Nomination for Faculty of Arts Valedictorian | Arts

Class of 2026–June Convocation

Due March 2, 2026, 11:59pm EST

Nominee Eligibility

Be Faculty of Arts students.
Must have submitted an "Application to Graduate" form for convocation in October 2025 or June 2026.
Will represent their graduating class at convocation; therefore, the graduating class should know the nominee due to their participation in Arts Faculty activities, etc.
Must have good public speaking skills.

Process

Fill out the nomination form details below.
Obtain support from five (5) nominators, each of whom must fill out the Valedictorian Nominators - Declaration of Support form. Please see the form for Nominator eligibility.
Those who are successful in their nomination will be required to submit an electronic copy of their three-minute written speech (Word format is preferred) no later than Wednesday, March 18, 2026, at 11:59pm EST and present during the Valedictorian talk-off the evening of March 26.

See Speech Guidelines for more information.

If you have any questions, please contact Amy Dunlop, Student Engagement Coordinator.

Valedictorian nominee information

Full name

University of Waterloo student ID#

UWaterloo email address

Program - Majors, Minors, Specializations

Which ceremony will you be attending?

Please indicate which ceremony you will be attending.

Morning ceremony (10am) - for students in Anthropology, Economics, English - Language and Literature, Literature, Literature and Rhetoric, and Rhetoric, Media, and Professional Communication, Fine Arts, Mathematical Economics, Social Development Studies, Visual Culture, Global Business and Digital Arts, Social Work

Afternoon ceremony (2:30pm) - for students in Classical Studies, Classics, Communication Arts and Design Practice, Communication Studies, French, Gender and Social Justice, German, History, Legal Studies, Liberal Studies, Medieval Studies, Music, Peace and Conflict Studies, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Religious Studies, Sexuality, Marriage, and Family Studies, Sociology, Spanish, Theatre and Performance

Evening ceremony (6:30pm) - for students in Accounting and Financial Management, Sustainability and Financial Management

Accomplishments

List three accomplishments of which you are the most proud (academic or extra-curricular) from your time as an Arts undergraduate student at the University of Waterloo. Please include the year(s) for each accomplishment.

Why do you believe you should represent your graduating class at convocation?

Please provide a 200–300 word written statement. Based on the written responses received, the Arts Faculty Valedictorian Selection Committee will select the candidates for participation in the Talk-Off.

Application to Graduate confirmation. You should receive a confirmation email and this can be saved as a PDF or a screenshot taken.

One file only.
100 MB limit.
Allowed types: gif, jpg, png, bmp, eps, tif, pict, psd, txt, rtf, html, odf, pdf, doc, docx, ppt, pptx, xls, xlsx, xml, avi, mov, mp3, ogg, wav, bz2, dmg, gz, jar, rar, sit, svg, tar, zip.

I accept the nomination for valedictorian and acknowledge the following:

To the best of my knowledge, I am eligible to be nominated for the Faculty of Arts Class Valedictorian; I have either graduated in October 2025 or have submitted my Application to Graduate form to the Registrar’s Office for the June 2026 convocation.

I consent to the University of Waterloo reviewing my student record to assess my eligibility for this position.

I consent to be reviewed by the Associate Dean of Arts, Undergraduate Students relating to Policy 71 (Student Discipline), Policy 42 (Prevention of and Response to Sexual Violence), and Policy 33 (Ethical Behaviour) before being forwarded to the selection committee.

As an individual, I will prepare and present a full three-minute speech to a committee of faculty and students. The speech will be consistent with the the University of Waterloo’s principles of Ethical Behaviour (Policy 33) and Academic Integrity (Policy 71).

The aforementioned committee of faculty and students will determine the valedictorian.

The selection process will be based upon the aforementioned presentation and the strength of the ideas contained within it, the quality of the written statement accompanying the nomination, and the strength of the in-person presentation of shortlisted nominees.