A commencement speech or commencement address is a speech given to graduating students, generally at a university, generally in the United States, although the term is also used for secondary education institutions.
The "commencement" is a ceremony in which degrees or diplomas are conferred upon graduating students. A commencement speech is typically given by a notable figure in the community, during the commencement exercise. The person giving such a speech is known as a commencement speaker. Very commonly, colleges or universities will invite politicians, important citizens, or other noted speakers to come and address the graduating class.
A commencement speech is less bound by the structure found in other forms of public address, like eulogies or wedding speeches. The speaker accordingly enjoys a unique freedom to express him or herself. Executive speechwriter Anthony Trendl writes
A commencement speech, simply, is an opportunity to share your experience, values and advice. The precise form is up to you. This affords the speaker a platform to say amazing, unlimited things.
Some notable speeches
2013 Winter Commencement Student Speaker - Tiara Thompson - Student Commencement speaker Tiara Thompson served as a peer advisor for Academic Enhancement, an officer with the Theatre Majors Association and a teaching assistant for Communication 101...
- Winston Churchill at Harrow School in 1941
- John F. Kennedy's American University speech in 1963
- Hillary Rodham at Wellesley College in 1969
- Richard Feynman at the California Institute of Technology in 1974Â : "Cargo cult science"
- Steve Jobs at Stanford University in 2005
- David Foster Wallace at Kenyon College in 2005: "This Is Water"
- J. K. Rowling at Harvard University in 2008: The Fringe Benefits of Failure
2016 speeches
- Barack Obama, Howard University
- James Franco, Cornell University
- Steven Spielberg, Harvard
- Peter Thiel, Hamilton College
- Michael Bloomberg, University of Michigan
- Charles Duhigg, Wren College
- Coach Mike Krzyzewski, Duke University
- U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas at Hillsdale College's
2017 speeches
- Donald Trump, Liberty University 05/13/2017
- Hillary Rodham Clinton, Wellesley College 05/26/17
See also
- Graduation
- Speech
References
External links
- The art of the commencement speech, an archive
- Excerpts from commencement speeches by Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and J.K. Rowling
