Duke Student Government President Mike Lefevre will voice the student perspective one last time at graduation.
Lefevre, whom the University announced Tuesday will serve as the student speaker at commencement May 15, said he wants his fellow seniors to take away a feeling of community and friendship into the world beyond Duke.
Lefevre said he will talk about the themes he believes are important to the Duke experience, including the commitment to community and teamwork that he values at the University—though he said he would like to keep the specific topics of his speech private until graduation day.
“I absolutely love the people here and I want to be able to deliver a message to the student body, many of whom I consider great friends,” Lefevre said. “[I want to] leave them with my reflections on our time together and also give them a new way of looking at how to turn our experiences into something productive for the rest of our lives.”
At graduation, Lefevre will join commencement speaker John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems, a communication and information technology company. Lefevre said what will distinguish the two speeches is his perspective. His address will focus on the “special things about being a Duke student.”
“I’m not trying to be the commencement speaker—I’m trying to be the student speaker and speak about student life here at Duke,” he said.
Lefevre was one of 24 seniors who submitted a seven-minute speech by the day before Spring Break. Six students ultimately performed their speeches before a selection committee consisting of students, faculty and administrators after making recommended revisions from the reviewers.
Kim Hanauer, director of young alumni and student programs for the Duke Alumni Association and a member of the selection committee, said Lefevre was chosen by representatives from many different areas of Duke.
“There are a number of University representatives, people from the president’s office to Student Affairs to News and Communications and Duke Magazine,” she said.
Hanauer believes that Lefevre’s speech “has a unique message” and said she thinks the audience will connect with it.
“His message is also really positive and I think it will do well to send students off,” she added. “We’re really excited.”
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