Chad Kempel, graduation and commencement speaker, smiling on stage with a microphone

Graduation • Commencement • Senior events

A commencement address the families remember on the drive home.

Chad Kempel gives commencement addresses for high school graduations: short, personal, and written for this class, not pulled off a shelf. He set four Guinness World Records pushing his quintuplets, failed twice first, and has a story every family in the seats will repeat on the way to dinner. Based in Boise, booking nationwide.

Local Introductory Rate: $1,000 per assembly · See what’s included ↓

What a graduation address should do

A commencement speech has one job: send graduates out with a single idea they’ll still remember in ten years, and give their families a moment to be proud in public. It should be short enough that nobody checks the time, and clean enough that every grandparent in the bleachers is comfortable.

Chad builds each address from the Anything Is Possible story: a decision, the evidence that follows it, and what to do the day after you fall short. Then he makes it about your class, using what the planning call turns up about who these students are and what this year was for them.

How it comes together

A planning call

With your principal and senior class officers, about the class, its story, and anything the address should honor or avoid.

Written for your class

Built around one idea, with specific moments from your class, and coordinated with your student speakers so nothing overlaps.

Rehearsal and timing

Chad arrives for rehearsal when you hold one and hits the time your program gives him.

The address

Personal, family-friendly and nonpolitical, with one line the graduates can carry out the door.

What your school gets

The right length. Most commencement addresses run 10 to 20 minutes. Tell Chad your slot and he fits it.

No surprises. Clean, nonpolitical, and reviewed with your administration ahead of time if you want to see it.

A speaker families recognize. Chad’s record runs have been featured on TODAY, Good Morning America and in People.

Also available for: Baccalaureate services, senior awards nights and senior sunrise or send-off events.

Local Introductory Rate

2026–27 School Year

$1,000

One assembly

$2,500

All three talks

No travel fee for schools within a few hours of Boise. Anywhere else in the U.S. or abroad, send your dates for a quote within 48 hours.

Check Your Date →

More from Chad

For the rest of the year, Anything Is Possible is the resilience assembly, The Weight You’re Carrying is the mental health assembly, and I Walked the Hallways Alone is the anti-bullying and belonging assembly. Or see all three talks and pricing.

Questions schools ask about graduation speakers

How long is the commencement address?

Whatever your program needs. Most run 10 to 20 minutes, and Chad fits the slot you give him.

Is the address written for our class?

Yes. It starts with a planning call with your principal and senior class officers, and the address is built around what that call turns up about your graduates.

How far ahead should we book a graduation speaker?

Graduation dates cluster in late May and early June, so book by winter for the best chance at your date. Planning late? Send your date anyway. Chad will tell you within 48 hours whether he can make it.

Can we review the speech ahead of time?

Yes. Your administration can review it before the ceremony.

How much does a graduation speaker cost?

For the 2026–27 school year, schools within a few hours of Boise get the Local Introductory Rate of $1,000, with no travel fee. Anywhere else, send your location and date and you’ll have a quote with travel within 48 hours.

Do you speak at graduations outside Idaho?

Yes. Chad is based in Boise and speaks anywhere in the United States and abroad.

Check Chad’s availability for your graduation.

Discovery calls available · Replies within 48 hours · Based in Boise, booking nationwide

Check Your Date →

chad@chadkempel.com · (208) 391-2959

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