The University of Wisconsin announced Charlie Berens as the 2022 Winter Commencement speaker, according to UW News.
Berens is a Wisconsin-born comedian who graduated from UW in 2009 with bachelor’s degrees in journalism and geography, according to UW News. In a video announcement “live from his garage,” Berens thanked UW for choosing him as the commencement speaker.
Berens also spoke to the UW School of Journalism during their 2018 commencement and has performed multiple comedy sets at Shannon Hall in Memorial Union.
“We think he’ll have a lot to share with graduates about how he turned his UW degree into a successful, multifaceted career,” UW Communications Student Life Writer Doug Erickson said in an email statement to The Badger Herald.
Senior class officers — in consultation with the Chancellor’s Office — choose commencement speakers, according to Erickson.
Berens has had a successful career since graduating from UW. He is a stand-up comedian, a New York Times best-selling author, an Emmy-winning journalist, a popular podcast host and the creator of Manitowoc Minute, according to Erickson.
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The Manitowoc Minute is a Midwest company founded by Berens that started releasing minute-long videos in mid-2017 on Berens’ YouTube Channel.
Berens has also made appearances on CBS, Fox, Funny or Die, TBS, MTV News, Comedy Central and others, according to UW News. He has over 6.5 million followers across his social media platforms.
This semester’s commencement will be Sunday, Dec. 18, according to the Chancellor’s office. UW will host a live stream on their YouTube at the time of the event for those who cannot attend in person.
