Admit it or not, but most graduation speeches hold no relatable message and are nothing but empty rhetoric overrun with boring cliches — a downright flop, as the kids say.
Graduation speeches should indeed be inspiring, relatable, and optimistic, but it doesn't mean you can't have fun doing it. Luckily, one Student received the memo and slayed her graduation speech with the help of Lady Gaga. Yes, you read that right.
University of Batangas' Valedictorian Lexie Moira M. Cordova started her Student of the Year speech with her story of hard work and success. She recalled how hard the pandemic hit her family, which almost made her lose hope. "The best way to describe what went on is to picture a train wreck of thoughts," she said. But Lexie is a fighter, a young free woman whose future is ahead of her journey. Hoping to raise money for a laptop, Lexie turned to the #PisoParaSaLaptop campaign and posted her academic achievements online. Her post went viral, and the rest is history.
#PisoParaSaLaptop: Help a student in need cope with online learning
— MovePH (@MovePH) August 12, 2020
A grade 12 HUMSS student at the University of Batangas, 17-year-old Lexie Moira Cordova is looking for ways to help her parents out with her school fees. pic.twitter.com/AmYebIfLIf
As she ends her speech, Lexie reminded her fellow graduates to thrive even with the uncertainty time. "No one really remembers the second or the third, but only the champion. So if you want to be remembered, be the champion," she said. "Be the best that you can be and carry with pride." For her final words of wisdom, she recalled lyrics from 911 by Lady Gaga. "Remember, you are limitless. In the words of Lady Gaga. Your biggest enemy is only herself. PERIOT!"
Graduate Lexie Cordova from the University of Batangas cites Lady Gaga’s ‘911’ in her graduation speech.“Remember you are limitless. In the words of Lady Gaga, your biggest enemy is only yourself. Period.” pic.twitter.com/w2so9xULwi— Gaga Now ⚡️ (@ladygaganownet) June 20, 2021
Her graduation speech was then posted by Twitter user @jeansebastina on social media and garnered a lot of admiration. An international Twitter news page for Lady Gaga also picked up the video and it went viral. As of writing, her speech clip now has 930 retweets, 5,754 likes, and 109.8k views.
When Metroscene Mag asked about how she ended up quoting Lady Gaga in her speech, Lexie said that she wanted the moment to be memorable, so she ended it with a "Bang," and she did more than that.
"I mean, if it's not for the impact and the platform, what's the top spot for diba? Besides the fact that I abridged all of my life's hiccups before i obtained whatever I have now, being a recently-realized l'm was one of the many hauls i wanted to take with me." She explained.
She also explained that the song mirrors her journey as she faced many insecurities before achieving all her glory. "I'm not even gonna lie that 911 is my favorite song in lady gaga's chromatica album (because every single of them scales the same in my heart, soul, and paws)." she said. "Yet, for some reason, it fits all the things I embedded in my address. I, too, am just a particular out of the millions of gaga stans who were blown away by the line, 'my biggest enemy is me.' in fact, if you look at it from an academic vantage point, it's a truth that many students— people— battle." she continues. "'Period," on the other hand, was wala lang. a 'Irip lang' which I kind of knew would make waves among viewers of my age and liking."
CORDOVA, LEXIE MOIRA M.With Highest HonorsClass of 2021 Rank 1Student of the YearDr. Abelardo B. Perez Academic AchieverOutstanding Performance in Communication Arts - EnglishOutstanding Performance in Social SciencesOrator of the YearHUMSS Rank 1and thats on period pic.twitter.com/8qamdeD1Ie— lexie moira (@lxmra) June 19, 2021
During her graduation, our little monster not only graduated as the Batch Valedictorian and Student of the Year but also received multiple awards in academics and extracurricular activities. Congratulations Lexiee! Dazuuurrbb!!!
