Commencement Speech Competition

Orations

Student Orations Competition

 

One of the oldest and most cherished traditions of the Morning Exercises of Commencement is the Orations Competition in which three students chosen by a panel of judges deliver from memory an address to an assemblage of approximately 32,000, including members of the governing boards, honorary degree recipients, faculty, parents, alumni and graduates.

The first of these orations is delivered in Latin by a graduating senior from the College; the second, in English, is also delivered by a graduating senior from the College; and the third is delivered by a degree candidate from the University’s graduate or professional schools who is graduating or is expected to graduate prior to the next Commencement exercises; or, alternatively, who has already received the degree in November or March of that academic year but has not previously attended Commencement ceremonies as a degree recipient or competed in the selection process for Commencement speakers. No individual may compete for any one of these three addresses more than once.

To be chosen as one of the three orators is considered to be among the highest honors a student can achieve. In the distant past, these orations were delivered in defense of one’s thesis but, over time, topics have broadened and may now address current issues and events or personal experiences at Harvard or in the wider world.

To learn more about the competition, key dates, and what factors judges may consider as part of the selection process, interested students may attend an Orators' Workshop on February 28th. If you are not able to attend this workshop, please see below. The video of the workshop will be posted the week following the event. Video of some past Commencement addresses also appears on YouTube under: “Harvard Morning Exercises/Commencement student address” (note: not to be confused with the many speakers who appear the day before as part of College Class Day).

Those selected receive a cash prize of $1,500. Extensive support, including speech coaching and multiple opportunities to rehearse, are offered as part of the preparation for participation in this historic Harvard event. 

Video recording of the most recent Orators' Workshop (2023)
updated on 2/24/2023
 

2024 SCHEDULE 

  • Orators' Workshop - Wednesday, February 28 at 3 PM. Emerson 105  
  • Deadline to submit electronic submissions - Friday, March 22 at 11:59 PM. Submit here.
  • Preliminary Auditions – Thursday, April 11 at 4 PM, TBD
  • Final Auditions – Thursday, April 18 at 4 PM, TBD

TEMPLATES

NOTES:

1. Submissions must be made using the templates above. Do not send an essay or thesis that does not contain the cover sheet found in the template. 

2. Extensions are not possible. If you wish to have your address considered, prepare early and be ready to make your submission by or before the deadline. Should your piece be accepted, you will have time to share a revised draft in advance of the auditions.

3. Latin submissions should include an English translation at the end of the address, Should the address be chosen for audition, this will be delivered only in Latin.

For some helpful resources on crafting your speech, click here. 

SUBMIT HERE 

EXAMPLES

Below you will find a selection of Senior and Graduate English Addresses that show the quality and variety of orations chosen by the judges. Additional speaches are available on Harvard's YouTube channel.

 

 

Josiah Ethan Meadows A.B. '23
De Fructibus Institutionis Harvardianæ.
(The Value of a Harvard Education)


Pallas Chou A.B. '23
Enzymes

 

Vic Hogg MPP '23
The Next Step

 

Benjamin Porteous A.B. '22 
"In Honorem Iohannis Martini Annenbergensis"

 

Silvana Gómez A.B. '21 
"Creating—Not Accepting—A New Normal"

 

Michael J. Phillips A.B. '20 
"The Keys and the Canvas"

Sana Raoof A.B. '12, Ph.D '18, M.D. '20 
"This View of Life"

 

Lucila Takjerad MPA '19
"The Least You Can Do"

 

Pete Davis JD '18
"A Counterculture of Commitment"

 

Phoebe Madeleine Lakin '18 
"Experientia Transfigurativa" (A Transfigurative Experience)

 

Walter Smelt III MTS '17
"How To Be Bewildered at Harvard"

 

Jiang He, PhD '16
"The Spider's Bite"

 

Sarah Abushaar '14
"The [Harvard] Spring"

 

Jon Murad '13 HKS
“In Praise of Clip-on Ties”

 

Adam Price '11 HKS
"Declaration of Independence 2.0"

 

Chiamaka Lilian Nwakeze '10
"Poetry for Chemists"
 

Joseph Claghorn '09 GSD
"The Harvard Elm Crisis"

 

Robert Charles Sprung '84
"De institutione oratoria"

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXEvUOA0GsP43_NBEc4APjF3nf-QzNb-F