Student Commencement Speaker Contest
Wagner College has confirmed the dates for the graduates of the class of 2025! To learn more about commencement, please visit our Commencement website.
Graduate Commencement exercises will occur on Thursday, May 15, 2025.
Undergraduate Commencement exercises will occur on Friday, May 16, 2025.
To apply:
Please fill out the application form. Your video should be submitted a file and your speech as a PDF. The form can be found here. Note, you must be logged into your Wagner College Google Account to access the form! If you have any submissions issues, contact Ann Giarratano (agiarrat@wagner.edu).
A graduating Wagner College student will be chosen to deliver a brief inspirational speech at the College’s undergraduate ceremony.
Application and Rehearsal Information
Students interested in competing for this honor must follow the following instructions:
- Submit the application materials via the form by 4:30pm ET, Monday, February 24, 2025:
- Reach out to Ann Giarratano (agiarrat@wagner.edu) with any questions!
- Your intended commencement speech, no longer than 3 spoken minutes in length, submitted in two formats.
- Format 1: A video recording of your speech. In 3 minutes, please record yourself giving your speech.
- Please review the tips below for best practices.
- If you would like, we can arrange a space for you to record your video, including utilizing a computer, audio recording, etc.- reach out to Ann Giarratano (agiarrat@wagner.edu) and we can coordinate!
- You can record it from your phone or computer- do not stress over it! Just make sure we can hear you and see you… and it is okay to read from the paper for your audition!
- Format 2: Your speech as a PDF document
- Please make sure to number each page.
- Format 1: A video recording of your speech. In 3 minutes, please record yourself giving your speech.
- Please note that student applicants for this process must be in good standing with the college and have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0.
- Finalists will be expected to submit a resume for committee review.
- A confirmation reply will be sent to you once your complete application has been received.
- An Executive Committee will review all applications and select students for the final round.
- If you are select to move to the final round, you will receive feedback from the committee to consider incorporating into your speech.
- Those students who are selected will present their speech, in-person, to a selection committee composed of staff, faculty and students. You must be available for auditions during the day on Thursday, March 13 and /or Friday, March 14, 2025. The committee will then choose one speech for presentation at Commencement.
- If you are selected, you must commit to meeting with the speaker coach for a minimum of 2 hours between April 8th – April 19, 2025. Our goal is to make you feel as prepared as possible!
- Be available for final rehearsal on Monday, May 5, 2025 or Tuesday, May 6, 2025 (exact time to be determined).
- Send your final speech to Ann Giarratano (agiarrat@wagner.edu) by Thursday, May 8th, 2025.
A graduating Wagner College student will be chosen to deliver a brief inspirational speech at the College’s graduate ceremony.
Application and Rehearsal Information
Students interested in competing for this honor must follow the following instructions:
-
- Submit the application materials via the form by 4:30pm ET, Monday, February 24, 2025:
- Reach out to Ann Giarratano (agiarrat@wagner.edu) with any questions!
- Your intended commencement speech, no longer than 3 spoken minutes in length, submitted in two formats.
- Format 1: A video recording of your speech. In 3 minutes, please record yourself giving your speech.
- Please review the tips below for best practices.
- If you would like, we can arrange a space for you to record your video, including utilizing a computer, audio recording, etc.- reach out to Ann Giarratano (agiarrat@wagner.edu) and we can coordinate!
- You can record it from your phone or computer- do not stress over it! Just make sure we can hear you and see you… and it is okay to read from the paper for your audition!
- Format 2: Your speech as a PDF document
- Please make sure to number each page.
- Format 1: A video recording of your speech. In 3 minutes, please record yourself giving your speech.
- Please note that student applicants for this process must be in good standing with the college and have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0.
- Finalists will be expected to submit a resume for committee review.
- A confirmation reply will be sent to you once your complete application has been received.
- An Executive Committee will review all applications and select students for the final round.
- If you are select to move to the final round, you will receive feedback from the committee to consider incorporating into your speech.
- Those students who are selected will present their speech, in-person, to a selection committee composed of staff, faculty and students. You must be available for auditions during the day on Thursday, March 13 and /or Friday, March 14, 2025. The committee will then choose one speech for presentation at Commencement.
- If you are selected, you must commit to meeting with the speaker coach for a minimum of 2 hours between April 8th – April 19, 2025. Our goal is to make you feel as prepared as possible!
- Be available for final rehearsal on Monday, May 5, 2025 or Tuesday, May 6, 2025 (exact time to be determined).
- Send your final speech to Ann Giarratano (agiarrat@wagner.edu) by Thursday, May 8th, 2025.
- Submit the application materials via the form by 4:30pm ET, Monday, February 24, 2025:
Structure and Flow
- Speeches open with greetings to the President, Board of Trustees, administration, faculty, alumni, and the fellow members of the Class of 2025, with special thanks to parents, family, friends, and loved ones who made it all possible.
- The speaker should then respond to the question: Reflecting upon your time at Wagner, what are pivotal experiences, interactions, and/or lessons that have prepared you for your life after college?
- Speeches then transition towards their closing, often with an energetic call to action. Remember that this is a commencement ceremony, and that it marks people moving forward and beginning new lives.
Characteristics and Length
Effective speeches are rich in content, have a strong theme, tell compelling stories, and ultimately inspire the listeners. They should be inclusive and demonstrate passion, conviction, and sincerity. The speech’s perspective should not reflect that of a single person or campus department, but all those who are graduating. Please remember not to use offensive or inappropriate language in the speech.
The speech needs to be delivered in less than 3 minutes.
To make the best of your video submission, please consider the following suggestions. As a reminder, you can reach out to us to reserve you a space on campus to record your video!
- Recording options
- If you record the video on your phone, you recommend you upload the video to your Wagner Google Drive. Then complete the upload steps.
- Consider your environment!
- Choose a quiet, well-lit space with minimal background noise and materials. Avoid having large posters, flags, etc. in the background.
- Position the camera at eye level, directly facing you.
- Even if you use a phone, try to make sure you are looking right at the camera- not up or down!
- Use landscape!
- Do a quick test run when recording.
- Turn the video recording on, do your first few lines, stop it and play it back! Make sure you like what you are saying and how it sounds!
- Avoid filer words such as like, um, or ahs.
- If you make a mistake, relax, shake it out, and try again. You got this!