Keynote Speakers And University Graduation Events

Attending a university graduation ceremony is a proud moment for the grandaunts and their parents who have supported their child for the past three, four or five years as they completed their chosen degree. Working towards a degree will bring you the chance to have a successful career, brighter job prospects and a life changing time away from home. The ceremony should celebrate the achievements of the attendees, and well chosen keynote speakers are one of the best ways that this can be done.

Whilst I fully support those people who decide not to go to university, choosing a keynote speaker who has not experienced a university life is sheer foolishness on the part of graduation organisers. Without knowing what it is like to be at university, keynote speakers cannot relate to their audience because life at university is completely different to life when you choose to go into a job straight from leaving school.

University life makes you more independent. You are faced with situation where you might be forced to live with people you do not get along with, you have to make new sets of friends and you have to be financially organised to be able to budget your loan or get a part time job to help with living costs. All of these things can only be learnt whilst at university.

For most people who go into work after school, they live with their parents for a number of months if not years, they choose friends to move in with when they do decide to leave home, and the security of a job contract leaves less financial worries than when you rely on student loans and part time work. And unlike popular conceptions, most university students have to pay for the privilege of going to university themselves by getting a part time job and paying their loan off when they finish.

And so when graduation ceremonies are being planned, the keynote speakers should be chosen on their experiences, including attending university themselves. If they have not been they will not be able to give a speech that targets their audience.