Moulton, a physics concentrator, said he hopes to send an inspirational message to the present generation. Students should not be happy to remain complacent and satisfied with the prosperity our country has had in recent years, he said.

"Just because our generation doesn't have an obvious cause or challenge, like a war, doesn't mean that we should not aspire to do great things in the world and be great people," Moulton said.

Moulton said that he felt that the application process was very competitive.

"I was much more nervous about reading my speech during auditions," Moulton said. "Now, I am just excited."

The finalists were chosen from a large pool of applicants.

"We had a generous turnout of students from which to select," said Grace C. Scheibner, the Commencement director.

The prospective speakers signed up and submitted their speeches to a panel of faculty judges. Preliminary auditions took place early last week and semi-finalists then advanced to the final auditions last Thursday.

The committee of faculty judges posted the finalists Friday morning.