A commencement speech or Commencement address is a speech given to graduating students, generally at a university. Renowned alumni or famous personalities are called by universities to wire usually deliver the speech.
The “commencement is a ceremony in which degrees or diplomas are are conferred upon graduating students. Commencement speeches like pep talks – they are are motivational and candid.
The idea is to imbibe confidence while preparing them for the future. The speaker accordingly enjoys a unique freedom to opress him or herself. Universities around the world follow this tradition.
Some of the famous commencement speeches
- J.K. Rowling in her Harvard commencement speech in 2008, moved many by explicating the worth of failure. She said that she had spent her early years trying to find a balance between her own ambition and others expectations of her. Failure helped her to direct all her energy into finishing the only work that mattered to her
- Steve Jobs commencement speech for the 114th graduating class at Stanford University on June 12. 2005 continues to inspire even today.
- The speech was short and simple: Do what you love. “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the to do great work is only way to to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet. keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart you’ll know when you find it reads the transcript of Jobs’ speech.
- Barack Obama delivered two virtual commencement addresses in May during the lockdown. The former US President urged millions of high school and college graduates to fearlessly carve a path and “to seize the initiative”.
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