It’s about time for Penn’s Commencement planners to pick a speaker for the annual May ceremony. We thought we’d help the process along by asking this year’s graduates who they think would make a great Commencement speaker. While there’s no clear consensus choice, it appears that many students admire political leaders. And there are a few key qualities the students are looking for — chief among them the ability to deliver an entertaining speech.
Julian Millikan, Wharton/Engineering ’00
“A well-known personality who can deliver a message appropriate for the occasion and do so in an entertaining fashion. Bob Costas, perhaps?”
Frank Swietnicki, College ’00
“Steve Jobs would be ideal for a speaker.”
Vicky Sin, College ’00
“I hope the speaker will be one noted for his/her compassion. College life should have taught us to be compassionate people. If not, well, we need someone to remind us.”
Mark Sullivan, Engineering ’00
“Last year they had Robert Rubin - Secretary of the Interior, I think. Not only did he talk in a monotone, but he was not entertaining or humorous at all. My choices would include Rosie O’Donnell, Rush Limbaugh, Katie Couric, Dennis Miller, and Ed Rendell.”
Clarissa Fesler, College ’00
“I think that Jeff Bezos [Amazon.com CEO] would be a good commencement speaker.”
Leigh Gardner, College ’00, GSE ’01
“Ideally, I would like to see Ed Rendell. He’s a Penn alum and is amazingly successful. He turned Philadelphia completely around over the years. That, and he makes trips up to Brown to see the men’s b-ball games.”
Brett Weinheimer, Wharton ’00
“Bob Dole.”
Matt Robusto, Engineering ’00
“Adam Sandler.”
Sara Kutney, College ’00
“Bill Bradley.”
Horace Leung, Wharton ’00
“I think the Dalai Lama was at Emory a few years back. ... He’d be cool to have here.”
Michelle Ofner, College ’00
“Hillary Clinton, especially with the upcoming Senate campaign and all.”
John Yu, Engineering ’00
“A previous president of Penn. He could talk about the changes at the school.”
William Wang, College ’00
“Pretty much any celebrity.”
Novel plant-based approach to a better, cheaper GLP-1 delivery system
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No brain, no gain: Neuronal activity enhances benefits of exercise
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In honor of Valentine's Day, and as a way of fostering community in her Shakespeare in Love course, Becky Friedman took her students to the University Club for lunch one class period. They talked about the movie "Shakespeare in Love," as part of a broader conversation on how Shakespeare's works are adapted.
In Becky Friedman’s English course Shakespeare in Love, undergraduate students analyze language, genre, and adaptation in the Bard’s plays through the lens of love.
Beating the heat: Designing cooling for bodies in motion
Dorit Aviv, director of Weitzman’s Thermal Architecture Lab, studies how humans, technology, and design intersect, paving the way for the development of novel approaches to cooling people efficiently.
Julian Millikan, Wharton/Engineering ’00
