A Commencement Speech Repurposed

During my final semester at Michigan State, graduating seniors were invited to apply for the honor of commencement speaker at graduation. All we had to do was submit an introduction and an outline for the rest. Quite frankly, giving a commencement address had never crossed my mind. As an introvert, my desire to speak into a microphone in front of thousands of onlookers is about equal to my desire to get hit by a bus.

I’m not entirely sure what led to me submitting an outline. I figured the chances of being selected were slim, and in the off chance that I was chosen, it would be a hilarious surprise for my parents when I hit the stage. When I got the first call back, I was equally elated, terrified and a little nauseous.

But it wasn’t meant to be and I was named runner-up.

Despite my previous trepidation about public speaking, I was devastated by the decision. I had agonized over each and every word of that five-to-six-minute speech, and now no one was going to hear it. Or so I thought.

Turns out, working with the college’s communications team has its perks, and I wasn’t the only one reluctant to throw away the script. After a few creative meetings, manuscript tweaks, recording sessions and afternoons spent filming, our videographer extraordinaire, Dan Hartley, pulled together this gem:

The video served not only as the ComArtSci’s end-of-the-year recap, but also as a key feature in an alumni ceremony held just weeks before graduation.

Isn’t it funny how some things fall apart so something else can come together? Just because content is created with a specific intention doesn’t mean it can’t be recycled into something new and equally as intentional.