I experienced my oldest daughter’s high school graduation last year, and my daughter’s boyfriend gave a speech. He happened to be the valedictorian of their class. I thought he did a fantastic job on his graduation speech topic and was quite impressed with his vocabulary and delivery of the speech.
I’ve been to a number of high school graduations with countless speeches given by valedictorian speakers. Here are a few good topics that I still have retained in my memory that I found interesting.
Class Experience
My daughter’s boyfriend drew a lot of material in his high school graduation speech from the class experiences he had over the entire four years of high school. He made mention of a number of humorous incidents that had occurred over that time that everyone knew about and could relate to. This seemed to create a feeling of unity among the class. It was an uplifting speech sprinkled with a humorous undertone.
Accept the Good with the Bad
I’ve heard a couple of graduation speeches that included this topic. I thought it was appropriate, because as the parent of a high school student, I know how good times, fun and success are often all that kids seem to find significant. They cannot yet see the valuable lessons in experiencing failures and setbacks as things that will help them gain wisdom. I remember being profoundly impressed with the students that used this topic, because they recognized this aspect of life. I remember speaking with other parents that felt the same.
The Deceased
Unfortunately, some staff members, as well as students, pass on during the years students have been enrolled in high school. I’ve heard a number of high school graduation speeches that included some thoughtful insights about these people that were brought to light by the valedictorian speaker. I heard stories of the deceased that portrayed their greatest characteristics, along with some of the activities they had been involved in. I thought this made for some interesting material that helped me as an audience member get to know some of those that had died.
Students giving high school graduation speeches often summarize some of the projects that were undertaken by their class over the duration of the entire four years. Speakers should be sure to include what impact those projects had on the people involved and their class as a whole. Quite often, some of these projects were unknown to a lot of the parents there. Once they hear about them, parents are impressed with the positive things that came about because of those projects.
Be Inclusive
Since my daughter was the girlfriend of the valedictorian, I heard a lot of the complaints about his speech as well as the good features of it. If you’re the designated speaker and you’ve been involved in specific aspects of school, you may feel compelled to speak more on those topics. However, don’t forget about including things in the speech you may not have been involved in, whether it was sports, the arts, or whatever you weren’t as much a part of. It will mean a lot to your fellow students who may not have pursued the same interests as you.
