As some of you post videos of yourself walking across the camera in your regalia or have low key offline celebrations or participate in online shindigs, consider me one of your millennial sisters cheering you on. We are so excited for you. We remember clearly how it felt to graduate both high school and college: that breeze of completion, the smell of freedom, the disappearance of certain burdens.

Some of you entered school in 2016. Feeling the strange twinge of both pessimism and hope, you kept on. Again, you find yourselves in an unprecedented moment. Rightly so, folks are telling you that history has caught you, and that you have the opportunity to author your futures. They’ve talked about your contributions during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. They’ve told you that we’re still in the early days. Facts.

As a Black college professor of English and African American Studies (and a millennial), I want to tell you what I think might be an oddly comforting thought. You’re not unique. I know that flies in the face of much of what you’re hearing. True: a pandemic of this sort has not been seen since 1918 and the effects of it have been exacerbated by a globalizing world. Obviously, we’re not facing something easy. But, you’re not the first ones to face times of flagrant uncertainty. Some of us are still living. Some of us are not that much older than you.

Millennials get you. We will have lived through two recessions. We watched hope and change careen into hate and chaos. We saw the upsurge of the ugly underbelly of a nation. We watched the powder keg build up — racism, misogyny, ableism, classism, transphobia, homophobia — and then we saw COVID-19 help set it aflame. That disintegrated hope? We had it. Those shattered dreams? We’ve got those. That workforce? We’re in it. That debt to pay? We’re anxiously holding our chip cards, too. There’s the good news in not being unique. You’re not alone.

I spend most of my time reading and teaching Black novels: Danzy Senna’s collection of short fiction You Are Free, Alice Randall’s exploration of the inner life of a Black conservative Rebel Yell, Octavia E. Butler’s dystopian science fiction (all of it). The list continues. Each of the authors I mentioned before along with many others spend their time thinking of one character — sure — but that character is forged in the crucible of a community. Their foibles, their triumphs can certainly be called their own, but they are not going at it alone. And, when they try, the consequences of being alone usually include getting caught up, feeling bereft, and having a warped understanding of one’s place in history by either overstating or underselling. One of the abiding concerns of Black literature is its emphasis on how community works and when it fails. The tradition is suspicious of naked individualism. As it should be.

Take Alice Walker’s classic, The Color Purple. Celie’s journey to fully realize herself is not just about her marriage to Mr. ____ or her relationship with Shug Avery or her longing for her sister. She is a Black woman in the rural South who ekes out a space for herself among a community of relatives. Along the way, the community has to bend and change to create space for new members, new ideas, new circumstances. See? I told you that you weren’t alone.

By the novel’s end, Celie and the cast of characters understand each other, perhaps uneasily. (They don’t actually stand around watching Celie and Nettie hug like they do in the movie.) Some problems linger there, like ghosts. Here’s the thing: anyone who has read an Alice Walker novel knows that her books are gems for their humor, wit, and their clarity about one’s inner life. There’s joy in the telling.

I bet that is one word you didn’t expect to hear: joy. But, isn’t that the point of telling you that you’re not alone? If you look back on these past few months, you can remember the endless days inside, the fear about toilet paper, the frustration regarding leadership, but you should also remember the times you laughed, the times you found some hope. It isn’t a cliché to say you had a moment of being elated. It happens. No need to stand at an ironic distance and feel superior to those who found a silver lining. And, if you didn’t have one, know you’re not alone either. Even in the darkness, there’s hope in community as well.

But Wait! you say, not all Black literature has hope as its underlying theme. Good for you English and African American Studies majors. Your degree is already paying dividends. You’re right. Each story does not have hope or joy as its center, its foundation, or its end-game.

But, that’s not really the point.

The point is that you’re not alone.

One of the major components of Black literature is its intergenerational wisdom. It is how I, as a millennial, can tell you, Generation Z, that we’ve got this. Because I know what Gen X and the Boomers told me. You’re not alone. You’re not quite unique. We’ve seen these things before.

We been knowing.

We got you.

We got each other.

Seen by more than 10,000 viewers around the world, the �ֲ���ý College Class of 2020 emerged from the tumult of their abbreviated senior year to graduate Sunday on a triumphant note, as the college conferred bachelor’s degrees on 463 seniors in a ceremony delivered via livestream.

“The Class of 2020 will hold a special place in the college’s history,” said President Clayton Spencer in her welcome, recorded on the Historic Quad earlier in May.

The graduates have endured a singular experience — the global COVID-19 pandemic — that, she said, “I hope and expect has brought moments of joy amidst the frustrations, and an arc of learning and growth amidst the ceaseless uncertainty of these times.”

Commencement Day scenes: May 31, 2020

Lexie Jamieson '20 of Scarborough, Maine, poses outside her home with her dad, Neil Jamieson ‘82.

Kathleen Smith '20 of Piedmont, Calif., with dog Hibby at Donner Lake.

Anna Glass '20 of Wilton, Maine, celebrates at home with her parents, Marc '88 and Wendy Glass.

Cousins Patrick Crowley '20 of Lexington, Mass., and Callie Abouzeid '20 of Belmont, Mass., toss their graduation caps.

Erin O'Farrell '20 of West Burke, Vt., poses with her mother, Des Hertz, and stepfather, Chris Manges '91.

The 463-member class comes from 37 U.S. states, plus the District of Columbia, and from 52 countries, including 38 from Maine.

+Class of 2020 By the Numbers

Mirroring many of the elements of the traditional on-campus ceremony, the 154th �ֲ���ý Commencement comprised video segments recorded over the last three weeks, including a social-distanced processional to the Historic Quad featuring Spencer, Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs Malcolm Hill, and Multifaith Chaplain Brittany Longsdorf.

Since its first in 1867, �ֲ���ý has never cancelled or postponed a Commencement.

Wearing a face mask due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Michael Murray, the Charles Franklin Phillips Professor of Economics, carries the mace on May 11 during the taping of portions of the 154th �ֲ���ý Commencement. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

Spencer’s welcome also expressed hope that the seniors will go into the world with an advanced understanding of the vexing complexity of the world’s problems.

“I hope that as a result of having your world turned upside down this spring, you will understand certain things sooner and better than the typical senior graduating from college,” she continued.

Welcome | A. Clayton Spencer, President | Commencement 2020 | �ֲ���ý College

“I hope that you will realize that hard problems do not admit of glib or easy answers; that sound decisions are based on the conscious integration of evidence, values, and empathetic imagination; that unequal access to resources and opportunities magnifies the suffering of some groups over others.

“Wherever you may be, whatever you may be wearing, I send you, from the entire �ֲ���ý community, our most sincere and joyous congratulations.”

“Most fundamental, I hope that you will never assume that the world can be a stable or fair place unless you get up every day and fight for truth, justice, and our shared humanity.”

The Historic Quad may be empty, but “I imagine you out there in your homes, surrounded by loved ones — some of you, I hope, turned out in caps and gowns,” Spencer concluded. “Wherever you may be, whatever you may be wearing, I send you, from the entire �ֲ���ý community, our most sincere and joyous congratulations.”

Described by Spencer as “a force on the �ֲ���ý campus for the past four years,” Senior Speaker Alexandria Onuoha ’20 titled her prerecorded Commencement address “Stay Strong, and Walk Like You Got Some Sense” —  advice from her mother, Vinette Gayle, to whom the address was dedicated.

Senior Address | Alexandria C. Onuoha | Commencement 2020 | �ֲ���ý College

Onuoha credited Gayle with instilling “in me the values of consistency, activism, initiative, and warmth.” A double major in psychology and dance from Malden, Mass., Onuoha used facets from her �ֲ���ý career to illustrate how those qualities had powered her own success — exercising activism and initiative, for example, to lead student organizations in advancing social justice on campus.

“Our story as a class is not perfect, but it’s real,” Onuoha said. “For students who have been waiting for this moment to be celebrated — especially for students of color, for first-generation students, for international students — it’s more than a walk, it’s a moment of victory.

“We may not have been able to walk across the stage and then hug our families, but we do get to walk with a �ֲ���ý degree and a holistic perspective on academics and on life. We get to walk towards the next chapter of our lives as writers of our own story.”

Though recorded weeks ago, Commencement Greetings delivered by artist Vanessa German, an exhibitor at the �ֲ���ý Museum of Art in 2019–20, delivered a message very much in the current national moment.

“The future belongs to human beings who can hold justice at the center of their truth. And you all — you graduates of now — are rare, promising human beings,” she said.

“You are the bridge generation. You are bridging a past of fastness and desperate injustice to a future that is so eager for your open heart, your brilliance, your capacity to be emotionally available, courageous, vulnerable, and a rocket ship of perseverance.”

Commencement Greeting | Vanessa German | Commencement 2020

German encouraged the graduates go forth with courage and authenticity. “Bet on yourself,” she said.  “Even if you need to take a leap of faith and it makes your leg shake, it is better to go forth quaking in your own name than it is to claim someone else’s hand of playing it safe.”

She described her faith in the seniors, telling them to rely on their self-knowledge gained at �ֲ���ý. “You know your places of strength and you know your small places too. You know of the power that resides within you — when you are in the click and the groove of the thing that is your thing. You know what right feels like, when you are right inside of it.

“So from this point forward, offer to no one the lie of your smallness. You get to rise to the occasion of who you are and you are whole. Move towards the future that is calling your own name with the sound of your own voice.

“You are a rare human being and you must decide who you will be and how you will go forth for the world. We are waiting for your dreams and your ideas for the restless, energetic spirit that is rising up within you. We are waiting for you.”

The conferral of degrees featured slides of each of the 463 graduates, each with a photo of the senior’s choosing plus their major and academic honors. Dean of the Faculty Malcolm Hill read each name.

And though the virtual ceremony didn’t allow the usual in-person hugs and congratulations that mark any sort of graduation, more than 100 �ֲ���ý faculty and staff recorded personal greetings for the class.

More than 100 �ֲ���ý faculty and staff recorded video messages of congratulations and support to the Class of 2020.

In her closing benediction, Multifaith Chaplain Brittany Longsdorf asked the Class of 2020 to view moments from their time at �ֲ���ý as “not mundane but sacred. They are the fibers that weave together who you are and who you will continue to become.”

“You are spread across the world now, a beautiful Bobcat diaspora, but this place now lives in your bones just as your essence still rustles the leaves of stalwart maples and oaks lining each sidewalk you trod,” she said.

“Envision the face of each family member, faculty, staff, and fellow student who journeyed with you through your �ֲ���ý days and nights. As your locus changes, feel our collective blessing.”

Full Program | �ֲ���ý Commencement 2020

The ceremony will be conducted remotely via livestream. The livestream will be public — any friends and family members will be able to watch. The complete video will be available for replay immediately afterward on Facebook and YouTube.

The full commencement program is also available for viewing on and .

The Program and Speeches

• The program with complete list of graduates (PDF)

In this very atypical Commencement, we recognize that �ֲ���ý students, their families, and their loved ones (as well as faculty and staff), are watching from around the country and around the world. To help you and your family and friends enjoy Commencement to the fullest extent, English, Chinese, and Spanish texts of the program and all speeches have been created and are available for download to follow along with the ceremony. Technical limitations prevent us from being able to offer English and foreign language subtitles on the live show, but they will be available immediately following the live ceremony on the YouTube video of Commencement. 

While small, we hope these things help in your enjoyment of the 2020 �ֲ���ý Commencement. The Commencement team offers special thanks to the �ֲ���ý faculty who helped prepare these foreign language translations. 

Thank you, and enjoy the ceremony.

Order of Exercises

Opening

“My Spirit Be Joyful,” by J.S. Bach

Hathorn Bell tolls 12 times.

Welcome

A. Clayton Spencer, President

Senior Address

Alexandria Chidera Onuoha 

Commencement Greetings

Vanessa German

Celebrated for her dedication to human connection, Vanessa German is a powerful and versatile artist whose unparalleled work celebrates human connection and examines race, feminism, poverty, violence, and injustice. Her exhibition and residency at the �ֲ���ý Museum of Art was a triumph of the Class of 2020’s senior year.

Presentation of Candidates for Degrees

Malcolm S. Hill, Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dean Hill, on behalf of the �ֲ���ý faculty, asks the class to stand and presents the class to President Spencer for conferral of degrees.

Conferral of Degrees

President Spencer

President Spencer confers the bachelor of arts degree or bachelor of science degree. Dean Hill reads the names of all graduating seniors, in alphabetical order. Accompanying the reading of each senior’s name will be a display of their photograph, hometown, and academic major.

After the final name, President Spencer asks the members of the graduating class to move their tassels from right to left, thereby signifying the degree.

Benediction

Brittany Longsdorf, Multifaith Chaplain

At the end of the benediction, Hathorn Bell tolls for 30 seconds.

Recessional

Steel Pan Band

Over 100+ �ֲ���ý College faculty and staff members submitted personal videos to congratulate the �ֲ���ý Class of 2020 as they prepare to graduate from �ֲ���ý on the College’s 154th Commencement.

�ֲ���ý President Clayton Spencer, VP for Equity and Inclusion Noelle Chaddock, and �ֲ���ý Multifaith Chaplain Brittany Longsdorf take a moment to reflect and pause as our nation grapples with the recent, yet sadly familiar events, of continuing race-based violence.

“This weekend, as we celebrate the many accomplishments of the �ֲ���ý Class of 2020, it is important that we acknowledge the relentless race-based violence that we continue to enact as a nation.

These brutal patterns are the work of centuries and decades, and they are deeply embedded in the structures of our society.

One of our most urgent commitments as a college community is to teach our students that it is up to each of us and all of us together to bear witness against the violence of racism, to act for justice, and to affirm our shared humanity.”

— �ֲ���ý President Clayton Spencer

Join us as we honor the seniors with a virtual awards ceremony.

You can download the complete Senior Cookbook of recipes here, or download individual recipes below.

• Baklava
• �ֲ���ý Bobcat Sandwich
• �ֲ���ý Crunchy Turkey Melt
• �ֲ���ý General Tso’s Chicken
• �ֲ���ý No Bake Cookies
• �ֲ���ý Italian Almond Cookies [video]
• �ֲ���ý Paws Granola
• �ֲ���ý Scallion Chicken Sautre [video]
• �ֲ���ý Salted Toffee Bark [video]
• �ֲ���ý Vegan Blueberry Muffins
• �ֲ���ý Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Bavarian Apple Bars
• Beef & Broccoli Stir Fry
• Brandied Ginger Cookies
• Brussels Sprout Panzanella Salad
• Chocolate Euphoria Cookies
• Fettuccine with Seafood and Wine Sauce
• Kolacky
• Indian Butter Chicken
• Linguini Pesto Pasta Bake
• Marcia’s Pasta & Zucchini Saute
• Meg Joyce’s Pumpkin Bread
• Molten Lava Cakes
• Pecan Toffee Squares
• Vegan Banana Brownies
• Reese’s Peanut Butter Bars
• Vegan Chocolate Coconut Creams
• Vegan Pad Thai [video]
• Yam & Carrot Casserole

Four hundred and sixty-three members of the Class of 2020 are set to graduate on Sunday, May 31.

• 37 States (plus D.C.) represented
• 38 Students from Maine
• 52 Countries represented (including U.S.)
• 32 Receiving departmental honors
• 41.5% varsity athletes
• 12.3% first generation to college
• 63.9% studied abroad*

* Defined as a semester or more.

Academics

The Class of 2020 has accumulated 576 academic majors.

• 348 single majors
• 114 double majors
• 0 triple majors

Majors distribution 

American Cultural Studies: 6

Anthropology: 12

Art and Visual Culture: 19

Biological Chemistry: 11

Biology: 27

Chemistry: 9

Chinese: 2

Classical and Medieval Studies: 8

Dance: 5

East Asian Studies: 5

Economics: 71

Engineering: 2

English: 16

Environmental Studies: 30

European Studies: 3

French and Francophone Studies: 11

Gender and Sexuality Studies: 1

Geology: 7

German: 4

History: 18

Interdisciplinary Studies: 5

Japanese: 2

Latin American Studies: 2

Mathematics: 32

Music: 3

Neuroscience: 16

Philosophy: 17

Physics: 14

Politics: 76

Psychology: 58

Religious Studies: 6

Rhetoric: 23

Sociology: 31

Spanish: 12

Theater: 5

Women and Gender Studies: 7

For �ֲ���ý mason Ron Tardif, installing the class ivy stone each May is a labor of respect for the graduating class.

“On behalf of the whole Facility Services crew, I wish the Class of 2020 the best of luck. Congratulations!” he said while expertly placing this year’s stone into brickwork near the Pettengill Hall entrance.

�ֲ���ý mason Ron Tardif installs the Class of 2020 ivy stone near the front entrance of Pettengill Hall. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

Paying close attention to detail, Tardif chiseled, adjusted, and spread mortar on the four sides of the stone, before cleaning away the excess and inserting the stone into the side of the building.

Showing the Hathorn bell tower, the favored design is by Hazel Simpson ’20 of Katonah, N.Y. She did the work before the pandemic put a premature end to the Class of 2020’s campus experience. Collette Monuments of Lewiston engraved the design into the stone.

The Hathorn Hall bell tower is the focus of the Class of 2020 ivy stone, shown being inset on a front wall of Pettengill Hall by Facility Services mason Ron Tardif. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

“In a way, the stone I designed no longer seems fitting,” she says at first. “It doesn’t reveal anything about the Class of 2020’s unique and challenging graduation and senior year.”

But after reflecting a bit more, Simpson changes her mind. While the pandemic has cast a long shadow over their senior year and graduation, the class still has a precious trove of positive �ֲ���ý memories.

The focus on Hathorn reflects some of her experience. “I have great memories of Hathorn: classes I attended there, walking up the steps in the snow, and taking photos outside in the fall. My friends and I took a photo on the steps on our last day at �ֲ���ý.”

Installing the ivy stone is a labor of respect for Facility Services. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

“I spent three and half years at �ֲ���ý before COVID-19,” Simpson says. “The pandemic does not define my college experience. I want our class to be remembered as the Class of 2020, not as the COVID class.”

Installation of a class ivy stone is a �ֲ���ý tradition dating to the 1870s.

“Put some effort into this. You’ll be glad you did,” one Bobcat athlete said to a first-year teammate.

The occasion was the annual Athletics photo session to create head-and-shoulder portraits — pretty much unchanged since Robert Cornelius created the first photo portrait in 1839 — to populate online rosters and awards stories.

“We always have so much fun watching each other do crazy photos — the more absurd, the better.”

But that’s only half the game. After their roster portrait is done, photographer Brewster Burns encourages the Bobcats to let it all hang out, celebrating both self and team by posing for stylized “sportraits” — poses and props of their choosing, with teammates often helping out.

It all creates a fun team event, says Julia Panepinto ’20 of Buffalo, N.Y., a two-sport athlete in softball and volleyball.

“We get to be together for an hour, talking about our season to come. It’s the first time you put on your uniform, and it definitely has a game-day feel,” she says. “We always have so much fun watching each other do crazy photos — the more absurd, the better.”

Below are a few of our favorite 2019–20 sportraits. Enjoy! (None of the photographs have been digitally changed, aside from accepted practices of sharpening and exposure adjustment.)

Aqua Man

Dan Waterland ’22, a swimmer from Chadds Ford, Pa., found a fun way to show how swimmers work out, donning all kinds of training gear at once: paddles, snorkel, fins, and a resistance parachute.

“We don’t just jump in the water and swim laps. We use equipment just like other sports to help us perform better. We like to have fun, too!”

(About that gear: a snorkel helps a swimmer with body position; paddles help a swimmer “catch” the water better; the parachute creates resistance during training; and the fins help a swimmer move faster, creating a race-like feel.)

Brewster Burns for �ֲ���ý College

Celebration Ball

For her senior-year softball portrait, co-captain Julia Panepinto ’20 of Buffalo, N.Y., gave a fist-pumping yell as teammates tossed balls into the frame.

The photo session was held in February before the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to the spring season and the rest of the in-person �ֲ���ý experience.

Still, Panepinto holds tight to the feeling she had at that moment: “It’s a celebration: how I feel about this team, this sport, this program, and this college. It’s the high energy and intense, competitive spirit I hope to leave with the softball team.”

Brewster Burns for �ֲ���ý College

Home on the Range

Golfer Preston Haugh ’21 (right) of Alexandria, Va., pretended to get a distance to the pin on his rangefinder. Completing the portrait are Nick Beati ’20 (left) of Chelmsford, Mass., and Jim Stevens ’20 of North Kingstown, R.I.

“I got 160 yards,” said Haugh.

Brewster Burns for �ֲ���ý College

‘Wonderment and Power’

Part Esther Williams spectacle, part Red Sea miracle, the women’s swimming and diving team paid homage to the “sheer wonderment and power,” explains Emily Erard-Stone ’20, of “our beloved Bobcat mascot” — played by a snarling Lily Scott ’21 at bottom center.

As the photo was taken, “we all fell away as if a sea were parted and a Bobcat emerged from the depths above all other sea creatures,” says Erard-Stone, a geology major from Richmond, Va. One of the tallest members of the team, she’s at top center with arms outstretched, giving a big hug to the entire team. 

Brewster Burns for �ֲ���ý College

Here and Now

Mohamed Diawara ’23, a receiver on the football team, says that his sportrait pose “shows everyone that I’m finally here and the ball is in my hands.”

The pose also says thanks to his coaches for putting him “into a position to make plays. Giving me the ball is all I could ask.”

“Being an inner-city kid from Philadelphia, it’s very tough,” he says. “I had to overcome a lot and work hard to get to �ֲ���ý. It’s a blessing to get to play college football, as many people never get that opportunity, and I just wanted to make the most of it.”

Brewster Burns for �ֲ���ý College

Bold Bobcat

“This photo encapsulates the pure bold and wild spirit of the �ֲ���ý rowing team,” says team captain Hannah Fitts ’20, a physics major from Pawtucket, R.I.

“We are fearless and loud and unapologetically ourselves.”

Winner of three NCAA team championships during her �ֲ���ý career, Fitts was a second-team All America selection by the College Rowing Coaches Association in 2019.

Brewster Burns for �ֲ���ý College

‘Hungry Dogs Run Faster’

The men’s lacrosse players who handle faceoffs are specialists, known as “X men” because the faceoff takes place on a small X at midfield.

X men trot onto the field for the faceoff, battle mightily for the all-important possession, then scamper off for an immediate substitute.

To evoke that high-intensity of their work, �ֲ���ý’ X men created this wild sportrait.

Brewster Burns for �ֲ���ý College

Clockwise from upper left are Chris Costello  ’21 of Putnam, N.Y., Jack Walsh ’20 of Huntington, N.Y., Peter Ackley ’23 of New Albany, Ohio, and Jackson Williams ’23 of Cumberland, Maine.

The concept is that Costello and Walsh are restraining two large, leashed, and crazy-hungry dogs — Williams and Ackley — “back from a juicy steak 10 feet away,” explains Costello. The steak, of course, is the ball. And Williams’ and Ackley’s frothing is courtesy of a mouthful of Alka-Seltzer tablets.

The photo conveys the group’s watchwords: “Confident, fearless,  pugnacious, controlled aggression,” says Costello.

As faceoff experts, “we have to want the ball more than our opponent, and be willing to do whatever it takes to get it,” says Costello. “As they say, “Hungry dogs run faster,’” explains Walsh.

Power of Three

Friendship and excitement were the theme when these three first-year track members posed together.

“The three of us had the idea to take this photo to highlight both the excitement of taking sportraits — it was the first time in our uniforms — and being able to take creative pictures with people we’d grown close to,” says Megan Lacey ’23 (right) of Braxton, Miss.

She’s with Abigail Otterbein ’23 (left) of Beverly, Mass., and Alice Cockerham ’23 of Kingfield, Maine.

Brewster Burns for �ֲ���ý College

Calling All Sports

For her sportrait, track and field athlete Elise Lambert ’22 of Amherst, N.H., pulled in young Henry Walter, son of head coach Jennifer “Jay” Hartshorn.

In her first year at �ֲ���ý, Lambert saw a senior use his shoe like a telephone (some readers will get the Maxwell Smart reference) for a sportrait.

“I thought that it was really funny, so when Henry showed up to our session, I knew I wanted to take a goofy picture with him, and this idea popped into mind.

“It was super silly and really fun — then Henry stole the shoe I gave him and I had to chase him around Alumni Gym in my socks to get it back.”

Brewster Burns for �ֲ���ý College

Wolverines!

Elijah Coyne ’22 of Newtown, Pa., uses the tools of his track trade, relay batons, to go for a Hugh Jackman / Wolverine look.

Brewster Burns for �ֲ���ý College

Strong Serve

Tennis player and psychology major Lauren Hernandez ’20 brought a childhood photo to her sportrait session.

The photo shows Hernandez right before her first tennis lesson, when she was about 4 years old. “My grandma made the skirt I am wearing in the picture,” she explains. “That’s indicative of how involved my family would later become with the sport.”

Playing tennis has taught Hernandez that “consistency, commitment, and purpose are the building blocks to a successful path” forward in any endeavor. Her �ֲ���ý teammates, she says, “have shown me what unwavering and loyal friendship is.”

Brewster Burns for �ֲ���ý College

Love of the Game

“This portrait ,” says Eric Opoku ’20, a men’s soccer player and history major from Accra, Ghana.

“He’s the reason why I love soccer. For him, happiness was much more important than just scoring goals and winning a game. Watching him over the years inspired me to make loving the game itself my primary focus. That is why I always try to model my game after him.”

Brewster Burns for �ֲ���ý College

Flex Plan

“The pose in the photo is a pike position used in diving. It’s my favorite pose,” says Julia Bisson ’23, a diver from North Yarmouth, Maine.

“As a diver, you have to be flexible so you can spin faster and do more flips. I chose this pose because it represents the flexibility and strength that is required for diving.”

Brewster Burns for �ֲ���ý College

Force of Nordic

This is a Star Wars–inspired sportrait, says Carter Ros ’21, a history major from Hailey, Idaho. “I wanted it to look like I was using the Force to levitate my skis and poles.”

Star Wars and Nordic skiing? Stick with us.

“Nordic is an individual sport, just like this is an individual photo. But you need help from your teammates to push you in training in order to succeed.”

In this case, the help comes from four of Ros’ teammates, just outside the frame holding all the equipment, just so, for the photo.

Brewster Burns for �ֲ���ý College

Gabrielle Eustache ’20 of New York City

Volleyball player Gabi Eustache ’20, a neuroscience major from New York City, is a defensive specialist known as a libero. Her sportrait shows one of her favorite plays (and one of the sport’s most exciting), the pancake, which requires quickness, intensity, and eyes-on-ball focus.

It’s fun, she says, because “I get to sprawl out on the ground and just barely get the ball up with the top of my hand.”

Volleyball has been incredibly rewarding, she says. “I would not be the woman I am today without my teammates or my coaches.”

Brewster Burns for �ֲ���ý College

Row Your Boat

In this group photo, some of the first-year members of the women’s lacrosse team show their solidarity while offering a nod to another talented group of Bobcats, the national champion women’s rowing team. Acting as coxswain, at right, is Cammie Lavoie ’23 of Epping, N.H.

“Looking back, we realized our facial expressions didn’t quite match with what we were going for, but that made it funnier in our opinion,” says Shelby Howard (far left) of Ashland, Mass.

From left,  Howard; Hadley Nolan of Bethesda, Md.; Allison Greuel of Freeport, Maine; Chloe Robinson of North Salem, N.Y.; Sophie Scola of San Mateo, Calif.; Stella Stone of Providence, R.I.; Annie Conway of South Salem, N.Y.; Zoe Knauss of Buffalo, N.Y.; and Lavoie.

Brewster Burns for �ֲ���ý College

Joy of Running

Often, photos of long-distance runners emphasize exhaustion, if not outright pain.

“Running is often hard and painful, but I wanted my sportrait to show the joyful side of it,” says Vanessa Paolella ’21, a geology major from Dingmans Ferry, Pa.

“Running makes me feel like I can do anything,” she says. “While my form in this photo is more dynamic than usual, I think it captures the feeling really well.”

Brewster Burns for �ֲ���ý College