Emma Gould Named 104th Commencement Speaker

Image courtesy of Emma Gould.

Emma Gould ‘22 will be the senior class speaker at the Connecticut College Commencement Ceremony on May 22, 2022. Gould is an English major as well as one of the most decorated student writers on campus, winning the Academy of American Poets Prize in 2021, the Abrahms ’75 Prize for Fiction Writing in 2022 as well as the Benjamin T. Marshall Prize for Excellence in Poetry in 2020 & 2022. In an effort to gain some insight into both how our class speaker was selected and what lies ahead for graduation, I interviewed Gould and inquired about her process of writing her commencement speech.

What compelled you initially to take a shot at this? What led you to apply?

“So I actually didn’t apply, I was nominated. I received an email a few months ago – and they told me I had been nominated and if I was interested in doing this further I should send a 500 word draft. I ended up writing a draft of a speech but I’ve never written a speech before so I was kind of just basing it off my experience doing other types of writing, which I’ve done a lot of at Conn.”

What was the process like of being chosen to be the speaker?

“One thing I did know at that point was that the submissions were going to be anonymous. So after they received all of the submissions from those who were nominated, a committee reviewed those and selected four finalists, and I was one of them. They told me if I would like to go further with this, I could meet with one of the Deans who would relay some notes from the committee who had read over my speech. At that point I was able to revise my draft based on their notes and open it up and make it as long as I wanted to make it.” 

Gould continued, 

“Then one day in April, the four finalists, one by one, went in front of a group of deans and a student committee and we had the opportunity to read our revised drafts and then about 30 minutes after I left I got a phone call and they asked me to come back and they asked me if I’d like to be the speaker.”

Was there any particular part or component of your time at Conn that you tried to tap into when you wrote this speech? Was there a particular feeling that you wanted to convey in your speech or to your classmates and school?

“Once I got into writing it, I realized that I might be well suited to be the speaker because as a writer and an artist at Conn a lot of what I do is observe. I don’t have any leadership positions on campus and I’m not always at the forefront of what’s going on, but I think I’ve spent a lot of time observing and reflecting – I don’t want to speak for anyone or to convince anyone to feel a certain way about their college experience. I don’t aim to be didactic or to tell anyone how to feel, or what to take away from their time at Conn, rather I feel that the attention to witnessing and observing that I’ve gained in my work as a writer and artist might enable me to serve as a prism through which the lives and experiences of my peers might be reflected back to them and to the audience.

Without giving too much away, did you cite any specific moments or memories you’ve had here at Conn?

I try to focus on the power of the connections that we’ve made to each other and to this place.  While the pandemic played a part in our time here,  I try to avoid dwelling on what we lost to this unexpected challenge.  Rather, I work to highlight the strength that our community has maintained and the perspective we’ve gained as we’ve moved through this adversity – I talk about our departure from Conn as a beginning rather than an ending. I note that while beginnings can be scary, they are also generative and exciting. I hope to illuminate the ways in which these values of connection and attention and reflection that we’ve been consciously or unconsciously cultivating might help us all maintain a sense of groundedness and direction as we move into a new phase of life

At the end of the interview when I asked Gould about any resounding feelings she had, she added, “I was thankful to the committee and to everyone who has put time and care into this process. As an English major and a writer I spend a lot of time thinking about the power of language and speech, so I recognize the honor as well as the responsibility that comes with having my voice amplified in this way”