Who in the World is Matt Lauer?

On Tuesday, seniors dutifully checked the website set up to reveal this year’s Class Day speaker selection, but, of course, they were foolish to believe that a single website could long survive bearing the weight of the name of this then-unknown titan of entertainment. And, in fact, it came crashing down. When word finally spread from the Senior Class Committee that the elected speaker would be Matt Lauer, some laughed and some cried. His name sounded vaguely familiar to us, so we keyed up Wikipedia and YouTube to recall the accomplishments of this luminary, whoever he was. This was a mere halt though; after a thorough review of his credentials—and glowing testaments of his charm from local Cambridge housewives—the current anchor of the Today Show appears to be the perfect pick.

Matt Lauer is a man who has done it all. He has interviewed everyone from Bill Clinton to Sacha Baron Cohen to Miss Piggy. He has traveled to Wall Street, Main Street, and, yes, even Sesame Street—whatever it takes to get the story.

Lauer has had a remarkable breadth of experiences during his career. Harvard seniors must be prepared for the harsh realities they will face after graduation. They will need to gather and prepare food without the aid of HUDS. Lucky Matt Lauer can recount the authentic Shanghai pork dumpling recipe he once learned from Chef Leung! Meanwhile, seniors will encounter a rapidly shifting culture beyond Harvard’s walls. Who knows more about culture than Matt Lauer—the man who has hosted not one, not two, but 11 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parades! And, of course, seniors will all need to try extreme kiteboarding. Surprise—Matt Lauer tried extreme kiteboarding once.

More so than anything after graduation, this class needs to understand and handle adversity. Matt Lauer faces adversity every day. He has verbally grappled with the eloquent Ann Coulter, debated the high intellect of Tom Cruise, and, somehow, Matt Lauer goes to work with Al Roker EVERY DAY of the year. These battle scars may seem trite, but, in the annals of daytime television, they are nothing short of legendary. Just last week, the man survived a wild deer attack. No word on whether the deer was so fortunate.

The selection of Matt Lauer is extremely timely. The fast world of news and journalism is evolving before us every day. Leaders of the industry have been swallowed up by novel technologies, going by the name “new media.” Sadly, print journalism faces an uncertain future (you’re probably reading this on a screen, aren’t you!). With Lauer on his way ,we must tip our caps to new media—you win this one “TV.” We are not losing hope for more traditional news personalities to make a resurgence, though. Don’t be surprised to see someone from radio or telegraph rolling through the Yard in 2010.