Senior Roshan Sadanani will put his oratory skills to the test at commencement next month.
Sadanani will address his peers, their families and Duke faculty as the student commencement speaker May 13 at Wallace Wade Stadium. He hopes to share what he has learned from his wide array of Duke experiences with his graduating class. In his speech, Sadanani said he will urge his fellow seniors to be introspective when reflecting on their four years in college.
“From burning benches after the UNC game to watching the Symphony Orchestra perform, there are so many activities going on all the time,” Sadanani said. “I like the idea of trying new things, and I tried to take in as much as I could during my time here at Duke.”
Sadanani, president of the Duke Debate team and a biomedical engineering major, will join author and renowned journalist Fareed Zakaria, who will deliver the main commencement speech.
Sadanani’s involvement in Duke Debate not only trained him in public speaking but also helped him developed the theme of his speech—self-reflection and the student experience, he noted.
“In debate, we put a lot of emphasis on analytical thinking,” Sadanani said. “When you are writing a speech that reflects on the past four years, you must be introspective in order to figure out what you want to share with other students.”
A record number of students applied for commencement speaker this year, said Sterly Wilder, associate vice president for alumni affairs and chair of the student speaker selection committee, but she was unable to provide specific numbers. The selection committee made its choice based on creativity and on how well the speech could capture audience attention.
“We ask our applicants to keep in mind that they are not speaking to just graduating students but also to faculty and family members,” Wilder said. “Ultimately, we look for a speech that connects to the entire the audience, and in the end, we chose Roshan’s.”
The selection committee is comprised of both faculty administrators and students, and the selection process was conducted over three rounds. For the first round, the committee read each of the speeches without knowledge of the candidates’ identities. In the second and third rounds, applicants were asked to deliver their speeches in person, Wilder said.
Senior Ankit Jain, Sadanani’s roommate, said Sadanani is qualified to give this year’s commencement speech.
“One thing that is special about Roshan is that he has always been open to trying new things,” Jain said. “From social life to academics, he is a well-rounded person and is one of the most active people I know.”
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