It's graduation season! Seniors across the country are poised to accept their diplomas, toss their graduation caps, and start fighting off anxiety about what to do next with their lives. Subsequently, there's been a ton in the news about commencement speakers, particularly which colleges and universities have the best, most charasmatic, or most controversial speakers.
I'm always interested to hear who is chosen to speak at these engagements. (Side note: I happened to deliver the commencement address at my high school graduation. I can tell you it was terrible. I sobbed like a baby and ran 9 minutes over.) I've heard from friends who had a noteable author or politician deliver an unforgettable, earth-shatteringly inspirational speech at their graduation. My college graduation speaker was very forgettable (I truly have no recollection who it was and remember at the time being very bored).
The point is, it can go either way. I started thinking about what it would be like to have a character from some of our favorite books deliver a commencement address—wouldn't that be fun? So I asked our blog team to share which character they would pick. What about you?
Mike picked Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird.
Brittany and Lia both chose Dumbledore as their ideal graduation speaker. Why? Nobody could match his words of wisdom.
Suzanne picked Stuart Little. He’d give practical advice, be entertaining, debonair and mercifully brief.
Michael has a few ideas: first, Meg Murry from A Wrinkle in Time. He thinks she’d speak with the same blend of logic and heart that went into her problem solving. Honorable mentions go to Neville Longbottom and Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series. (Though he's heard it's pretty hard to get on Ms. Granger’s calendar these days.)
Alex's pick is Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games, because she can relate her experience in the arena to the tough job market students may face. She would also be a great motivational speaker in encouraging students to never give up on their dreams not matter how tough a situation gets.
Morgan selected Professor McGonagall from the Harry Potter series because she would deliver an amazing commencement address.
Me? I'd choose Matilda. She's a quick as a whip and so adorable. (Though she'd probably need to stand on a few phone books to reach the podium.)
image via khaz
