乐播传媒

“A great, unpretentious, family-style Commencement!” is how a livestream viewer from Santa Fe, N.M., described this year’s 乐播传媒 graduation ceremony.

The 157th gathering of the 乐播传媒 family dawned bright and blue 鈥� soon to be hot, in the 80s 鈥� as family, friends, and loved ones began to arrive as early as 5 a.m. to secure seating. Graduates-to-be made their way onto Alumni Walk after 8 a.m., some bleary-eyed, some bushy-tailed, but all ready to step onto the Coram Library Terrace, their 乐播传媒 diploma awaiting before them.

Here’s how Commencement went, hour by hour, on May 28, 2023.

7:41 a.m. Taking wing

A flock of Canada geese wing their way across campus, a foreshadowing of the upcoming taking-off of the Class of 2023 from their 乐播传媒 nest.

7:45 a.m. Sorted, sorters

Associate registrar Zach Dumont (left) and registrar Megan McHenry do a pre-Commencement check on the diplomas, which wait, alphabetically, to be handed to members of the Class of 2023.

7:52 a.m. Early bird gets the… seat?

Hui Zhang, father of senior Zechen Zhang of Beijing, arrived at 5 a.m. to secure “the best place” to see his son receive his diploma. “Today is a big day for my family,” he said.

Nearby, Heidi Williams is also guarding seats in a shady spot, while knitting a baby blanket for a church fair. She knits for her grandchildren, too, including Jackson Williams 鈥�23 of Cumberland, who will be processing across the Historic Quad in a few hours. 鈥淔our years went by very fast. It鈥檚 just amazing,鈥� she says.

8:10 a.m. ‘Great friends’

A few rows across the Quad, Neil Delehey, father of Hazel Delehey 鈥�23 of Camden, Maine, is sharing a rare in-person moment with Sean Ryan ’85, father of Katia Ryan 鈥�23 of Amsterdam, N.Y.

The two have become friends during their time as 乐播传媒 parents. 鈥淕reat friends,鈥� says Ryan, and Delehey laughs.

Now Ryan is thinking about ways he can still stay connected to 乐播传媒, since 鈥渉aving Katia here always gave me the excuse to come back.” As for Katia? “She鈥檒l be fine,” he says. “She did well here, I鈥檓 sure she鈥檒l do fine in whatever comes next.鈥�

8:35 a.m. Sunshine by delivery

Anita LaRue-McAfee, mother of Dylan McAfee 鈥�23 of Washington, D.C., is carrying a cup of iced coffee for another parent in front of Coram Library. She just saw her daughter 鈥� the 鈥渂est part鈥� of her morning so far. “We鈥檙e just overjoyed. Overjoyed for her, overjoyed for the class.” Like many of her classmates, “she鈥檚 had her ups and downs, but she鈥檚 doing well.

“Every single parent here is excited. They鈥檙e ready to do a jig!鈥�

8:42 a.m. Bird in the hand

Neuroscience major Olivia Whittaker 鈥�23 of Biddeford, Maine, holds her graduation cap, displaying the seal of Tufts University, where she鈥檒l be attending medical school in the fall.

8:45 a.m. So far, so swimmingly

A group of swimmers take a selfie during the senior lineup. From left, Nathan Berry ’23 of Augusta, Maine, Abigail Gibbons ’23 of Westtown, N.Y., Dylan McAfee ’23 of Washington, D.C., and Liam Conklin ’23 of Newton Highlands, Mass.

8:47 a.m. Blue eyes, blue skies

These bright blue eyes belong to Rollo, a sociable 7-month-old corgi named after the first Duke of Normandy, a Viking said to be too tall to ride a horse. 鈥淗is short legs were the inspiration for the name,鈥� says his owner, Liya Simon 鈥�25 of Durham, Conn.

Simon and Olivia Siegal are working on getting the pre-Commencement wiggles out of Rollo, rolling around in the grass.

Olivia is at 乐播传媒 to watch her sister, Annie Siegal ’23 of Brookline, Mass., graduate, and Liya is here to celebrate 乐播传媒 friends who are graduating. 

8:53 a.m. Roll call

Senior Associate Dean of Students Molly Newton is among the team making sure that the seniors are in alphabetical order as they line up on Alumni Walk for Commencement.

8:56 a.m. A little light reading

Eric Fleischmann 鈥�23, a double major in philosophy and anthropology from Chatham, Mass., reads Bertell Ollman鈥檚 Dance of the Dialectic: Steps in Marx鈥檚 Method while waiting to process on Alumni Walk. He’s reading it for pleasure, “a good introduction to Das Kapital,鈥� he said.

8:59 a.m. Thematic tie-in

One senior sports a Bobcat-emblazoned tie, alongside a garnet 乐播传媒 College stole.

9:13 a.m. (Literally) sharing a bite

Alek Zelbo ’23 of New York City and Jaff Gao ’23 of Cypress, Texas, enjoy their last breakfast sandwich from Forage, a downtown Lewiston bistro, as they line up on Alumni Walk.

9:15 a.m. Custom stole

Track and cross-country letterwinner Owen Glover ’23 of Andover, Mass., got the idea to wear his track shoes with his regalia two days earlier, during graduation practice, as he was whiling away time with classmates. “Last time I will wear them,” he said. “Bittersweet.”

9:21 a.m. ‘Waiting for the storm to settle’

As the final roll call makes its way down the line of graduates, Kush Sharma of South Burlington, Vt., steps out of the sun and into the shade.

鈥淭here are a lot of emotions, and I think the processing part is going to come later. I鈥檓 someone who likes to process and reflect in real time as much as possible, but there has been no scope for that, so I鈥檓 waiting for the storm to settle down a bit so I can be like, 鈥榃hat the hell just happened?!鈥欌��

9:30 a.m. The procession commences

James Reese, associate dean of students for international student programs, joins junior class marshals Ella Blum ’24 (left) of South Salem, N.Y., and Emma Upton ’24 of Amherst, N.H., in leading the Class of 2023 on the traditional route from Alumni Walk to the Historic Quad.

鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of like a practice, you know?” says Blum. “It feels very surreal to be walking in a graduation that is not my own,” especially since Blum’s own high school graduation was pretty much wiped out by COVID. “But I鈥檓 really lucky. My best friend is a graduating senior, so to get to be here with her is really special.鈥�

9:38 a.m. Lifting the mood

Professor of French and Francophone Studies Mary Rice-DeFosse carries out her role at the mace bearer, leading the academic procession past Gomes Chapel.

10:21 a.m. Job well done

Rishi Madnani descends the Coram Library porch after delivering his speech as the senior speaker.

鈥淒efinitely not running on much sleep right now, but we鈥檝e got caffeine,” Madnani said earlier in the morning, after spending his final night as a 乐播传媒 student celebrating with friends, and then hiked Mount David for the sunrise. 鈥淚t was nice, very emotional. This is surreal, I鈥檓 not really registering it yet, the gravitas.鈥�

Professor of Rhetoric, Film, and Screen Studies Stephanie Kelley-Romano worked with him on his speech. 鈥淪he helped me make it a little more speech-like, with structure and all that. I鈥檓 really happy with where it is right now.鈥�

10:32 a.m. I heart you

Shankar Vedantam expresses his love for the 乐播传媒 community after being presented with an honorary Doctor of Letters degree by President Clayton Spencer.

10:38 a.m. Bend a little

Commencement speaker J. Drew Lanham crouches a bit as Professor of French and Francophone Studies Mary Rice-DeFosse adjusts his honorary doctorate hood.

10:43 a.m. All quiet on the Quad

A packed Historic Quad listens as Commencement Speaker J. Drew Lanham delivers his remarks.

11:12 a.m. 100 percent certified graduate

After returning to his seat, Mohamed Diawara 鈥�23 of Philadelphia sneaks a peek at his diploma.

11:18 a.m. Tap for good luck

Imti Hassan 鈥�23 of Portland, Maine, taps the Class of 1932 Sundial for good luck, a new tradition at Commencement. Hassan, a politics and history double major, is one of this year’s Fulbright Student award winners, receiving an English Teaching Assistant award for Taiwan.

Hassan’s interest in Taiwan began as a child in Portland, thanks to a Taiwanese neighbor, who introduced her to Taiwanese culture. Hassan became proficient in Chinese at Portland High School and continued her studies at 乐播传媒. 鈥淚 hope to inspire students by sharing my family traditions, my language, and my hobbies.鈥�

11:25 a.m. Pointed towards success

Ali Manning ’23 of Sydney, Australia, engages enthusiastically in the tapping tradition.

11:33 a.m. A space between moments

Spencer shakes the hand of Martha Reyes ’23 of Los Angeles.

Watching it all is the Rev. Brittany Longsdorf, the college’s multifaith chaplain, who will offer the benediction at the conclusion of Commencement.

鈥淚 get to really see each face as they get a diploma, and that鈥檚 just such a beautiful moment, one of my favorite parts of the whole year, the way they light up.鈥�

In her benediction, Longsdorf spoke of the moment as “an intentional pause, a moment between moments. In this space between, I invite you to call to mind each soul who walked this journey with you 鈥� family, mentors, teachers, staff members, friends 鈥� and send them gratitude with a gentle smile and by taking a deep breath.”

11:33 a.m. Hip-hip, hurrah!

Family, friends, and loved ones gathered at one end of the Coram Library porch to wave and cheer at the new graduates as they exit the stage, diploma in hand.

11:42 a.m. Ending with a ‘Z’

Spencer shakes the hand of Leah Zukosky ’23 of St. Louis, the final 乐播传媒 graduate of her tenure as the college鈥檚 eighth president,

For the record, Spencer has shaken 3,728 hands at Commencements since 2013. Cutting into the total was virtual 2020 (no handshakes) and mostly-no-shake 2021.

The first graduate she congratulated, in 2013, was Hakimah Abdul-Fattah 鈥�13, a Fulbright winner and now a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Pennsylvania.

11:52 a.m. Capping it off

Relieved and exuberant, members of the Class of 2023 toss their mortarboards in the air, punctuating the end of Commencement with a cheer.

11:52 a.m. Wrapping it up

Spencer turns to a camera during the Commencement recessional. At left is mace bearer and Professor of French and Francophone Studies Mary Rice-Defosse, and at right is Commencement speaker Drew Lanham.

12:02 p.m. Diploma: check!

Sam Jean-Francois ’23 of Medford, Mass., waves to family and friends, proudly waving a shiny new diploma.