Seniors at Brookwood High School in Gwinnett County got a surprise gift during their graduation Wednesday night.

Airbnb founder Joe Gebbia, who graduated from Brookwood in 2000, gifted each with 22 shares of stock from his company during his commencement address.

“I would like to give you a piece of my dream to inspire yours,” he told the graduating class of nearly 900 Seniors.

The shares, valued at $110.40 each as of close of business Wednesday, total over $2 million dollars. That is in addition to the $700,000 he gave the school in December to benefit the school’s visual arts and cross country programs—both of which he says contributed to his success.

“Think of this as a very small seed investment in you and your dreams as you go off into your next chapter of life,” he says.

Gebbia, along with his college roommate, started Airbnb in 2008 which has since grown into a multi-billion-dollar business.

He told the students that while he didn’t remember what the speaker said at his graduation 22 years ago, he wanted to make sure they remembered the speech at theirs.

“So, when you see these shares years from now, please go invest them in your dreams,” he says.

©2022 Cox Media Group