Three and a half years ago, journalism senior Micayla Cummings was preparing to speak at her Southfield-Lathrup High School graduation.
But her chance was taken away.
“I was going to speak, I wrote my speech and everything,” Cummings said. “But when it came time for graduation, the ceremony ran long, so I didn’t get to speak.”
But on Dec. 12, she gets another shot.
“It was always a dream of mine to speak at graduation,” she said. “So once I got to college I was like ‘OK, let’s try again.’”
Cummings wrote her speech and submitted it to MSU in October for consideration to be the student speaker for the 2 p.m. graduation on Dec. 12. When she got word that she was going to be the solo student speaker, she was taken aback.
“Honestly, I thought it was going to be me and other speakers from other colleges,” Cummings said. “Once I got the position they told me, ‘Yeah, it’s just you. There’s only one student speaking per graduation.’”
Cummings will be addressing undergraduates from the colleges of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Communication Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Natural Science, Nursing and Lyman Briggs.
She said she was told to expect a crowd of at least 5,000 people. But that’s not scaring her away.
“I’m not really nervous,” Cummings said. “But I feel like once I get on the podium and I look out and see 5,000 people, I might be. The way I look at it is that it’s an accomplishment. And it’s nice to share my accomplishment with other accomplished people.”
One perk to being the graduation speaker? Her family gets their own private box at Breslin Center.
“I’m super excited,” she said. “This is a dream of mine, and my entire family is going to be here, my husband’s family included. Not just like mom and dad, I mean aunts, uncles, everybody is going to be there, and I get to share the moment with everyone.
Cummings is graduating after just three and a half years at MSU, something she said wasn’t originally the plan.
“But then I got married,” she said.
She and her husband just moved into a new place in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she’ll be moving after graduation.
With school ending and an impending move, she said other than writing the speech, she’s hardly had time to actually focus on graduation.
“I haven’t even picked up my cap and gown yet,” Cummings said. “I should probably get on that, like, tomorrow.”
