Rob Painter

Senior Rob Painter will have one last chance to perform for his fellow students Sunday, as the longtime Duke University Improve member has been selected as the student speaker for the 2005 graduation ceremony. Painter, a theater studies major, said his four years with DUI and love of being on stage inspired him to submit his speech to the annual selection committee for consideration. “This is the way I’ve contributed to the Duke community my entire career,” he said of his acting, noting that his work with DUI has taken him to almost every dormitory and major theatrical facility on campus. “I saw [the speech] as a way to continue that.” Painter said he wanted to give his speech for another simple reason: he adores Duke. “It’s about love—it’s about a long illicit love affair between a man child and a place that is coming to a tragic end after four years,” Painter said of his speech. “It’s about pulling away from something you love…. It’s appropriate to honor the fact that on some level, we don’t want to leave.” Painter said he came up with the idea for his speech while lounging on the East Campus Quadrangle “trying to quantify this general feeling of contentedness I feel at Duke.” He said he was looking at the statue of Benjamin Duke that stands in front of Baldwin Auditorium and, ironically, made a mental connection between the scene and his first day of kindergarten, when his parents had to pull him from the banister of their staircase because he did not want to go to school. “What if on the morning of graduation I were to do the same thing except I was clinging to the statue?” Painter asked. “How funny would it be if my parents had to pull me from the statue and drag [me] to graduation?.... That’s the line through my speech.” Selection committee member Sue Wasiolek, assistant vice president for student affairs and dean of students, said Painter’s speech was the “very clear choice of the committee.” “His cleverness, his intellect, his quick thinking and quick wit and his real love and appreciation for his Duke experience come through very loudly and clearly in his speech,” Wasiolek said. “He will just have the graduates as well as their families reflecting on the part of the Duke experience that really appeals to the heart. At the same time, his speech reminds folks of the real power of education, and I think he challenges folks to leave this place to pursue their passions that hopefully they’ve identified while they were here.” Wasiolek also praised Painter’s skills as a performer and orator, which she believes will enhance the appeal of his speech. This is the second year in a row a DUI member has been selected to speak at the graduation ceremony. Painter said last year’s speaker, Paul Downs, “heaped pressure” on him to submit a speech. He added that DUI is proud of the “sweet little tradition” the group seems to be establishing. “We’re considering forming a speech think tank,” Painter said jokingly.