Most college students can agree that they have one common goal; their goal is to graduate college with their desired degree. Reaching commencement is an honorable achievement. In most ceremonies, honorable people are chosen to give a motivational speech to the aspiring students. Bowie State University’s Commencement speech was given by the United States’ first lady, Michelle Obama. Michelle Obama has a very strong educational past and has earned numerous degrees of her own which makes her a seemly valid candidate to give this speech. Obama’s speech is successful at motivating students to continue their education because she uses experiences to strengthen her stance on the value of obtaining an education; however, her use of experiences also varies in the usage to gain an effective emotional and logical response from her audience.
Obama starts her speech by first establishing an amiable relationship and credibility with her intended audience. She makes an appeal to the students, family members, and important figures …show more content…
She puts an emphasis on the various things African Americans had to go through to gain an education. This method will make the audience experience emotions such as sympathy, indignation, sadness, pride, and courage. Obama tells her audience to “think about those nine young men and women who faced down an angry mob just to attend school in Little Rock, Arkansas” (Obama 720). By putting this thought into her audience’s mind, it gives her audience a reason to appreciate the educational opportunities that are now available to them. This makes her audience feel sympathy, honor, and respect towards the people that fought and valued their education; these emotions assist Obama in her objective motivate them to value their own
Obama starts her speech by first establishing an amiable relationship and credibility with her intended audience. She makes an appeal to the students, family members, and important figures …show more content…
She puts an emphasis on the various things African Americans had to go through to gain an education. This method will make the audience experience emotions such as sympathy, indignation, sadness, pride, and courage. Obama tells her audience to “think about those nine young men and women who faced down an angry mob just to attend school in Little Rock, Arkansas” (Obama 720). By putting this thought into her audience’s mind, it gives her audience a reason to appreciate the educational opportunities that are now available to them. This makes her audience feel sympathy, honor, and respect towards the people that fought and valued their education; these emotions assist Obama in her objective motivate them to value their own