumna, to speak at their Class Day celebration on Monday (May 30). Shields, who was named honorary class member of 2011, was wearing the exact signed and decorated orange and black jacket she wore 24 years ago.

“I’m having some of those same feelings I had on that very day — excitement, nausea, looking forward to the future and just wanting to say something smart,” she said.

She joked about her experiences as a student, from being told she’d never get in to Princeton in the first place (she graduated with honors), to being rejected by the all-female a cappella group once she got there (she’s now set to star in her fifth Broadway musical).

“I was gaining the most important footing of my life,” she narrated of those years. “I would have never survived my industry, a business that predicates itself on eating its young.”

The students then sang “Happy Birthday” because Shields is celebrating her 46th on Tuesday.