Speak at Graduation

The Senior Speaker represents someone who has had a true Marquette experience. They are nominated by students and faculty and the top ten finalists are selected based on academic standing, their campus involvement, and how they represent the ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ mission. The final candidate is chosen to take the podium at Spring commencement and speak about what it means to go forward as a Marquette alumnus.

Eligibility

The Senior Speaker must be a student graduating in December, May, or August who is eligible to participate in the May commencement ceremony of their graduating year and who has been a full-time undergraduate student for at least (5) semesters at Marquette and has a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher.

The Senior Speaker shall not have been on academic or disciplinary probation at any point in his/her enrollment at Marquette.

No present or former member of the MUSG Executive Board or Senior Speaker Selection Committee may serve as Senior Speaker.

Process

Once nominees are deemed eligible, they are contacted and invited to apply for the role.

A selection committee comprised of three faculty and one senior (or junior) from each college reviews applications and selected 10 semifinalists.

NOTE: applications are judged blind (meaning, applicants' names are not on the materials.)

The 10 semifinalists' names will appear on the election ballots and 3 finalists chosen from them by eligible senior voters in MUSG's spring 2025 election.

The 3 finalists present a draft of their speech to the selection committee who then recommends a finalist to the University President.​

The full process is outlined in MUSG's Constitution.