Commencement speech

Kent Beck giving a commencement speech

The University of New Hampshire commencement, at which George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton spoke.

A commencement speech or commencement address is a speech given to graduating students, generally at a university, generally in the US, 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.^[1]

Some notable speeches

• Winston Churchill at Harrow School in 1941^[2][3]
• John F. Kennedy's American University speech in 1963^[2]
• Hillary Rodham Clinton at Wellesley College in 1969 ^[4]
• Richard Feynman at the California Institute of Technology in 1974 : "Cargo cult science"
• Steve Jobs at Stanford University in 2005^[5]
• David Foster Wallace at Kenyon College in 2005: "This Is Water"
• J. K. Rowling at Harvard University in 2008: The Fringe Benefits of Failure^[6]
• Neil Gaiman at University of the Arts in 2012^[7]

See also

• Graduation
• Speech

References

1. Trendl, Anthony. "What Makes a Commencement Speech?".
2. "Top 10 Commencement Speeches". Time magazine. Retrieved April 9, 2013.
3. "The 10 Best Graduation Speeches of All Time: Winston Churchill, Former UK PM". CNBC. Retrieved April 9, 2013.
4. "Student Speech". Wellesley College. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
5. "'You've got to find what you love,' Jobs says". Stanford Report. June 14, 2005. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
6. J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement. 15 September 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2016 – via YouTube.
7. "Neil Gaiman: Keynote Address 2012". University of the Arts. May 17, 2012. Retrieved November 30, 2013.

External links

• The art of the commencement speech, an archive
• Excerpts from commencement speeches by Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and J.K. Rowling