Public speaking is a common fear that many people have. Whether it is giving a speech in class, performing a skit, or singing to an audience, the thought of being in the spotlight with all eyes upon you frightens many people. Sometimes, the audience is quite small; however, for senior Ohio University student Ford Clark, he was facing a much larger crowd.
Each year, the incoming freshman class attends the First-Year Student Convocation at the Convocation Center located on West Green. President Roderick McDavis and other faculty members welcome the new class and Marching 110 performs. Clark transferred to OU as a sophomore and attended the convocation his sophomore and junior years. As a junior, he was inspired by the student speaker of the event to try out to give a speech the following year.
Clark speaking at the First-Year Student Convocation for the Class of 2019.
Ohio University advertised the opportunity to speak to the class of 2019 at their convocation as #LoveOhio. Any current student at OU was able to submit a speech. After that, OU student affairs selected four finalists; Clark was one of these finalists. The Interim Vice President and Dean of Students, Jenny Hall-Jones, then sent an email out to all current OU students that discussed #LoveOhio and attached the four speeches for students to read. Students were given the opportunity to read each speech and vote on their favorite one. The winner of the vote would then give their submitted speech on Aug. 23 to the class of 2019.
“I reached out to a lot of my friends when voting began,” Clark said. “The response I got from them was amazing. A lot of them advertised #LoveOhio on Twitter and encouraged other OU students to go vote.”
On July 17, Jenny Hall-Jones tweeted that Clark was the winner of #LoveOhio. Clark, excited and nervous at the same time, then began to prepare the speech he was going to give in about a month.
“I started to tweak my speech little by little, adding new things and fixing a couple parts,” Clark said. “I recited the speech many times on a two-week road trip I took following the end of an internship I had at PNC Bank in Pittsburgh over the summer.”
Clark returned to Athens on Aug. 18 and enjoyed the days leading up to his speech. The day of his speech approached quickly; his roommates Morgan McDonald, Ashley Kennedy, and Liz Doran helped him prepare for the day. McDonald made him a breakfast sandwich and he recited his speech in the shower. Then the girls dropped him off at the Convocation Center and found a spot in the crowd to sit.
“When I got to the Convo, I went to the Rohr room where I was given a black gown to put on for the ceremony,” Clark said. “I drank three bottles of water while I was in there and met President McDavis and all of the deans of the different colleges.”
Suddenly, it was time for the convocation to begin. President McDavis led the group of deans and Ford out to the stage where they took their seats. Jenny Hall-Jones briefly spoke to the freshman students and then introduced Clark.
Clark and Jenny-Hall Jones at the First-Year Student Convocation.
“I remember thinking, ‘Wow, it looks like there are millions of people here,’” said Clark. “When it was my turn to give my speech, I messed up my first line but recollected myself and gave the rest of the speech just the way I wanted to.”
Clark had a great response from the audience, especially after shouting out his roommates and his alma mater Hilliard Darby High School. When he was finished, President McDavis wrapped up the convocation and Marching 110 came in and played for the class of 2019. The Involvement Fair on College Green followed the convocation and Clark went with the incoming freshmen. Several students approached him and acknowledged him for his speech. He also spoke to a few students that also went to Hilliard Darby High School.
“I feel like I was a part of the incoming freshmen’s start up to their college careers,” Clark said. “It was nice to be able to talk to some of them at the involvement fair and give them advice.”
Clark plans to graduate next May with the class of 2016. He is looking forward to his senior year and not taking any of his remaining time left at OU for granted.
For Clark’s full speech, click here.