The largest crowd LSA senior Jeffrey Keating has ever spoken to was 200 people.
This will change in two weeks.
Keating has been selected by the Student Speaker Selection Committee to deliver the student commencement address. Keating's speech was selected from more than a dozen applicants.
"Each year the committee reviews the speeches, looking for an interesting message or theme," said Susan Ederer, principle events manager for the Office of University and Development Events. "We were impressed by his message."
Keating said his speech, which is about four minutes long, will address themes of public education.
"When I wrote it, I tried to make it appropriate for the University," he said. "It deals with the themes of public education and the virtue and justice in a civil society."
Fiona Rose, an LSA junior and member of the Student Speaker Selection Committee, said Keating's speech had good things to say about the Michigan family and being a part of it.
"I thought on commencement day he'd be a wonderful emblem for the University," Rose said.
Keating said the speech took about one month to write, and he started to brainstorm ideas for it as early as November. He said his experiences at a public university helped inspire him.
"Going to a public university has been very important for me because of the diversity of the student body and the diversity of the school," he said. "Going to a public university has really pressed upon me the importance of a public education."
Keating said he is already getting nervous about speaking before such a large crowd, but said having University President Lee Bollinger there as the keynote speaker, eases his nerves.
"Since the speaker is Bollinger, it makes me comfortable because I've met him once or twice and he makes me feel comfortable," Keating said. "If Fiona Rose can talk in front of the White House and C-SPAN, there's no reason why I can't speak in front of a crowd in Michigan Stadium.
"I'm really quite happy Bollinger is speaking," he added. "I think he'll give a good speech, and I've already been impressed by what he has had said."