Commencement Speakers typically receive an Honorary Doctorate from the College and should meet the criteria for an Honorary Doctorate.
How are commencement speakers chosen?
Student commencement speakers are often valedictorians or may otherwise be elected by their peers to represent the student body. Despite meaning “beginning”, commencement may be mistaken to mean “ending” due to its association with the end of one’s studies.
Do colleges pay speakers?
Only about 30 percent of colleges actually pay for commencement speakers. Funny enough, Ivy League universities and other high-end wealthy institutions rarely pay for speakers. For nearly anyone, if you get invited to speak at Harvard or Stanford, you’ll likely accept the opportunity as an honor.
Why do celebrities speak at colleges?
It gives the university a certain level of prestige. It brings inevitable publicity, attracting incoming freshmen with hopes that their graduation will also feature an actor or late-night TV host.
How long should a commencement speech be?
Five to 10 minutes is just about right. At 200 to 250 words per minute (practice and time your delivery), that equates to about 1000–2500 words.
What do commencement speakers wear?
Commencement Attire
Students are asked to wear professional business or professional “Sunday dress” underneath their academic regalia. If wearing a dress, ensure it is no longer than your robe. Graduates should ensure dresses or pants that fall below the robe are a dark color.
Who gives speeches at high school graduation?
At a high school or university graduation, the valedictorian traditionally gives a farewell speech, called a valedictory.
Why do they call it commencement?
Why is graduation called “Commencement”? The word reflects the meaning of the Latin inceptio – a “beginning” – and was the name given to the initiation ceremony for scholars in medieval Europe. The original college degree certified that the bearer could instruct others in a given academic discipline.
What do you say in a commencement speech?
- Thank the Previous Speaker. …
- Introduce Yourself. …
- Share a Motivational Quote. …
- Share Some Good Advice. …
- Recall the Good Times. …
- Restate Your Motivational Quote. …
- Create a Call to Action. …
- Thank Everyone.
What are some of the criteria that universities and colleges use to select their convocation speakers?
The overall message should be: relevant to the overall student group (e.g. all of Health Sciences not just paramedic graduates), and the tone will be: inspirational, celebratory, focusing on the students, highlighting the power of networking, and include professional success stories/experiences from the speaker.
Do celebrities pay for honorary degrees?
In an interview with The New York Times, Arthur E. Levine, who was the president of Teachers College at Columbia University at the time, explained that honorary degrees are largely given out over donations and publicity.
What should you not do in a graduation speech?
Stay away from jokes: Yes jokes can be fun but it is hard to draw the line from being fun to being unprofessional. Your safest bet will be to keep the jokes aside. Avoid negativity: You should avoid negativity at all costs. Your impression makes a big impact; it should always be a positive one.
What do you say at the end of a graduation speech?
End With a Memorable Message
It is customary to end by saying “Thank you” in your graduation speech, which you can do after your memorable one-liner.
What does a graduation guest speaker do?
The guest speaker is a person who is asked to speak at an event. The person is usually not deeply connected with the event or running it in any way. Instead the guest speaker may add to the event by sharing knowledge, indicating support, entertaining others, or dong a little bit of all of these things.
Do masters students get hooded?
The master’s degree recipient typically wears a hood in the color that represents their school or college. The robe has an oddly shaped sleeve. The doctoral degree recipient can be indentified by the blue hood, velvet facing down the front of the robe and a gold tassel on the cap.
What does a black graduation gown mean?
Most schools use the color black for their doctoral gowns. Some doctoral degrees have specially colored velvet or piping that reflects their academic field.
What does a purple graduation robe mean?
For graduate hoods and academic regalia colors, purple is used to designate the degree or discipline of Architecture, Dental Surgery, Dentistry, Law, Jurisprudence, Regional Planning, and Urban Planning.
What is the average GPA of a valedictorian?
The title of valedictorian is used to distinguish indivduals who have achieved the highest level of academic excellence. Students who earn an unweighted 4.0 GPA, through the seventh semester of high school, will receive valedictorian designation.
What are the top 3 graduates called?
Conclusion: Valedictorian, Salutatorian, and Class Rank
Your class rank is determined based on your GPA. Your school may calculate class rank using either your unweighted or your weighted GPA.
Can there be 2 valedictorians?
New Trend: More Than One Valedictorian
At some schools, in fact, over dozens of students qualify for the honor. At Stratford High School near Houston, 30 students were named valedictorians for the class of 2010. Schools recognize multiple valedictorians to reduce the pressure and competition among students.
Who gives the commencement speech at graduation?
There are two main types of graduation speakers, the student speaker, and the headline speaker. At one college at our university, there is a speech contest to be the graduation speaker and at another college, it is someone who has been nominated by a faculty member.
Who gives speeches at high school graduation?
At a high school or university graduation, the valedictorian traditionally gives a farewell speech, called a valedictory.
What is the subject of a commencement speech?
A commencement speech is a speech delivered at the commencement ceremony of a higher education institution by a graduate, an alumnus, a celebrity or a politician to the graduating class, their families and guests. The speech is often written to celebrate past experiences, present accomplishments and future hopes.
What does a commencement speech celebrate?
Graduations and commencements ceremonies mark major transitional moments in your life. They celebrate all the hard work you put into your education and achievements, and look forward to the future. Through the years of school, you’ve made new friends, developed new skills, and discovered new things about yourself.
