Introducing ... the speaker's daughter?

This year's College graduation is going to be one for the moms.

Instead of giving a rehearsed speech, the speaker for the College of Arts and Sciences graduation ceremony will be interviewed on stage by her own daughter -- on Mother's Day, no less.

Gloria Allred -- a Penn alumna and a top civil-rights lawyer from Los Angeles -- has declared her intent to take a new and non-traditional approach to her address to the nearly 1,600 seniors graduating from the College.

"I thought this would be perhaps more creative than just sharing a speech, and I thought, 'What better place for creativity than a graduation from the College of Arts and Sciences?'" Allred said.

With the graduation taking place at Franklin Field on May 14 -- Mother's Day -- the idea seemed even more appropriate.

Each undergraduate school will host its own graduation ceremony before Commencement on May 15, which will feature actress Jodie Foster as its main speaker.

The graduation speaker is usually a graduate with a strong connection to the College who has "something compelling to say and has had an interesting life," College Dean Dennis DeTurck said.

And Allred, DeTurck added, fits the bill.

Allred graduated from Penn's College for Women in 1963 with Honors in English -- and a child. She was not sure where she would end up after she gave birth to her daughter, Lisa Bloom, while still a student.

And now her daughter will be coming back to Penn for the first time since she was a baby, to interview her mother.

"I'm sure many in the audience who will be there will be a bit uncertain about their future and will face many challenges as well as opportunities," Allred said.

After Allred was asked to speak at the graduation, she proposed the idea of being interviewed by Bloom, who is an anchor on Court TV.

"I just thought I would like to try something a little bit different," Allred said.

DeTurck and others organizing the graduation also found the idea very interesting.

"I like the idea of a ... speaker taking the event seriously enough to be creative with it," DeTurck said.

Bloom, although not a Penn graduate, still feels very connected to the school, as both of her parents graduated from Penn.

"It's a real nice circle for us to come back there and be able to give this address," she said.

The interview will not be rehearsed prior to the graduation, and Allred said she will keep her remarks spontaneous.

"What my mother doesn't know is that I've got some good questions for her," Bloom said.

Allred and her daughter have collaborated on a book, and they have been on TV together to talk about court cases. But the graduation interview is something completely new for them.

"This is a lot of fun because I can turn the tables and put her in the hot seat and ask her questions about herself," Bloom said.

Although Bloom will not reveal what she plans to ask her mother before the interview, the discussion will focus on issues that the graduates will be able to relate to.

"I think it's important for graduates to understand that everyone has struggles," Bloom said.

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