OPINION

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By Karl Kastenbaum

Senior Speeches are an important tradition at Collegiate School, which started in their current format with the class of 1996. The idea of talking about yourself for five minutes in front of the entire Upper School brings butterflies to most people’s stomachs. There is a wide variety of opinions about whether or not there should be senior speeches. 

Oates Theater, where Upper School assemblies take place once or twice per week. Photo credit: Karl Kastenbaum.

Seniors give their speeches during Upper School assemblies, which are also livestreamed and archived online. Two to four seniors share their speeches to all of the Upper School at assembly, and each topic is unique to the specific student. Speeches are then followed by announcements or school performances, some of which are given by the senior speakers themselves. 

Speeches come in many different varieties, but there are some topics that are common to students over the years. These include summer camp and wilderness adventures, an injury that impacted a sports season, family relationships, or something sentimental, such as a car or family pet. Some seniors choose to do performances, like dances or showing off their vocal or instrumental talents. Senior performances make the senior speeches fun to watch, as you can learn something new or something special about someone you don’t know very well. 

It is a graduation requirement for all seniors to deliver their senior speech, which puts pressure on students who do not want to participate. Students who are already dealing with the pressure of college admissions and busy academic schedules do not want to have to worry about speaking in front of a large audience. It is something that lingers in the back of students’ minds while they have to do other class assignments; this is especially true for those whose speeches are scheduled at the end of the year. 

The author delivering his Senior Speech during an Upper School Assembly on Dec. 8, 2022. Screenshot courtesy of Collegiate School. 

I asked a few seniors and students in different grade levels about their opinions on Senior Speeches and got some interesting feedback. Eli Petty (‘23) said, “I think they’re great, making kids get up in front of 500 people and get embarrassed is a great idea.” Matthew Woodhouse (‘23) echoed his praise for the Senior Speech program by saying, “I think Senior Speeches are an opportunity for the rest of the Upper School to get to know their senior leaders a little better.” Tyler Stepanian (‘23) candidly admitted that “they are extremely nerve-wracking at first, and you really get into your own head about it.” However, Stepanian did say “once you get up there on stage and read your first couple of lines, and make a couple of people laugh, it honestly just becomes something that is super fun.” Towards the end of my conversation with Stepanian, he admitted that when he left the stage, he “wanted to give another speech.”

Many of the seniors I interviewed seemed to have the same opinion: Senior Speeches are scary until they turn out to be fun. William Britt (‘23) agreed with this statement, saying he thinks “everyone freaks out about them, and that part kinda’ sucks, because you’re super nervous leading up to it.” However, at the end of my talk with Britt, he claimed “it was a worthwhile experience.” Many seniors have seen the benefit of the mandatory public speaking lesson and often mention how it benefited them personally. Hudson Avery (‘23) said, “I think it’s important to have a required assignment to graduate.” Yet, Avery claims that “it should only be a Capstone assignment” rather than a speech you have to give to the entire Upper School.

I talked to a few students in lower grade levels who still have some time before they have to worry about giving a senior speech. Randolph Campbell (‘24) said that he feels like “people seem nervous about them, which I can relate to.” Though he ended our conversation by saying, “I feel like it’s a good checkpoint for seniors to check off, because it’s like one of the things you have to do, and if you do, that it’s a good feeling.” I also asked Ben Heidt (’25) about his opinion, even though he still has two years before he has to deliver his, and he said “Some of them are just really pointless and don’t have a good message, but you know some of them are really good and get the crowd invested. I’m not really nervous for it, because I don’t have to think about it for a while.”

I talked to the director of the Senior Speech program, Upper School English teacher and Match advisor Vlastik Svab, and when asked why we make students do Senior Speeches, he said, “It is an opportunity for seniors to demonstrate what they’ve learned and who they’ve become in their time at Collegiate.” He said that it is a graduation requirement because the school feels that the ability to write and deliver a speech to a large audience is a worthwhile experience. He likes the variety of speeches and seeing students have a moment where the spotlight is on them. Svab has been the director of Senior Speeches for the last sixteen years.

Though it is understandable why students would not want to participate in giving a speech about themselves in front of the entire Upper School, I believe that it is a beneficial experience for students. Being able to deliver a speech in front of a large crowd is a skill that will carry over into the real world. Most importantly, learning about the experiences, interests, and talents of the senior class brings the Collegiate together as a community.