An empowering opportunity to share your stories
and insights with the Lowell community.
"I felt so much more connected to the community after giving my speech."
- Meghan Cleary '11
A five-minute speech delivered by a Lowell student after dinner in our dining hall during the spring term. Each speaker selects their own topic -- any topic of personal significance.
Participants select a mentor from the Senior Common Room -- any resident or non-resident affiliate -- who will help them prepare their speech. Students begin developing their ideas over winter break with guidance from their mentor, and upon return they meet (at least once!) to rehearse.
Throughout the process the speeches team supports both students and mentors, and everyone works hard to make the speeches great.
You, your SCR mentor, the speeches team, and anyone else you would like to include. Students often choose to connect with family, teachers, friends, coaches, and other personal VIPs as they develop their speech.
Via this form, or by the checker's desk at the front of the dining hall. After you've signed up, please add the introductory dessert meeting to your calendar: Sunday December 7 from 7-8pm in the Junior Common Room.
"A rare, invaluable opportunity."
- Perry Choi '15
"I've never had a chance to practice public speaking in a way that is so freeing.
There's no grade, no stakes, just an experience."
- Carrington Walsh '20
Hundreds of Lowellians have given a Lowell Speech. Some find the process so valuable they do it twice. Or even thrice. The Lowell community greets every speaker with cheers and applause, and there's no better environment than our yellow dining hall.
And, all Lowellians participate. Sophomores, juniors, seniors, super-seniors, and everyone in between. The wide array of speakers and topics builds connections and strengthens our community. It feels good to recognize someone new in the servery.
You don't need to have a topic in mind to give a speech, and it's sometimes better if you don't. Anything that matters to you can matter to someone else and we want the greatest variety of speeches. Without fail, every single speech adds something new to our community and our collective understanding.
friendship
hope
chili
death
humility
parents
gratitude
community
religion
race
joy
football
manscaping
the dump
love
family
the midwest
leadership
disability
siblings
marathons
inspiration
plants
fear
strangers
ethnicity
sexuality
home
painting
heartbreak
harvard
culture
sadness
health
aspiration
slurpees
excel
belonging
time
failure
grandparents
fruit flies
music
depression
poop
stress
nostalgia
anxiety
insignificance
loneliness
romance
soccer
pottery
lowell
identity
grief
duty
inadequacy
immigration
flying
"...this project -- and what we can learn from it about building a team, writing, speaking,
reflecting, and building a community -- is worth sharing."
-Michael Zuckerman '10
Students can choose to have their speech videotaped and uploaded. Most do, as they want to share it with friends and family away from campus. Here are just a few of the excellent speeches we've listened to over the years.