Cambridge Ceremony

Each year at the Harvard Commencement, three graduating students speak to approximately 32,000 students, faculty, parents, alumni, and guests. As soon as the first anthem concludes, a Senior strides up to the microphone and announces, Salvete omnes! Then follows one of the oldest of Harvard traditions - an oration in Latin. Next, a graduating Senior speaks in English on a topic concerning the experience of an undergraduate at Harvard. Finally, a graduating student from one of the Graduate or Professional Schools speaks about a topic related to his or her experience at the graduate level.

Students wishing to represent Harvard on Commencement morning are asked to complete a 2008 Commencement Orations Application Form that can be obtained either from the Commencement Office, Wadsworth House, or online at the link above. Both the application form and one (1) copy of the typewritten speech must be submitted no later than Noon, Friday, April 11, 2008. Students whose speeches have been selected by the judges will be notified of the time and place of the preliminary auditions, scheduled on Monday, April 28. Final auditions will take place on Monday, May 5.

Speeches should be no longer than five minutes in length. Submissions will be judged for intelligence, wit, originality, and general significance. Avoid the use of clichés. Commencement audiences appreciate thoughtful reflections on Harvard experiences, particularly those which for you have larger significance. Candidates for the Latin oration should consult Professor Richard F. Thomas of the Classics Department, at (617) 496-6061. Please include an English translation when you submit your Latin oration to the Commencement Office.

There will be an Orators’ Workshop on Thursday, March 20, at 5:00 PM in Fong Auditorium, (Boylston Hall). Students interested in learning more about the competition are encouraged to attend.

HSPH Ceremony

One graduating HSPH student will be chosen to deliver a brief inspirational speech at the School's afternoon ceremony on June 5, 2008. Students interested in competing for this honor must submit a typed manuscript, no longer than five spoken minutes in length, by April 18, 2008 to Brittany Marshall in the Office for Student Affairs (Kresge G-20). Your name should not appear on this manuscript; instead, please label the manuscript with a four-letter code unrelated to your name. On a separate index card in a sealed envelope, indicate the code and your real name. This envelope should be submitted with your manuscript.

The Student Speaker Selection Committee (made up of students and staff) will ask authors of selected manuscripts to present their speeches. The committee will then choose one speech for presentation at Commencement. Graduating students interested in serving on the committee to select the HSPH student speaker should send an e-mail to Brittany Marshall by April 11, 2008.

Characteristics of the HSPH Student Commencement Speech 

NOTE: Many of the criteria below have been suggested by past students involved in the speaker-selection process. While not all student commencement speeches follow these suggested guidelines, many do.

I. THEME and CONTENT

 Effective speeches 

• Are rich in content

What would you want to hear as a graduate or audience member?

• Have a strong theme
• Inspire us

Demonstrate passion, conviction, sincerity

• Are inclusive

The speech needs to include everyone in the school-its viewpoint should not reflect that of only a single department

Show the necessity and importance of everyone working together to address the public health issues that confront us.

 II. STRUCTURE 

 Speeches tend to have four sections of varying length and purpose, with sections 2 and 3 as the heart of the speech:

1. The typically open with a greeting

2. They then often present issues, challenges or concrete problems - public health being the likely topic

• Often they help the audience understand the issue

3. They may present a response or solution to the challenge 

• Speakers often evoke hope and determination in this section

4. Speeches close in various ways

• Remember that this is a commencement ceremony; as such it marks people going forward, beginning new lives

 III. LENGTH 

 The speech ultimately needs to be delivered in less than 5 minutes.

• This means it will eventually need to be no more than 550-650 words
• Somewhat longer (no more than 750 words) is OK for the selection process, but remember that, in speeches and writing, less is usually more.