Graduation keynote speaker

[Changingofthenames]

I'm just looking for a bit of perspective, please.

I was at my son's graduation in Brighton this week and the keynote speaker was a transman. His speech started off as 'Brighton uni is great' which segued into 'I'm trans. It was a dark time. There was no media coverage for the trans kids who stayed on a ledge for 4 days and #TransKidsDeserveBetter (which was followed with huge applause). Rounded off with 'Go out there, be great!'

I just feel a bit bemused; I couldn't see the relevance of a personal story or the plight of trans kids when it came to a keynote speech meant to motivate the students to go and conquer the work world!

Is it just me?

At my daughter's graduation the keynote speaker was a fellow student who was also an influencer and had just got some kind of job with the university. It certainly wasn't JK Rowling or Steve Jobs level of inspiration (both gave classic graduation speeches which are probably on YouTube). I suspect your experience is pretty standard.