2010 student commencement speakers selected

Thousands of Portland State students, along with their friends and family, will visit the Rose Quarter for the spring commencement ceremony on June 13. The afternoon will be a special occasion for everyone in attendance, two students will have the opportunity to make their day even more memorable.

Student commencement speakers Christian Aniciete and Kimberley Mansfield will get the chance to share their experiences at PSU with their peers, families and professors, while showcasing the university in front of thousands of community members.

According to JR Tarabocchia, coordinator of commencement and student affairs outreach, the speeches will demonstrate this year’s commencement theme, “PSU Pride.”

The students were selected out of a pool of 28 applicants, who were asked to submit a two-minute speech explaining why they’re proud to be a PSU graduate, Tarabocchia said.

“We judge [the candidates] according to the originality of the speech, their creativity and style in delivery,” he said. “We don’t want someone who’s going to be uncomfortable going up there.”

As students, Aniciete and Mansfield represent the diverse makeup of the campus—one is a traditional student while the other is a returning student, Tarabocchia said.

“We don’t want to pick two exact same students; we want to think about how their message sounds and by whom it can be received,” he said. “So for Christian, his speech would resonate more with students who are younger. For Kimberley, those who are non-traditional students may relate more to her speech.”

Both speakers also scored points for their unique styles of delivery.

“Christian’s speech is very funny and his delivery [is] fantastic; he’s engaging and makes people laugh,” Tarabocchia said. “When Kimberley speaks, she reminds me of a parent telling their children a story; she would get really quiet and her delivery is very intimate and gives people chills.”

Aniciete is no stranger to the university community. For the past five years, he has been involved in organizing various campus events as part of his position as an event coordinator for Student Activities and Leadership Programs. Aniciete said his new gig as a commencement speaker at the graduation ceremony is his way of saying farewell to the student community that he helped promote over the years.

“The main reason I applied [to be a commencement speaker] is because [when I’m] given an opportunity to promote PSU and speak about how positive my experience has been on campus, I grab it,” Aniciete said.

In his speech, he hopes to share his love for PSU with the graduating class. He said one of his goals is to be able to relate to his peers. 

“What I’m going to talk about is my experience as a student, from waiting in line in Neuberger Hall at the beginning of the term to the difficulty of finding a parking spot on campus,” he said. “Those [are] common experiences that I think all students can relate to.”

In addition, Aniciete said he wants to promote PSU pride, drawing from his experience as a student leader for Kaibigan, the Pilipino student associations and his experience helping to found the Programming Board, a student-led organization that promotes campus events and traditions.

“I feel like I have an emotional connection with this campus that nobody will understand because I literally live on this campus,” Aniciete said. “The one thing I’m really proud of is making the most of my education, and PSU has equipped me with a lot of skills for the workforce.”

According to Mansfield, her commencement speech is her way of saying a collective “thank you” to the people and the university that helped her forge a path towards law school. Next fall she will attend Willamette University, where she will focus on environmental justice and sustainability issues.

Mansfield, a returning student, is glad she decided to re-enroll after a two-decade absence from college. In addition, she takes pride in graduating summa cum laude with a B.A. in liberal studies and a minor in psychology.

She said she is also the first person in her family to graduate from college, and therefore her moment on the podium is a family victory. Her parents will be in the crowd while she delivers her speech.

At PSU, Mansfield feels she is not alone in her college endeavor.

“There’s a lot of people with my story who are returning students, and I’m proud to have chosen a university that has so much diversity,” she said. “I think it’s a fantastic place for returning students.”

As a student at PSU, Mansfield immersed herself in campus opportunities. She took part in the Social Sustainability Network, which promotes and educates the university on sustainable practices, as well as the Pre-Law Society and the Phi Kappa Phi honor society.

Mansfield said she is grateful for the opportunities she has been given at PSU.

“I think this is a very formative time in Portland State’s history,” she said. “A lot of things are taking off, we are doing a lot of conscious things on campus whether it’s in our curriculum or sustainability.”

According to the box office, 10,000 tickets have been distributed for the graduation ceremony. Following the student commencement speakers, Marian Wright Edelman, a life-long activist for children and the founder of the Children’s Defense Fund, will present the keynote lecture to the class of 2010.