University Graduation And Keynote Speakers
Graduation ceremonies at university are very proud moments for those receiving their degree and the parents or friends who accompany them. What that works means could be a new career with bright prospects, an opportunity to get into a job that would never have been possible had they not held a degree, or simply a life changing experience that widens your social horizons and life’s possibilities. It is no small thing to achieve a university degree in this day and age so the keynote speakers chosen to attend the event need to reflect this in their speech.
I do not think that a university life is for everyone, and I do not mean to sound like a snob, but picking a keynote speaker who has not been to university is the wrong decision for ceremony organisers to make. Going straight into a job after leaving school is a life completely different than if you choose to go to university for three or four years, and keynote speakers will not be able to relate with their audience if they have not gone through the same experiences.
You become a more independent person faster when you go to university. You live far away from home; have to live with people you might not like, become financially smart as soon as you start working out how much money you need to earn on top of your loan if you want to have a full social and academic life. These are things that you do not deal with when you stay at home.
When you decide to go into a proper job straight after leaving school, most people still live with their parents for a few months, even years and they have their washing done for them and meals cooked, you have a stable wage which university students do not have and if you do move out you choose the people you are living with. 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.
So when it comes to the time when graduation organisers are planning the day, the keynote speakers should be checked to see if they have been to university. If they have not been they will not be able to give a speech that targets their audience.