In the midst of all this confusion, the Commencement speaker stands as a shining beacon of hope, of who we can become and what we can do with this seemingly impractical liberal arts education. The speaker's job is to provide nuggets of wisdom and advice to seniors nervous about entering the big scary "real world," where DBA doesn't exist and you actually have to wake up before 11 a.m. The Commencement speaker, typically announced this time of year, is a manifestation of who we strive to become fully realized adults capable of making mature decisions and taking control of our own lives.
Dartmouth has played host to illustrious Commencement speakers, from Secretary of State Daniel Webster in 1806 to friendly neighborhood Fred, or "Mister," Rogers in 2002. We've given honorary degrees to transcendentalists, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson in 1863 and Walt Whitman in 1872, and political moguls like Nelson Rockefeller '30 in 1969 and Bill Clinton in 1995.
While many of these speakers delivered powerful addresses that inspired and motivated students, others failed to deliver and left students feeling more than a little underwhelmed. Some, like last year's Teach for America president Wendy Kopp, have struggled in the shadows of their predecessors. As she said herself, how could she be expected to follow the notoriously lively speech given by Conan O'Brien?
O'Brien did something right when his address to the Class of 2011 quickly became an overnight Internet sensation. The question is, what sort of qualities differentiated him from the rest? What made people take the precious time out of their days to pretend to care about a bunch of Ivy League do-gooder graduates enough to write it down in their blogs?
O'Brien's speech begins with your typical Ivy League quips about the unfair nature of devoting four years of your life to a prestigious institution that will help you get absolutely nowhere. His jokes about the tragedy of living in New Hampshire and the procrastination associated with Red Bull and Adderall before big term papers were certainly crowd pleasers.
Every Dartmouth student worth his salt can quote that infamous line about Dartmouth's identity as the "cool, sexually confident, lacrosse playing younger sibling who knows how to throw a party and looks good in a down vest." Because let's face it, we have both inferiority complex and a unwavering sense of school spirit when it comes to the other "self-involved, vain, name dropping older brothers" that make up the rest of the Ivy League, or at least the ones that matter.
Yet the real meat of O'Brien's speech comes from his raw and tangible discussion of the realities of failure and disappointment. His own personal experiences, interwoven with perfect pearls of wisdom, created just the reassurance that graduates were searching for. In describing failure as the catalyst for reinvention, O'Brien addresses and quells their fears:
"The beauty is that through disappointment, you can gain clarity, and with clarity comes conviction and true originality," he said. "Whatever you think your dream is now, it will change, and that's okay."
O'Brien hit one out of the proverbial park, but what about those other famous Commencement speakers? We've all heard of Steve Jobs at Stanford University, Stephen Colbert at Knox College, and even John F. Kennedy at American University in 1963. Looking at O'Brien's speech in these contexts, certain patterns appear. It seems that the recipe for a great Commencement speech includes a famous personality, a poignant and relatable message, a self-reflective and humanistic narrative and, above all, a touch of humor.
My personal favorite comes from a column in the Chicago Tribune that reads as an address to the universal graduating class of 1997. In the piece, columnist Mary Schmich dispenses advice in a stream of consciousness narrative, reminding students to enjoy the power and beauty of their youth and not congratulate or berate themselves too much.
"Don't worry about the future," she writes. "Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday."
It is important to remember that what makes a good Commencement speaker great isn't how humorous they are or how much money they make in a year. A good Commencement speech leaves listeners with that perfect blend of nostalgia and anticipation, with excitement for the future and pride in the past. It has its ups and downs, humorous quips about excessive drinking and wild sex parties and thoughtful musings on what it means to pursue your dreams. But in the end, a great speech tells it like it is. The good, the bad and the ugly nothing is left out and no facet of higher education left untouched. It fosters a collective solidarity that instills pride and hope for the extremely frightening future. The College has yet to announce this year's Commencement speaker, and the entirety of campus, not least of all the Class of 2013, is waiting with bated breath. Perhaps this year Dartmouth's speaker will once again make it onto the list of history's greats.
