While Clinton's speech was not finalized until a few days before Commencement, many of those who have followed the First Lady's work say it is most likely that she will address those issues with which she is familiar.

"She will elaborate on the concept that we don't only need to strengthen our network of families but that children grow up in communities," says Solnit, who is also the commissioner of mental health and addiction services for the state of Connecticut.

"She has an enormous grasp of the needs of children and the health-care system," he says. "Any medical school class would be interested in not only the content of her speech but also the style of thinking that she provides by way of her perspective."

One official in the White House says Clinton took a keen interest in the address early on.

"She's very interested in the speech," he said, explaining that Clinton had proposed ideas for the Class Day speech more than a week before the scheduled event.

Typically, the official said brainstorming, researching and writing for a speech happens only a few days before the event.

"[Health care is] a topic she's been interested in heavily over the years, and the First Lady knows that there will be many experts of the field sitting in the audience," the source said. "She's taking this speech quite seriously."

Others, like Dean of the Kennedy School of Government Joseph S. Nye Jr., add that Clinton is an especially appropriate speaker for a graduating class of high achievers.

"Hillary Clinton is a very interesting woman with her own strong ideas on policy issues," says Nye, who served as the assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs in the Clinton administration from 1993 until 1995.

Nye says Clinton's speech on families at the Kennedy School in October 1996 attracted "a full house" that appreciated Clinton's policy perspective on the issue.

"Hillary Clinton has been as close to the top of the policy process as you can be. She's a smart women with her own very well-formulated ideas. That's a pretty good combination when it comes to a speaker," Nye says.

Such a combination also has many convinced that the spotlight will not dim over Clinton when her days in the White House are over.

Solnit, for example, says Clinton's days with his child study center taught her that reform can only come after consistent campaigning; it takes years of dedication to build that village.

Skocpol agrees, saying that Clinton will have more freedom to propose "bold ways to meet the needs of children" when she is no longer the First Lady.

"I expect her to continue to play an important part in American life," Skocpol says. "I think she's committed to talking about children and what it takes for American society to successfully raise them."