It’s Important To Be Respectful of All Commencement Speakers.
There is always much commotion during graduation time when it comes to the ceremony, getting the gown and deciding how many graduation tassels that you wan’t hanging from your head like a spiderweb, and then there is always the commencement speaker. The speaker has a very important job to provide words of wisdom to the graduation class by telling a yarn of one’s experience in the real world and what graduates should brace themselves for when embarking on their future. Commencement speakers have become a controversial topic lately in regards to who gets to speak for largely political reasons with students even holding protests because of a speaker’s beliefs on certain issues. President Barack Obama did a wonderful job by addressing this during his Rutgers University speech and why it’s important to hear words of wisdom from leaders regardless of their position in the political spectrum. His comment was directed at those who had pressured Condoleeza Rice into abandoning her commencement speech at Rutgers in 2014.
Here is his full commencement speech:
However, this article isn’t about the political decisions or retaliation against specific speakers, but rather how students treat the speakers that they get during their graduation. Universities have so many commencement speakers but the ones who get the most coverage are often celebrities or prominent arts, business and public leaders. This leads to many students complaining about the commencement speakers that they get.
Who would you like to have as a commencement speaker and why? This is a question that is not only asked by the LinkedIn student editorial for #Graduation month, but it’s also asked in numerous organizations, at workshops, and in classrooms. This question irritates me. I understand it’s purpose, but it’s driven towards big name celebrities in the business world or the entertainment people. I always hear names like Bill Gates, Beyonce Knowles, Bill Clinton, Michelle Obama, etc. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing to have powerful figures deliver commencement speeches because they have worked tremendously hard and are successful in their fields. My problem is when these big names giving speeches lead to students overshadowing less famous commencement speakers.
If anyone is subscribed to Yahoo, Business Insider, or follows any online media outlet, one knows that commencement speakers who are famous get broadcasted like it’s headline news. My problem isn’t with the speakers, but rather how the students react to seeing certain schools with famous speakers. I’ve seen comments on social media, and heard students at my own school, Florida State University always saying that we don’t really get anybody big or good simply because they’ve never heard of the speaker. This is incredibly disrespectful. Commencement speakers are there for a reason and that is to give a message and a vision to prepare students to enjoy leaving school and be prepared and energized for life after graduation.
Florida State University had some tremendous speakers in 2014 such as Bobby Bowden, screenwriter Jamie Linden, and Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Head John W. Thiel. Granted, besides Bowden, the others aren’t necessarily household names, but does that mean that we shouldn’t be as engaged when they speak or wish for a different speaker? No. Jamie Linden wrote the screenplay for We Are Marshall and Dear John. While he is not a household name, those movies were commercially successful and it’s impressive that a student from Florida State University has great success in such a competitive entertainment industry in California. He gave a great speech talking about his life lessons and how he made it successfully and he’s an FSU alumni. It’s great to see that other students have had such incredible success. John W. Thiel probably had to manage efficiently and truly work hard to make it to the position he is in today at Merrill Lynch. With how truly testing the financial industry is, it’s wonderful to see someone become successful and pass down wisdom to business students.
It’s unfortunate that some students have this mindset that having a celebrity speak for them means that the school is having a great speaker. This mindset is an insult to the many speakers who while not as well known, have probably had work incredibly hard and come up with new ideas themselves in order to make it to where they are. They have wisdom that could benefit students as well and probably more if they relate it correctly. It’s the content of the speech that paints the picture, while the fame just glosses over the frame. Students in the audience might also become highly successful one day and I think they’d be delighted to speak for students to pass down wisdom.
LinkedIn Pulse does an excellent job of illustrating my point. We see a tremendous amount of famous business professionals with massive followings. This is expected because many are well known. However, there are many other CEO’s, founders, presidents, speakers, and consultants who can reach a massive audience despite not being as well known. It’s also a big reminder of just how many people are just as successful and worked hard to provide wisdom and quality products for consumers to enjoy. It also gives these hard workers and success stories and excellent opportunity to showcase their accomplishments and pass down their wisdom.
I wrote this article because I think those who graduated and those who are still in school can follow LinkedIn Pulse to engage with and seek advice from leaders. I also want to thank those who have spoken at commencement speakers because the ceremony needs excellent leaders to pass on wisdom and knowledge to them. In my opinion, it’s one of the best ways to give back and inspire graduates who are struggling with the anxiety of graduating whether they want to admit it or not. We should always be grateful for those who pass on wisdom to us regardless of whether they are “famous” or not. Remember, even when we graduate we are still always going to be students and so are the speakers. Learning never stops no matter who you are. #Graduation
You can find my original article here on LinkedIn Pulse.
