Zina Kumok | May 5, 2011
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| Photo by Ryan Dorgan |
| Shabrelle Pollock will address fellow graduating seniors during the second commencement ceremony Saturday. |
Journalism Class of 2011
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It was IU Provost Karen Hanson congratulating Pollock on her appointment as one of two undergraduate commencement speakers for Saturday’s graduation ceremonies.
Pollock will address the day’s second session at 3 p.m., which is when journalism students will be graduated. She applied earlier this year when IU sent out a call for applicants. To be eligible, students with at least a 3.5 grade point average wrote and delivered a talk for a selection team. Business major Andrew Merki will address the Saturday morning commencement audience.
Pollock said she was in shock at the news. She had made it to the interview round of the competition and was one of about 20 students to get that far. But she entered originally on a whim.
“I honestly applied just so I wouldn’t regret not applying,” she said.
Project specialist for the Office of the Provost Greg Buse said Pollock was chosen because of her enthusiasm and eloquence in delivering in her speech.
“She just seems to be a positive and enthusiastic person, and that really comes across when she gives the speech,” Buse said.
Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies Michael Evans said he is proud for the School of Journalism to have one of its own addressing the graduates Saturday.
“It’s an honor for her and an honor for us to share thoughts with such a large, interested group of people,” he said.
IU officials see the student speakers as a way to relate to the audience.
“This ceremony is about students so I think it’s a really important part of the ceremony,” Buse said “It infuses the ceremony with more of a student voice.”
As she devised her talk, Pollock said she thought about her fellow seniors, friends and strangers who will be listening. Her address Saturday will be similar to the one she gave for the interview team, but she’s not sharing any details right now.
Still, Pollock is confident her fellow graduates will relate to what she says. The committee that judged her talk in the interview was the first test of her message.
“I would hope that when I was presenting to them that first time, that they sincerely believed and could feel and appreciate the things I was trying to exude from my speech,” she said. “Every word that I wrote, I totally meant it.”
Most of the advice Pollock has gotten from people about her speech has been to be confident in her words.
“On that day, just own it and be confident and be proud that you went to IU,” she said, summing up words of advice from Buse and others.
This won’t be Pollock’s first time giving a speech to a big crowd. In January, she won the Martin Luther King Jr. Day contest and addressed a crowd of about 200 in Alumni Hall.
So far, she’s had a few nightmares about the big day. In one dream, she can’t find her cap and gown. When she tries to borrow one from her roommate, who graduates in the morning ceremony, she can’t find hers, either.
She’s not worried about stage fright, though. Pollock said she thinks her nerves will actually keep her eyes dry. But that’s not to say she won’t realize the importance of the day and want to express it to everyone in Assembly Hall on Saturday.
“Whatever I say, I hope it speaks to that moment for everyone,” she said. “Because it is an emotional time, and I hope my speech will capture that moment.”
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