All College of Health and Human Services (CHHS) undergraduate students who will be graduating this spring and summer are invited to apply to be the student speaker at the Spring 2019 CHHS Degree Celebration May 16. This will be the second year CHHS will be featuring a student speaker at our Degree Celebration Ceremony.
Application Process
To apply for this honor, please submit a 3-4-minute video of the graduation speech you plan to give, along with the written script to the CHHS Degree Celebration Committee no later than
5pm, Friday, March 29, 2019.
Interested students should upload the 3-minute graduation speech/video of themselves to their service provider of choice, and then send the URL, along with the written speech outline via email to Maria Perez at mperezb2@gmu.edu. In the email please also include – full name, G#, major/degree to be earned, and indicate if you will earn your degree in May 2019 or Summer 2019.
Once preliminary selections are made, the chosen finalists will be invited to orally present their speeches to the committee for final selection in early April. The winner will be notified mid-April.
Criteria
Submissions will be judged by a panel that includes CHHS administration, faculty, staff and alumni. The competition is based on the content and the quality of the speech, and you should consider the following when preparing your submission:
- describe your overall growth as a student and member of the university community
- think about all facets of your Mason experience
- focus on your graduating class and your experiences together with an eye toward your future
- engage the graduating class and their guests as a whole
Speeches should be able to be delivered in front of a large, live audience, and must adhere to the three to four minute timeframe. The student selected for this honor will receive coaching and an opportunity to practice the speech prior to the event.
Questions
If you have questions regarding the process, please visit our CHHS graduation website or contact Maria Perez at mperezb2@gmu.edu.
If you have technical questions regarding submission of the video, please troubleshoot first with the platform you are using to upload your video. If you still need assistance, please contact Terri Ann Guingab at tguingab@gmu.edu.
We wish you the best in the selection process and CONGRATULATIONS on your upcoming graduation!