Kellogg Finalists Deliver Powerful Reflections at Honors Convocation

Continuing a recent tradition, a previous Kellogg Oratorical Prize winner, Joseph Cardell Ziegler III ’19, returned to introduce the finalists. Reflecting on the purpose of the competition, Ziegler emphasized the deeper impact of delivering a message to an audience. “Public speaking is not merely about standing at the podium and delivering words to a crowd,” Ziegler said. “The true magic is the speaker’s ability to connect to you with their words.”

The first finalist to speak in Slade Theatre, Yager Hall, was Patrick Close ’26, a music major with minors in business administration and music business from Greenville, New York. In an oration titled “Counterpoint,” Close reflected on personal growth and how the concept of life balance evolved during time at Hartwick, known as the Life Balance College.

Close described learning that balance is not about dividing time and energy equally among responsibilities, but instead creating a life where passions and priorities work together. “For me, this defining principle hasn’t meant doing everything by halves or thirds or fifths,” Close said. “I once believed life balance meant dividing myself in half. My time at Hartwick has taught me it means building a life wherein I don’t have to.” View the entire speech here.

Ellie Kalbach ’26, a nursing major from Spring City, Pennsylvania, delivered an oration titled “Memento Mori.” Through the story of a young woman, May, whom Kalbach had cared for while working as a nurse extern in an intensive care unit, Kalbach shared how the experience reshaped her perspectives on fear and failure.

She explained that the experience challenged previous assumptions about success and control. “May’s death taught me that we can’t control everything that may happen to us, but we can choose how we show up, as ourselves, in the time that’s given us,” Kalbach said. “Showing up as myself, without fear and self-doubt dictating my choices: this is May’s gift to me. A gift I carry daily.” View the entire speech here.

The final speaker, Amelia Williams ’26, a double major in psychology and political science with a minor in gender and sexuality studies from Portmore, Jamaica, presented an oration titled “Mi Tuh: Becoming.” Williams spoke about the transition from commuter student to living on campus and how the experience led to a deeper understanding of identity and belonging.

Williams reflected on resisting pressures to assimilate and encouraged others to embrace the qualities that make them unique. “The way we speak, the way we dress, the way we live, does not define our worth,” Williams said. “We come to Hartwick to discover who we are, not to fray the very fibers that make us whole in the bid for self-discovery.” View the entire speech here.

The winner of the prestigious Abraham L. Kellogg Oratorical Prize will be announced during Hartwick College’s 94th Commencement ceremony, scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday, May 16, on Elmore Field. The award recognizes the graduating senior who delivers the top oratorical presentation during Honors Convocation. Finalists are selected through a multi-round process that begins with nominations from classmates and concludes with review by a committee of Hartwick community members.

The tradition dates back to the College’s relocation to Oneonta in the 1920s, when New York State Supreme Court Justice Abraham L. Kellogg provided significant financial support to help fund the move and assist the College during the Great Depression. A charter member and later chair of Hartwick’s Board of Trustees for 15 years, Kellogg established a prize for the best original oration delivered at the College’s first commencement ceremony in 1929. Hartwick has continued the tradition ever since by recognizing excellence in student oratory.