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Class of 2026 Senior Speech Schedule (updated 9/17/25)
(Check back to this site often. The schedule changes regularly.)
Class of 2026 Senior Speech Guidelines
Upper School Assembly Vimeo Livestream: This is where you can watch an assembly live, as it's happening.
Upper School Assembly Archive: Here is where you can watch past assemblies from the 2025-2026 school year.
Questions about this page, site, or Senior Speeches? Contact Senior Speech Coordinator Vlastik Svab: vsvab@collegiate-va.org
Upper School Assembly Videos: Jan. 2025 to present (Collegiate email required)
Some writing advice:
“This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals–sounds that say listen to this, it is important.”
― Gary Provost
100+ Recent College Essay Topics
Public Speaking Tips from Comedians
Mr. Gabe Yelanjian's Advice on Video-Recording Yourself At Home
Impressive speeches & TED talks
Nick Kocher - Paideia High School, 2007 (Atlanta, GA) (Nick went on to write for Saturday Night Live and was Collegiate's Whitfield speaker in the fall of 2017.)
Reggie Watts (comedian/musician)
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (author of Purple Hibiscus)
Alex Peavey at TEDxYouthRVA in fall 2018
Senior Speeches from the Archives
Jane Blackmer ('14) performs an original rap and dance about biology and mitochondria.
Ellie Fleming ('16) A thoughtful reflection on the nature of community service in a foreign country.
Millie Dubose ('16) & Evie Taylor ('16) Millie speaks about community service in Richmond. Evie tells a fond memory from childhood.
David Angstadt ('16) speaks about the death of his mother.
Caroline Ennis ('17) speaks about the plight of refugees.
Price Withers ('17) Price speaks about his adopted sister from China.
Grant Villanueva ('17) & Shaan Sharma ('17) Two friends talk about getting mistaken for each other and their identities as hyphenated Americans.
Zaed Karabatek ('19) speaks about his mother's story of perseverance.
Robby Aboud ('23) speaks about how a severe injury changed his life.
Need inspiration?
HERE is a list of college essay topics from various colleges. Many of these would make a great Senior Speech.
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