Meet the student orators for Harvard’s 366th Commencement
Continuing a cherished tradition that dates back more than 360 years, three students will deliver orations to the Class of 2017 during Morning Exercises at Commencement. The students, who were chosen by a panel of judges during a speech-writing competition, are two Harvard College seniors and a graduate student from Harvard Divinity School. They will deliver their orations, one in Latin and two in English, before graduates, family, friends, and members of the Harvard community in Tercentenary Theatre. Once, students delivered orations to defend their theses. But now they seek to inspire their peers with messages of encouragement. This year’s topics address how to overcome fear, how to remain hopeful, and how to be properly bewildered. Here are this year’s orators: