Michigan Journal

Issue date: 12/9/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Irma Givens

For each commencement ceremony, the Student Activities Office (SAO) offers two graduating students the unique opportunity of addressing their classmates.

SAO holds a speech-writing contest for potential student-speakers to enter an outline of their address.

They must also submit a copy of a previous speech they've given, a resume and a letter of support from an UM-D faculty or staff member.

Senior Irma Givens was chosen to speak at the afternoon College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters and School of Education commencement ceremony.

Givens will be graduation with a Bachelor of General Studies with concentrations in communications, psychology and sociology.

She is a member of the U-LEAD and Blueprints leadership programs, Volunteer Dearborn, as well as Women in Learning and Leadership.

Givens, a motivational speaker, almost didn't enter the speech contest, but with encouraging remarks from other students and staff members, she gave in.

"I had not entered and had no intentions of entering. I was too busy this semester for much of anything," said Givens.

"I had a number of fellow students ask had I entered and I said 'no'. It wasn't until I received a message from a UM-D staffer that said 'Hey, you need to submit your application because you'd be a great commencement speaker' that I said ok. After reading the two recommendation letters that I received, I was certain that I had done the right thing."

Charles Firment will speak at the morning School of Management and College of Engineering and Computer Science commencement ceremony.

Firment is a management major and will be getting married and moving to San Francisco after graduation.

Although he was not a member of any organizations at UM-D, Firment was asked to speak at a business communications conference for work he did while at UM-D.

He entered the contest at the suggestion of his faculty advisor.

"She said she believes I have a lot to offer other students," said Firment.

Firment is also a professional fire breather, and hopes this will wake up students on graduation day.

"I'm not telling them that because it's exciting, but because it'll get their attention," said Firment.

According to Firment, this is also the main point of his commencement address, getting attention.

To sum up his speech, he said, "your degree will get you your first job, but getting attention will get you your first promotion."

Both commencement ceremonies will be on Sunday, Dec. 21 in the Fieldhouse. The CECS and SOM ceremony will take place at 10:30 a.m. and the CASL and SOE ceremony is at 2:30 p.m.

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