The 2025 Mid-Year Commencement Exercise will feature an address by a Summer/Fall 2025 candidate.
Auditions
- Sign up to audition by Friday, October 31st 4:00 PM HST using this Google Form:
- Email a copy of your speech to uhm.commencement@hawaii.edu by Monday, November 3rd at 11:59 PM
- Preliminary auditions will be held on Friday, November 7th at 4:30 PM in Crawford Hall 105.
- If a speaker is not selected in the preliminary round, the top three speakers will be invited for a final round of auditions.
Eligibility
- Must be a candidate for Fall 2025 or completed their degree in Summer 2025
- Students completing additional courses in Spring 2025 are ineligible.
- Minimum 3.0 overall GPA (as of August 2025).
Selection Criteria
- Content – The speech should be:
- thoughtful, creative and inspirational; avoid clichés;
- well-organized with a clear message;
- appropriate for graduation;
- relevant to the audience, including families and the UH community; and
- focused on the entire class, not solely about the speaker
- Delivery – The speaker should:
- project voice and pace/speech well;
- connect with the audience;
- make regular eye contact; and
- use written notes sparingly/not at all.
- The speech should not exceed five minutes.
Additional Information
- Be prepared to introduce yourself before the audition (not included in the time constraint). The judges may ask you a few questions about yourself before you begin.
- Content must be identical to that delivered in the ceremony.
- Order of auditions will be determined by lottery.
- Auditions are open to the public but not to those auditioning. Disruptive attendees will be asked to leave.
- A selection committee, including representatives from the administration, faculty, staff, students, and the alumni association, will choose the winning speech.
- All candidates will be notified of the decision by email, letter, or phone call.
- The selected speaker will meet with a coach from the Communicology Department for coaching before commencement.
For more information, contact the Commencement Team at uhm.commencement@hawaii.edu.