At Benilde-St. Margaret’s, the commencement speaker has always been carefully chosen to represent their graduating class. The administration, teachers, and students are all involved in the process of picking the speaker to make sure the best speech makes it to graduation and ensure that the ceremony goes well. This year, there were around 20 applicants which has narrowed to five prospective students to be the speaker.
First, in the application process, interested students submit a one-page outline of their speech that they would like to present at the graduation. Submissions are anonymous to cause no bias in the first round of selections. Once all applicants have submitted their one-page draft, the administration goes over them and narrows down the list of outlines to a top five. Once this is done, the top five people are notified and are asked to present their full speech in front of a panel of senior students, administration, and staff. “On May 9th, the seniors that have been asked to get to that point have prepared their entire speech and then they present it. They read it off, and then the panel discusses it to select the speaker,” senior high Assistant Principal Matt Weingartz said.
There are no certain criteria for the commencement speaker as aspects such as grades are not taken into account. The administration is just looking for the best speech and speaker. The students involved in the panel are really hoping to find someone who can represent the class as a whole, not just a certain group of students, but someone who takes everyone into account. “I think it definitely needs to be someone who is personable and will be a good public speaker, but also someone who can make it funny and relatable for everyone, not like inside jokes that only one person or their friend group would know. We want to find a speaker who represents the whole class,” senior student council member Anna Amaris said.
This year, all those participating on the panel are confident that they will find the best speaker to represent the class of 2024. The speaker will have been chosen by the week of May 13th and will be notified when the decision has been made. Once they know they will be the speaker, they are assigned to one of BSM’s speaking coaches to make sure the speech is just right and they are confident in their ability to speak in front of the whole class. “We are just trying to get the best possible speaker for the class,” Weingartz said.