Join us for our livestream coverage — beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 25 — of the 159th �ֲ���ý College Commencement as we celebrate the accomplishments of the �ֲ���ý Class of 2025.

Watch �ֲ���ý faculty and staff share their congratulations with the Class of 2025.

At �ֲ���ý’ 159th Commencement on Sunday, May 25, Commencement speaker Angela Duckworth began her address with one simple request to members of the audience: to take out their phones and hand them to someone next to them.

The 504 members of the Class of 2025, along with their families, faculty, and staff — whether strangers or kin to their neighbors — obliged. 

Onstage, Duckworth traded phones with President Garry W. Jenkins. Free from their digital companions, Commencement attendees turned their attention forward.

With this striking exercise, perhaps unique to the 2025 graduation season, Duckworth began to drive home a compelling, useful, and relevant message: Through “situation modification, we have the power to shape and alter our surroundings in ways that help us thrive.

 “This is what mindfulness looks like in the digital age,” said Duckwork, who is a psychologist, leading voice in the study of human behavior, and author of the New York Times bestseller Grit. “Not willpower, but the wisdom to shape the situations that shape you.”

View the 159th �ֲ���ý College Commencement. Speaker Angela Duckworth’s address begins at the one-hour mark.

This emphasis on self-determination and its relationship to our surroundings — whether the latter be the location of a cellular device, the campus that the Class of 2025 has grown to call home, or �ֲ���ý’ spot in an uncertain world — echoed throughout the Commencement speeches, including Jenkins’ welcoming remarks and the 2025 Senior Address given by Aanika Patel ’25 of Needham, Mass.

On the heels of last week’s atypical May northeaster that covered campus in rain, the 159th Commencement was one of the chilliest in recent memory, with the temperature at 56 degrees but feeling cooler thanks to clouds overhead and a northwest breeze, which prompted a number of audience members to arrive with fleece throws.

Members of the Class of 2025 are from 38 states, the District of Columbia, and 31 countries. Among those students were 126 with double majors and four with triple majors, including five students who received Fulbright grants for the 2025–26 academic year. Sixty percent of the Class of 2025 studied abroad, and more than 40 percent played on varsity sports teams. 

Duckworth received a Doctor of Humane Letters honorary degree, and three other honorands were also recognized: 

• Mary Bonauto, a lawyer and activist for LGBTQ+ rights who successfully argued Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) before the Supreme Court, received a Doctor of Letters degree;
•  Stanley Nelson, an award-winning documentary filmmaker who tells the dynamic stories of Black Americans, received a Doctor of Fine Arts degree; 
• Deval Patrick, the former governor of Massachusetts and former U.S. assistant attorney general for the civil rights division, received a Doctor of Laws degree.

In his opening remarks, Jenkins acknowledged the unique and challenging moment that the Class of 2025 faces as they enter the world beyond �ֲ���ý.

“You have probably heard more than once that these are uncertain times,” Jenkins said. “Perhaps so much so that you may be a bit tired of hearing it.”

But, Jenkins said, there is good and bad news on this front. On one hand, “there will always be uncertainty,” Jenkins said. “Life is defined by change, by the unexpected, by the yet-unknown and the always-unknowable.”

The Class of 2025 is well-equipped to handle uncertainty, Jenkins said, having ended high school and begun college during a pandemic and gained an education preparing them to handle a changing future.

As they venture onward, the Class of 2025 has much to offer, Jenkins said, and he hopes that they will bring forth the skills they’ve acquired at �ֲ���ý to continue to do good.

“The world needs �ֲ���ý graduates — the world needs you — to bring all the tools and talents you have acquired during your time on this campus to bear for lives of leadership and purpose, ameliorating uncertainty, fueling prosperity and innovation, standing up for what is right, caring for those around you,” Jenkins said.

The Class of 2025 has much to offer, Jenkins said. They embody grit, creativity, and a commitment to seeking justice and asking the hard questions, values instilled by a liberal arts education.

“It is at places like �ֲ���ý that we prepare students to think critically, to problem solve, to engage across difference, to connect, both the dots and with each other,” Jenkins said. “And then those students become graduates who contribute to their communities around the world in all their vibrancy, diversity, and complexity.”

Jenkins charged the Class of 2025 and Commencement attendees with carrying forward a message about the importance of higher education in changing our world for the better, and “the reason it matters to a healthy democracy.”

“Higher education has long fueled American progress — driving innovation, preparing leadership, and enhancing civic life. Of all this, I am certain,” Jenkins said. “And, I can tell you — our amazing graduates, as well as friends and visitors — I call on you all to be ambassadors for �ֲ���ý and for higher education.”

Senior Speaker Aanika Patel ’25, an environmental studies major from Needham, Mass., began her speech by recounting a very-�ֲ���ý tale. 

Picture this: It was winter in Lewiston, and Patel was preparing for the first outdoor lab in the course “Scientific Approaches to Environmental Issues.” Ahead of the lab, her professor, Christian A. Johnson Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies Holly Ewing, encouraged her students to dress appropriately for the trek up Mount David in the snow. 

That was really no big deal, thought Patel. She showed up wearing a jacket and Blundstones, not a glove in sight, and declined to sport the college-provided snowshoes, despite a foot and a half of snow on the ground.

“About 30 minutes into it, I felt the snow slowly seeping into my socks, and my hands turned a terrible pale shade of white,” Patel said. “This class had suddenly become one of those David Attenborough Planet Earth ��dz��ܳ���Գٲ��������.”

Patel learned her lesson: proper preparation frees the mind to revel in the surrounding natural wonders. 

“After learning to dress properly, I began noticing the Maine beauty around me that I continue to be grateful for,” Patel said. 

On Mount David, Patel saw a maple tree, which, even in its stateliness, grew while leaving room for a nearby birch tree to also extend its roots. Each species, she noticed, played a role in the delicate dance of nature. She imagined the birch tree falling over, and its fellow trees stepping up to take over its ecological responsibilities.

“Each species finds a new place in space,” Patel said. “In this way, communities form, diverse but intertwined and interdependent through relationships forged over many years.”

�ֲ���ý’ community is not indifferent from these intertwining natural relationships, Patel said. Since the first week of freshman year, the Class of 2025 has constructed its own “ecosystem,” rooted firmly in place and defined by the lessons students have learned from one another and the memories they’ve shared.

“Place is a network of relationships carrying histories, contexts, stories, and identities,” Patel said. “In order for a place to remain, there needs to be this acknowledgement of what has created it and how our identities are framed by it.”

Like Jenkins, Patel acknowledged that the Class of 2025 has dealt with tremendous change, from enrolling in college during a pandemic, to grieving in the aftermath of the October 2023 Lewiston shootings, to processing the 2024 presidential election.

But they didn’t go it alone. The Class of 2025 persisted and thrived thanks to support from many entities on campus.

“It is on this campus we found a community to fight against isolation, to mourn loss and find hope in change, and to fight for the things worth fighting for just by being there and adjusting and relying on each other,” Patel said.

Wherever the members of the Class of 2025 end up next, despite the fear and uncertainty of a path untrodden, they will always have �ֲ���ý, Patel said.

“Like the trees standing their ground on Mount David, we will always have these histories we created in our back pockets, and their memory will be a reassurance to stand tall, stay grounded in who you are, and be courageous in this next chapter of our lives.”

In her Commencement address, Angela Duckworth also discussed the importance of staying grounded, specifically by improving our relationship with the devices that now live ubiquitously beside us.

“If being on your phone were a paid job, we would be getting overtime,” Duckworth said.

Cell phone use and placement have a profound effect on personal performance and well-being, Duckworth explained. Research shows that having one’s phone within eyesight while taking an IQ test lowers scores, and high school students who study with their phones farther away from them perform better academically.

Additionally, she pointed out, the popularity of social media over the last two decades coincides with decreasing rates of in-person social interaction, and studies show that halting Facebook and Instagram use for just one month corresponds with increased levels of happiness and decreased levels of depression and anxiety.

Often, the choice to pick up our phones is not a conscious act but rather a habit that we turn to when we’re feeling awkward or anxious; cell phones are “effectively adult pacifiers,” Duckworth said.

The key to dealing with digital distractions, she said, is not about willpower but taking action to remove the distraction.

“Situation modification means using physical distance to create psychological distance,” Duckworth said.

Successful people change their environment to eliminate temptations or distractions instead of expending energy to resist them.

Due to her phenomenally successful book, Duckworth is famously linked to the concept of grit, which “might make it sound as if world-class performers just force themselves to do things. But that’s not accurate. They love what they do. And because they love what they do, they create sanctuaries where they cannot be distracted from their craft.”

Where we keep our phones is among the most important choices we make, Duckworth said. Luckily enough, it is not a choice that we make only once, but rather one that we can recommit to — or change — over and over again.

“I urge you to make a humble yet powerful vow: Commit to situation modification,” Duckworth said.

As such, Duckworth offered six suggestions:

• Put your phone in another room when you need to focus deeply.
• Go outside when you feel awkward, anxious, or bored.
• Keep your phones off of the table during group dinners.
• Keep your phone beyond arm’s reach while driving.
• Don’t keep your phone in your bedroom.
• When you do want to use your phone, listen to The Ezra Klein Show podcast featuring author Zadie Smith, who discusses why she refuses to buy a smartphone.

“Situation modification isn’t about abstinence. It’s about intentionality,” Duckworth said. “It’s about creating space between stimulus and response, between notification and reaction. And it’s about reclaiming your attention.”

Malcolm Hill, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty, offered the honorary degree citations for Duckworth, Bonauto, Nelson, and Patrick.

Bonauto, a leader in legal efforts to advance marriage equality, has been senior director of civil rights and legal strategies at GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders (GLAD Law) since 1990.

In 2015, she successfully argued in front of the Supreme Court in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges, which made same-sex marriage legal throughout the country.

“As she said at the beginning of this year, accepting the Presidential Citizen Medal from President Biden, ‘We each have a role to play in fulfilling our country’s promises of equality, dignity, and freedom,’” Hill said, quoting Bonauto.

“In her career, and her contributions to a more equitable society, we see the realization of her own hopes,” Hill said.

Stanley Nelson’s expansive documentary filmmaking has broached subjects including Harriet Tubman, Emmett Till, and historically Black colleges and universities.

“He is a prolific — and prolifically talented, and prolifically honored — documentary filmmaker, focused on telling the stories of Black Americans — lifting up those narratives that haven’t been told, and sharing other narratives, ones that we presume we know, in new and revelatory ways,” Hill said.

Deval Patrick focused on “student achievement, healthcare coverage, entrepreneurial activity, and veterans services” and defended Massachusetts’ law legalizing same-sex marriage, the first of its kind in the country.

“‘Community’ provides not only the through-line of his life and career — it is a value deeply held, frequently cited, and powerfully enacted,” Hill said.

Hill then read the Class of 2025’s names during the conferral of the degrees, the students’ short steps across the Coram stage marking a leap into the next phase of their lives.

After the conferral, Jenkins paused to recognize Hill for his contribution as dean of the faculty; after a sabbatical; he will returns to the classroom as a professor of biology and earth and climate sciences.

Then, Leah Elsmore ’12, president of the �ֲ���ý Alumni Association, offered parting words about the importance of building connections with fellow alumni and being prepared to support future �ֲ���ýies.

“Throughout the twists and turns of your professional and personal journey, you can always connect with a Bobcat in the wild,” Elsmore said. “And I urge you to pay it forward. Someday when you’ve established yourselves in your chosen fields, be ready to be there for the next generation of �ֲ���ý graduates.”

In a benediction coinciding nicely with the images of nature twisting through Patel’s address, and after Jenkins’ charge to go out and do good, the words of the Rev. Raymond Clothier, interim multifaith chaplain, closed the Commencement ceremony:

“May what you have learned at �ֲ���ý take root and flower in minute and majestic ways to nourish others, nurse the wounded earth and nurture human community.

“May it be so.”

Among the 504 seniors at Sunday’s �ֲ���ý Commencement will be these 13, each of whom recently shared what they’ll miss most about �ֲ���ý, from professors attending their theater shows to unexpected joy found in Commons, while offering advice to the incoming Class of 2029.

In this collection of candid reflections (“Try everything — and then pick what makes you smile”), paired with striking and heartfelt photography by Phyllis Graber Jensen, the spirit of the �ֲ���ý Class of 2025 comes alive.

Alexandra Long

A mathematics major from Newtown, Pa., Long played varsity basketball and was an internship peer advisor with Purposeful Work, with academic interests in the intersections of data science and storytelling. 

On the heart of the �ֲ���ý experience:
“The thing I’m going to miss most about �ֲ���ý is the community. In the spaces I’ve worked, played sports, and learned supportive people were everywhere.”

On values lived out:
“Community has always been my number one value, and that’s a huge reason I came to �ֲ���ý. I’ve been able to live that out in the choices I’ve made and the relationships I’ve built.”

On advice to new students:
“Extend yourself to make meaningful and authentic relationships — they will last. People are the most important.”

Izzy Beck

A politics major from Montclair, N.J., Beck was a Purposeful Work peer advisor, coxswain on the men’s varsity rowing team, summer Admission intern, and completed her honors thesis investigating the development of the unitary executive theory in contemporary American politics. 

On what she’ll miss most:
“What I’ll miss the most about �ֲ���ý is the proximity I have to professors who are at the tops of their fields and excited to share wisdom with their students.”

On the �ֲ���ý vibe:
“�ֲ���ý students are interested in and enthusiastic about the many things they do.”

On academic advice:
“Take one random class each semester that just sounds interesting. You might uncover a passion you didn’t know you had.”

Emma Gay

A double major in anthropology and classical and medieval studies from Herndon, Va., Gay was president of the ski club, a member of the �ֲ���ý orchestra, and was an Admission senior fellow.

On what she’ll miss most about �ֲ���ý:

“In short, the people. I have been lucky enough to meet some of the most amazing people across campus that have helped me become the person I am today, and I’m going to miss all the smiling faces and joy that people spread around campus.”

On unequivocal support:

“From the faculty to staff to students, I have been able to succeed in all aspects of my life because of the support I had, and will continue to have after �ֲ���ý. These people, who have been with me through so many ups and downs, have taught me so much, and I will forever be grateful.”

On advice for incoming students:

“Take advantage of the offerings to get to know your fellow classmates — but don’t be afraid to say ‘no’ and take time for yourself during a really crazy transition period when it can become very overwhelming.”

Caroline Bibbens

A politics major from Claremont, Calif., Bibbens was an Admission senior fellow and a volunteer at Lewiston public schools.

On building lasting friendships:
“From day one, �ֲ���ý helped me feel socially comfortable. My first-year roommate is still my best friend, and I met five more on my AESOP trip who are still my closest friends today.”

On what she’ll miss most:
“It really feels like a second home. I’ll miss walking around campus and seeing the faces of all the people I’ve built such close friendships with.”

On finding community far from home:
“Coming from so far away, I was nervous at first, but �ֲ���ý is such a supportive and welcoming place. The friendships I’ve made here have meant everything.”

Kendall Jones

A double major in biochemistry and theater from Plymouth, N.H., Jones worked as a stage manager (including carpentry work) for many �ֲ���ý plays, also handling social media for the theater and dance department, and was an organic chemistry teaching assistant and summer Admission intern.

On professors who show up — literally:
“Almost all of my professors have come to my theater shows. My biochemistry professors know I’m in theater, and all my theater professors know I’m in biochemistry. They’re like, ‘Are you surviving biochemistry?’ You get hands-on learning — and a friend for life.”

On what she’ll miss most:
“I’m going to miss walking across the Quad and waving to everyone — even the people you just skateboard past every day. And I’ll miss my professors. They were such a big part of my time here.”

On how to make the most of �ֲ���ý:
“Try everything — and then pick a few things that really make you happy and smile. It makes the whole experience feel so much more full.”

Max Good

A double major in economics and Hispanic studies from Shaker Heights, Ohio, Good was a men’s squash captain, a member of the entrepreneurship club Bobcat Ventures, and a member of the Jewish Student Union.

On time well spent:
“I’ll miss walking into Commons intending to grab a quick bite but instead staying for hours chatting with friends until the next meal.”

On what Commons represents:
“It’s a space that brings together all kinds of �ֲ���ýies who pursue a plethora of passions.”

On everyday joy:
“At �ֲ���ý I get to hang out with friends every day for no purpose other than enjoying each other’s company.”

Maddie Kemp

A double major in politics and in art and visual culture from Bethesda, Md., Kemp is one of the �ֲ���ý rowing captains, regularly contributed to �ֲ���ý theater with her poster designs, and was a collections intern for the �ֲ���ý College Museum of Art.

On what she’ll miss most:
“The most important thing that’s prepared me to leave �ֲ���ý — and that I’ll miss the most — is the community of people I have. It’s a really wonderful group that I know I can go to for anything.”

On being ready for the world:
“I feel really well prepared to interact in a larger global community because I’ve spent so much time working in these smaller families, essentially.”

On advice to incoming students:
“You’re more prepared than you think. There are challenges beyond your wildest imagination — and you’re totally ready to take them on.”

Luke Dai

A double major in economics and psychology from West Hartford, Conn., Dai was a member of the varsity cross country and track teams, an Admission senior fellow, and a Purposeful Work peer advisor, and he interned with the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition.

On the meaning of place and memory:
“I’ll miss the Russell Street track. When I think about my time at �ֲ���ý, I think about my experiences with my teammates. We’ve put a significant amount of work on this track, and it means a lot to me.”

On belonging and shared purpose:
“It gave me a sense of community and belonging. My coach always told us, ‘Run for each other, not just for yourself,’ and I really embodied that. My fondest memories were just competing with my friends and just going to practice with them every day. That’s why this track means a lot to me.”

On how athletics shaped him:
“Being a student-athlete at �ֲ���ý taught me discipline, time management, and motivation. It allowed me to be part of a greater purpose than just myself.”

David Nimura

A psychology major from New York City, Nimura was an Admission tour guide, a member of the men’s Ultimate team, and an Outing Club member who led the front country trip program while also officiating and coaching youth sports in Lewiston.

On what he’ll carry forward:
“I’ve really grown as a person, a student, and a caring individual. �ֲ���ý has prepared me to step into something new and has given me friendships and mentors I’ll cherish forever.”

On the little things that matter:
“You always feel seen at �ֲ���ý — a high five, a hug, a wave. Even if you don’t know someone well, they still acknowledge you. That’s something I’ll never forget.”

On the magic of the everyday:
“You’re never going to have the same day twice at �ֲ���ý. There’s always something unplanned, something surprising, and that’s where new connections are made. Currently standing by the Puddle in my hammock on a sunny day — it’s moments like that when you really understand how special �ֲ���ý is.”

Amanda Zerbib

A psychology major from Larchmont, N.Y., Zerbib was a varsity field hockey player, a Purposeful Work peer advisor, an Admission senior fellow, and a volunteer in Lewiston schools.

On community:
“I think what I’m going to miss most about �ֲ���ý is the genuine small-scale community. It’s hard to replicate once you graduate. �ֲ���ý has done a really great job at creating a genuine community: very safe, warm, and tight-knit.”

On learning and faculty:
“It’s such a unique opportunity to be surrounded by so many intellectual and generous people. I’m going to miss getting to choose from incredible classes and professors who truly care.”

On transformation and discovery:
“There’s so much I didn’t even realize �ֲ���ý was doing around me until senior year. Once you start paying attention, it can lead you onto a whole path of amazing things.”

Nora Fox

A philosophy major from Minneapolis, Minn., Fox was a Purposeful Work peer advisor, an editor for The �ֲ���ý Student, and a philosophy teaching assistant who completed an honors thesis on protecting human dignity and meaningful work from the ethical risks of AI in the workplace.

On faculty connection:
“I’m going to miss my advisor, [Professor of Philosophy] David Cummiskey, a lot. He’s been really instrumental in shaping my �ֲ���ý career. We met every week for my thesis — he always made sure I was understanding the material and learning well.”

On exploring the liberal arts:
“I was on the rowing team for a little. I joined Ultimate. I took classes from a bunch of different departments — and then I finally kind of homed in. You never know what connections you’ll make or what path you’ll find. �ֲ���ý is great at that.”

On work, purpose, and friendship:
“I’m going to miss my coworkers at Purposeful Work, helping other students, and of course, my friends. I just love coming home and having them as support.”

Aneeza Ahmad

A double major in environmental studies and philosophy from Sharon, Mass., Ahmad was a Purposeful Work peer advisor, a leader of the Muslim Student Association, and a violinist in the Small Ensembles Club, and she completed an honors thesis on the concept of a ‘good farmer’ in Maine by centering Wabanaki, white, and Somali Bantu farming perspectives.

On a caring campus:

“At �ֲ���ý, you are surrounded by people who care deeply about you and your success, and you are gifted with the beauty and surprises of Maine’s stunning landscape. You feel, with unwavering certainty, that you are home. That is what I will miss the most.”

On taking a chance:

“Try out that new sport or club, take that fun class outside of your major, have lunch with your professor, even if all of these things make you nervous.”

On the freedom of college life: 

“You are awarded the freedom and support to explore your intellectual and personal curiosities as far as you are willing to chase them.”

Danny Zuniga Zarat

A double major in art and visual culture and in Latin American and Latinx studies from Houston, Texas, Zuniga Zarat exhibited his artwork at this year’s Senior Thesis Exhibition, presenting work in charcoal, performance, and video.

On friendships that became family:
“Some friends became family along the way, and now that we’re stepping into adulthood, that’s going to be the hardest part: from seeing each other every day, to suddenly living our own lives.”

On following the heart through the liberal arts:
“Make use of the liberal arts. Take dance or theater or whatever calls to you. When you’re a senior, you’ll look back and say, ‘I did it because it’s what my heart desired.’”

On what he’ll miss most:
“I’ll miss the community I’ve created. Now that we’re stepping into adulthood, leaving that behind will be tough — but I know we’ll all manage somehow.”

On a recent Thursday, Jose Carmona ’25, a politics major from Chicago, walked a few blocks from campus to see Carmen Thibodeau at her home. He’s been doing this throughout his four years at �ֲ���ý, visiting the woman he considers his Lewiston grandmother. 

Thibodeau gives him everything from life advice to lemonade on these visits. He does his homework on her couch, and then they might catch up on whatever show they’re watching together (Brilliant Minds is a current favorite) while her 14-year-old dog, Sally, circles around them both. It’s cozy, like family. 

And at this point, the Thibodeaus and the Carmonas practically are family, because Jose is not the first of this Chicago-to-�ֲ���ý family to visit the tidy green house near campus. This relationship spans 11 years and three more Carmona siblings: Jose’s brother and two sisters. 

On Sunday, May 25, Jose will be the last of the Carmona siblings to graduate from �ֲ���ý, following in the footsteps of Christopher, age 29, and Alanis, age 28, both members of the Class of 2018, and Carolina, who graduated in 2022. Each of them, during their journey through �ֲ���ý, formed deep bonds with Carmen Thibodeau, her daughter Kristen, and, before his death in 2022, Carmen’s husband, Richard.

The highlights of their times together fill a few pages of the notebook sitting on the kitchen table in front of Carmen. She’s jotted them down in preparation for an interview. They’ve hit all manner of Maine hot spots, from lighthouses to apple orchards to Height of Land, near Rumford, where she and her husband grew up, and the Fryeburg Fair (the draft horses were a big hit). Her daughter, Kristen, took Jose to see Stephen King’s place in Bangor last fall. Mother and daughter bought Jose his first legal drink on his birthday at Mac’s Grill in Auburn.

There have been Easters and Thanksgivings together. There’s a Mexican restaurant in South Portland that Kristen found which made the siblings feel like they were experiencing something akin to their mother Rosa’s legendary cooking. A shelving unit in the garage was devoted to summer storage for the Carmonas. Through these years there have been many airport runs. Farewells, but always greetings again in the fall because there has been at least one Carmona attending �ֲ���ý since 2014 and a spot on the couch for them. Roommate problems? Starbucks cravings? Call Carmen. 

She’s retired, having started her career at the Oxford Paper Mill in Rumford out of high school, taking a break when she had her daughter and son, then working at Liberty Mutual insurance in Lewiston for 30 years. She keeps very busy, helping neighbors with a multitude of errands and appointments. She’s got a 9-year-old grandson. But the last of the Carmonas graduating from �ֲ���ý is a landmark.

 “And when they leave, it’s not going to be good,” Thibodeau says. 

Then she smiles and her eyes light up. “One of the kids one time said, ‘Well maybe we could send one of the dogs.’” (Back home in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood, the family has four dogs.) At least one Carmona will still be relatively close by; Alanis is just finishing her third year of a Ph.D. program in cancer metabolism at the Harvard School of Public Health and she pops up to see Thibodeau when she can. 

Just how did this relationship come to be? As far as Thibodeau is concerned, it’s not particularly complicated. “They are so special and so nice, and the parents are so appreciative, how can you not? You know what I’m saying?”

But the story actually goes back to 2011, when Richard was a regular visitor to the �ֲ���ý campus to walk their Siberian husky, Wyatt. Early one spring day, he struck up a conversation with a student named Uriel Gonzalez, a senior from Texas. Gonzalez had been noticing Richard and the beauty of the dog for years (“it’s just not a dog you see anywhere”) and exchanging casual hellos. But that day they talked, and Richard mentioned he was looking forward to seeing the Senior Thesis Exhibition, particularly so he would see artwork by a senior he’d read about who wove indigenous influenced themes into his work. “And I said, ‘Well, I’m the artist,’” Gonzalez remembers.

“My husband runs home with the dog,” Carmen Thibodeau says. “My cousin Linda was visiting from California and we were sitting here in our PJs and having tea. And he comes in, ‘Hurry up, hurry up, we got to go to the museum right now because we’re going to see this artist’s work and he’s coming over for a visit after.’”

Richard, a licensed practical nurse, worked in eldercare in Lewiston and, prior to that, at one of the state’s psychiatric hospitals, in Augusta. He was an avid reader, Carmen says, and “he could talk to anyone about anything.” 

Gonzalez and the Thibodeaus became fast friends. After graduating, Gonzalez took a job in �ֲ���ý Admission and stayed in Lewiston for nearly two years, stopping by the Thibodeaus’ regularly. “They had a garden going and they’d send me home with jalapeños and tomatoes,” he recalls. And sometimes he stayed for dinner. “Commons is obviously great food but sometimes you need a little bit of a changeup.” They became close. “They’re just very genuine, sweet people.” Gonzalez was in the process of becoming a U.S. citizen at that time — Richard had urged him to do so — and the Thibodeaus were there for the citizenship ceremony when it became official.  

In 2013, Gonzalez left Admission and took a job as a college counselor at a charter high school in Chicago. There he made sure he introduced families to the idea that a small liberal arts college, like �ֲ���ý, could be accessible to topnotch students regardless of their financial status. Because the Carmonas had two siblings in the same class year at the school, this message had particular resonance. After Christopher and Alanis were both accepted to �ֲ���ý, they came to tell Gonzalez. “Obviously I’m over the moon,” he said.

Christopher was ready to pack his bags for Lewiston, but it wasn’t an automatic yes for Alanis; “I was very very attached to my mom,” she says. “And very scared of leaving.” Gonzalez understood. His visit to �ֲ���ý at age 17 for the college’s fly-in Prologue program was his first time on an airplane. “We talked a lot about the transition, being away from home,” he said. “And I knew I wanted to connect them to the support network I had there.” 

“It was almost like that instant connection — you could tell they wanted grandkids as much as we wanted grandparents.”

Alanis recalls getting an email from Carmen and Richard during her and Christopher’s first couple of weeks on campus. Would they like to come over? Richard could pick them up. “And I was like, OK, we’re putting a lot of trust out there.” But as soon as they met Richard at Commons, any fears disappeared.

“He was just instantly such a funny character,” Alanis said. “He gave me grandpa vibes.” When they walked into the Thibodeau house and met Carmen and the new husky, Nikita, the good vibes continued.

“They didn’t have grandkids at the time, and our grandparents had already passed,” Alanis said. “So I think it was almost like that instant connection — you could tell they wanted grandkids as much as we wanted grandparents.”

Being from the Midwest, the brother-sister duo, born 10 months apart and dubbed the “Chicago twins” by the Thibodeaus, didn’t know much about Maine. “Other than it’s a vacation land and �ֲ���ý is there, and there’s water, and Portland,” Alanis said, laughing. “So like dutiful grandparents, they really just showed us all around Maine. And soon enough we fell in love with Maine.”

It was on a trip to L.L.Bean, where Carmen first heard Christopher speaking Spanish. His dad, Jose, had called while they were inside the store. “I just wanted to follow Christopher around,” she said. “I loved listening to him speak Spanish. It was just beautiful.” 

Christopher majored in economics and Alanis in biochemistry. Both minored in Chinese. “The semesters came and went. But the Thibodeaus were always there,” Alanis remembers. “They kind of just became our family.”

By the time of their Commencement, their younger sister, Carolina, after a flirtation with another NESCAC school, was committed to coming to �ֲ���ý that fall. But unlike her older siblings, she’d be coming solo. At a party to celebrate graduation, Carmen remembers Rosa Carmona trying to express her gratitude for all that the Thibodeaus had done for Christopher and Alanis, and would do for Carolina. “We were kind of all crying,” Carmen said. “And she was just saying, ‘You don’t know how happy and good I feel to know that you and Richard are here for the kids.’” 

During that weekend in 2018, Jose, just 15 at the time, put on his big brother’s graduation gown in a hallway in Chu. He remembers thinking, “I’ll recreate this moment someday, in my own robe.”

In fall 2020, he applied to �ֲ���ý early decision. He and Carolina, who like Christopher majored in economics, overlapped on campus for one year, when she was a senior. “I would go to her dorm all the time.” She, along with her friend group, helped with his transition to life away from home. So did one of his first professors, Scott Balcomb ’75, then a lecturer in mathematics.

“I would always go to his office hours, even when I didn’t have class with him anymore,” Jose said. 

“You can feel the goodness in him,” Balcomb says. “He was just so incredibly open. If I asked him a question or if he asked me a question, he really wanted to know whatever I thought. It was not like he was just being nice to the old man.” 

Jose went on to take two more courses with Balcomb, both in calculus, not the easiest subject. This made Balcomb reflect on something essential he had learned himself as a �ֲ���ý student arriving in 1971. “�ֲ���ý provided the challenge that if I would work really hard, I could learn far more than I ever thought I could. But to do that, you had to take the challenge. It wasn’t a one-way street. They presented the challenge, and you had to accept it. That’s been my experience with Jose. I presented the challenge to him, and he accepted it and met it. That is just lovely to see. To me, that’s what �ֲ���ý should be about.” 

The other day, when Carmen found out how Jose did on his thesis (A+) she texted a few emojis. Exclamation points. Astonished face. Prayer hands and then a big thumbs up. In a few days, he’ll be bound for Chicago and a job as an analyst at J.P. Morgan. If you ask Carmen if she might take on another �ֲ���ý student as an informal host grandmother, she’ll shake her head. The Carmonas were special.

If you ask Jose, he has another take:

“I think after we go, she’ll probably find another student that needs help, just because she’s so helpful. And I would want that for someone else. I would want someone to have someone they can rely on and go to for advice. Maybe not completely depend on her, just because she is also a very busy lady. But if she does find a student that needs it, I would love that.” 

When Aanika Patel ’25 of Needham, Mass., arrived at �ֲ���ý, she expected the experience to be, as oft-described, the best four years of her life.

Patel soon realized that her time in college wasn’t about chasing a superlative, but instead paying attention to all the moments, both ups and downs, that form the �ֲ���ý experience — and make a campus not just another place, but a home. 

For Patel, who will deliver this year’s Senior Address, the memories that stand out the most are those characterized by human connection and a sense of place — the joy of reuniting with her best friend in Commons after study abroad, watching first-year students fearlessly join the club women’s soccer team she co-created, and, two years ago, being inspired while listening to her friend Rishi Madnani ’23 offer the Senior Address.

And, as she’ll talk about in her speech on Sunday, the power of place came through during a transformational hike up Mount David in the dead of winter for a class. 

Such moments, and the skills and relationships that they beget, are key resources in preparing to embrace life beyond �ֲ���ý, Patel says.

Alexandra DeMarco of �ֲ���ý Communications and Marketing spoke recently with Patel. The following is a condensed and edited version of their conversation.

First things first, could you tell me about why you wanted to give the senior speech?

The former president of the South Asian Student Association, Rishi Madnani ’23, gave the Senior Address two years ago. I remember sitting there, watching him reflect on his time at �ֲ���ý. I was moved at how he captured the �ֲ���ý experience and the influence it has on a person. Since then, I’ve hoped for the opportunity to do the same. I love our class and wanted the chance to honor how much the people and moments here have been fundamental not only to my experience in college, but also the person I will be out in the world. 

What is your theme?

Place and the environment. 

My sophomore year, I took “Politics of Wildlife Conservation” with [Clark A. Griffith Professor of Environmental Studies] Sonja Pieck.

I sat in that class and in the second week, something just clicked for me. I was like, wow, everything is so interconnected. All living things exist because they are reliant on each other, and in the case of that course, it was that national parks are influenced by socio-political, economic, and scientific factors. These connections are what can make or break an environment, because all actants have their own histories, too. 

My speech talks about how “place” is a network of connections, relationships, and histories. You watch how land is impacted by those who interact with it and how. �ֲ���ý carries the histories of all the people that are a part of this campus. It’s what makes it so special, and is something that will influence you in the future, too, whether or not you’re conscious of it.

Could you talk about how that interconnectedness that you discovered in environmental studies is mirrored at �ֲ���ý?

The people at �ֲ���ý are the distinguishing factor. That’s what makes �ֲ���ý so interconnected — the kindness and the warmth of people, the willingness to go put yourself out there and know that there are people that have your back. 

You see that in all walks of life here at �ֲ���ý. You see it on the sports teams, and you see it in the arts culture and the theater department. You see it in the classroom, and everybody brings their background and their experiences. There seriously is very little judgment when you interact with a �ֲ���ýie. It’s always about learning from each other and learning from what each other has to offer. That’s what makes �ֲ���ý so special.

Did that theme find its way into your senior thesis?

Yes! My thesis is on the intersection between pathogens, people, and the environment as actants. Cholera is an endemic bacterial disease in the Ganges River and Delta, and it’s a continued cause of sickness and death despite having been eradicated in the Global North world. I looked at the policy that’s been implemented to clean the Ganges River — the Namami Gange Programme — and what might be missing that encourages this disease to continue. 

The Ganges is a very sacred river in India and a body of water I grew up hearing about. So my thesis started off with asking why cholera continues to exist in that river. From there, I looked at the socio-political and economic dimensions of how people have addressed bacterial and infectious disease and contamination in other places in the world. 

There are a lot of nuanced relationships on why the disease might continue to exist. Some of them are religious, some of them are rooted in colonialism, and also just how densely populated the region is. Basically, though, the areas to manage this issue are not connected. The cleaning of the river is not associated with health management, and health management is not associated with caring for the river’s environment.

I basically determined that the Namami Gange Programme does not address the “why” component for wanting to clean the Ganges river in the first place: the cholera pathogen. I applied elements of the hydrosocial cycle and posthuman mutualism to center the pathogen as the thing that binds people, pathogens, and the environment together and evaluated how the existing policy does and does not do that. 

The Ganges River being dirty is inherently a people problem. Cholera continuing to spread is inherently a people problem. But the way to solve it is actually acknowledging the complex relationships between the human and nonhuman and how they interfere with water management. 

Sonja Pieck was my advisor, and she was incredibly, incredibly resourceful and helpful for this project. She was so supportive and understanding, and we were able to talk theory forever. At �ֲ���ý, I’m really lucky in that sense of having that unique model of an individual advisor that really cares about my thesis and my ideas.

Why did you choose to research the Ganges River for your thesis?

I’ve always been interested in public health. What I really, really wanted to do was to write about India. My parents instilled in me a love for my heritage and ensured that I always had this connection with India regardless of where I grew up. Their dedication to my cultural upbringing is what inspired this thesis and the want to give back to a place that makes up so much of who I am. 

What are some of the lessons that stick out to you that you’ve learned from your peers, your professors, and other community members?

This year, I took part in co-founding the women’s club soccer team with a handful of friends. What I learned most from the experience wasn’t actually getting the team off the ground, but watching a few freshmen who joined the team and had never played soccer before. They put themselves out there in a completely new environment, and it was incredible to witness. 

I saw all my friends getting together to try and make a supportive and welcoming environment for the team. That kind of culture, where people genuinely look out for each other, feels uniquely �ֲ���ý. Another one is persevering and sticking through whatever gets thrown your way. Sophomore year, Hoi Ning Ngai, [director of employer engagement and business advising at the Center for Purposeful Work], really became a mentor. 

What I learned from her is that in any place that you end up in, not everything is going to be perfect, but it’s what you make out of the things that are put in front of you  — what you take away from each experience and how you carry it with you to the next one —  that is seriously important. 

You have completed a couple of internships while you’ve been at �ֲ���ý. What would you say to fellow students and incoming students about the value of internships?

Internships give you a perspective of learning, skill-building, and working with people that you can’t really get in a classroom environment. They produce and force you to get experience. Every internship that I had, I used it as a jumping point to the next opportunity, and I learned a lot about myself along the way. 

You are very passionate about environmental studies, and you also have a business mind. Could you tell me about how those two interests intersect for you?

I picked environmental studies as a major because it teaches you a mindset of awareness of the things around you and how you can improve them, even when it seems out of reach, and what tools might be necessary to get to that point. Business is the same type of problem solving just in, perhaps, slightly different contexts. I seriously believe that a lot of the issues the planet faces can be boiled down to people and the things that they face, and business is a way to understand that in a grounded way. 

You studied abroad in Stockholm and London. What were those experiences like, and what can you say about the value that studying abroad added to your educational experience?

I lived in Sweden for a year when I was younger, so going back to Stockholm, specifically, was like rediscovering a part of myself that I left there. Even though I only studied abroad for four months, I learned so much about what it means to be present and experience yourself in the contexts of a new place. You are so uniquely out of your comfort zone that afterward, everything else doesn’t seem as big and scary as it used to be. You learn to rely on just you and what you have to navigate the new place you’re in. 

I tell everybody, all the underclassmen I know, to go abroad. Finding that sense of place in the foreign environments you’re put into shows just how capable you are. I was reminded how to be curious and stay grounded. 

What role have extracurricular activities played in forming your community at �ֲ���ý?

Aside from women’s club soccer, I’m also president of the South Asian Student Association and president of the Bollywood Dance Team. It’s really cool to see how much �ֲ���ý has an interest in supporting students of color on this campus as well as just various cultures. 

What I loved and wanted as part of my college experience was to have a connection to my heritage. Coming here and meeting people that cherish their South Asian culture in the same way brought a feeling of home to this campus. 

Bollywood Dance is my creative outlet. I grew up doing Indian Classical Dance (Bharatnatyam, Odissi, and Kuchipudi), so coming to �ֲ���ý and learning a new, more modern style of dance was an exciting challenge. I have this belief that everyone knows how to dance. As long as you’re willing to put yourself out there, there’s really nothing to be afraid of. 

During the SASA mock wedding each year, we teach dances to everyone who wants to get involved. In South Asian weddings, it is really common for family members and friends of the people getting married to do dances. I got “married” this year, and it was so much fun to dance alongside my friends. 

What characteristics have you come to value in the people around you?

Warmth, kindness, sense of self, and groundedness. At �ֲ���ý, people are uniquely proud of what they offer, and I admire how much people are excited to share with others who are interested in learning. 

My parents are very driven and have been incredible role models. They really inspired me to find a sense of place in my culture, as well as the other spaces I might end up in. They’ve always encouraged me to have these experiences with others and give back to the communities that have contributed to my success. That’s something I want to do with my life, with my job, with my degree.

Do you have any advice for incoming students?

What helped me get through �ֲ���ý successfully was the friendships I made with upperclassmen. The way you can do that is by putting yourself into club spaces and being proactive as a freshman. The other piece of advice I have is enjoying your college experience for everything that it offers. For me it looked like venturing out into nature having never been comfortable with it. 

I came into college thinking, “These are going to be the best four years of your life, period.” As I went through college, though, I realized that that’s too much pressure to put on four years, but I can still find positives or joy and excitement in the little things that are in front of me. I learned to love going on long hikes and spending hours out at night stargazing, I learned to pause and appreciate the things around me that are so much larger and have been there so much longer than I have. Those little things are incredibly special to the place and the time that you’re at. 

If you could pick one moment that defines your �ֲ���ý career, what would it be?

I met my best friend at �ֲ���ý on minute one of move-in day freshman year, right before my parents left.

When I came back to �ֲ���ý after studying abroad, when I saw her in Commons — that was the loudest I’ve ever shrieked. Everyone was staring. I just gave her the biggest hug.

Why I say it defines my �ֲ���ý career is because the friendship withstood time. I realized how much the people are the place, and it was a core memory for me. 

You have postgraduate plans — you’ll be an energy consultant at the global energy analytics firm Wood McKenzie. At this moment in your life, how would you describe your aspirations for the future?

I just want to make an impact in the world. I want to do good for people in some way, shape, or form. 

I really hope that I start forming my own community and family the way that my parents have. This year, I’ve really learned that having your people makes your moments and achievements worth celebrating. That love is what keeps you going. 

In the future I hope to dedicate my career to helping people. I want to make sure that what I did and what I learned makes an impact on other people’s lives, as much as my education and my upbringing has made on me. 

Seeking to honor both �ֲ���ý and the community that has been the Class of 2025’s home for four years, E.J. Holm ’25 of Hamilton, N.Y., found inspiration for this year’s ivy stone design in the grid of city streets surrounding campus.

Departing from the traditional campus motifs of past ivy stones, Holm’s design for the Class of 2025 features a stylized line map of downtown Lewiston–Auburn marked with a heart — denoting �ֲ���ý’ location in the city and the city’s place in the hearts of the graduating class.

“The stone represents the connection to place that I found in my time at �ֲ���ý — the connection to campus and Lewiston as a whole,” Holm says.

Though Holm didn’t originally intend for the heart to have a double meaning, they soon realized its twofold symbolism: a recognition of �ֲ���ý as the Class of 2025’s home for the past four years, and a remembrance of the strength and resilience of the Lewiston community in the wake of the October 2023 shootings.

“I didn’t realize that that was part of what I was expressing,” Holm says. “Now that feels like a natural part of the design, to express that kind of love for the community.”

On May 14, Holm’s design joined the ranks of more than 130 other ivy stones that dot buildings around campus, reflecting a �ֲ���ý graduation tradition that dates to 1878. The new stone is along the southeast side of Pettengill Hall, at the bottom of a sloping green lawn. 

Holm, who enjoys making charcoal drawings, created this year’s design by layering images from Google Maps over one another in the digital art program Krita, then tracing the streets and coloring in the Androscoggin River that bisects, and connects, Lewiston and Auburn.

An environmental studies major with a minor in mathematics, Holm learned that their ivy stone design had been selected while finishing their senior thesis, which models algal growth in freshwater lake ecosystems.

“I was feeling really, really stressed, and it was such a weird feeling of the external stress versus the internal joy, and being so excited that the stone was going to be real versus the disbelief,” Holm says.

Helping to make the experience even more real was the chance to assist Ron Tardif, a Facility Services mason who installs the ivy stone each May, with this year’s installation. As Holm feathered mortar in place, Tardif looked on approvingly. “You’ve never done this before. You’ve seen it for 30 seconds, and you’re an old hand at it!”

Throughout their time at �ֲ���ý, Holm has made Maine their home both by volunteering in the Lewiston community and exploring Maine’s outdoor offerings, with visits to sites like Acadia National Park and Mount Katahdin.

“I’ve really enjoyed not only getting to experience Lewiston in my time at �ֲ���ý, but also getting to experience Maine as a whole,” Holm says. “I really treasure that connection to being in a place for four years and what that means.”

On campus, Holm played violin in the �ֲ���ý College Orchestra for four years and is currently the president of the �ֲ���ý Discordians, a community-oriented gaming and gathering club. 

“What I’ve learned is to really cherish the relationships that you build with people around you,” Holm says. “You won’t always be able to see those people every day.”

Angela Duckworth, a prominent professor of psychology specializing in the concepts of grit and perseverance and their relationship to education, leadership, and personal development, will deliver the �ֲ���ý College Commencement address on Sunday, May 25, 2025. 

Author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, a cultural phenomenon that stayed on The New York Times bestseller list for 164 weeks, Duckworth will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters degree and be joined by three other honorary degree recipients:

• Mary Bonauto, the pioneering civil rights attorney whose landmark advocacy helped establish marriage equality in the U.S., will receive a Doctor of Laws degree. 
• Stanley Nelson, an award-winning documentary filmmaker whose work amplifies untold histories and who mentors emerging filmmakers of color, will receive a Doctor of Fine Arts degree.
• Deval Patrick, former governor of Massachusetts and a champion of public leadership and civic engagement, will receive a Doctor of Laws degree.

“This year’s honorary degree recipients embody the �ֲ���ý values of leadership, creativity, resilience, and purpose,” said President Garry W. Jenkins. “From expanding civil rights and redefining character development to telling our stories and advancing the public good, these individuals have shaped the world in ways that should resonate deeply with our graduates and their families.”

The 159th Commencement ceremony begins on Sunday, May 25, at 10 a.m. on the Historic Quad, with a livestream available on the �ֲ���ý College website and social media platforms.

Mary Bonauto

The architect of legal strategies that advance equality, Mary Bonauto is a trailblazer in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights. In 2015, she successfully argued Obergefell v. Hodges before the U.S. Supreme Court, which struck down state bans on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional, and in 2003 led the way to legal victory in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, which made Massachusetts the first state to legalize same-sex marriage.

Bonauto is senior director of civil rights and legal strategies at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law). A 2014 MacArthur Fellow, Bonauto was recognized for her work to ensure “equal treatment and dignity for all people” and for “influencing debates about the relationship between the law and momentous social change.” In January 2025, President Joe Biden awarded her the Presidential Citizens Medal, one of the nation’s highest civilian honors, for her contributions to democracy and justice. 

A longtime resident of Maine, Bonauto began her legal career in the Pine Tree State in 1987 during the height of the AIDS epidemic, establishing a pro bono practice to include discrimination issues and gaps in the law as to LGBTQ people and families. Thirty years ago this spring, she took a leading role in fighting a statewide referendum in Maine that sought to bar legal protections for LGBTQ+ individuals. 

Bonauto graduated from Hamilton College, majoring in history and comparative literature with membership in Phi Beta Kappa, and earned a law degree from Northeastern University School of Law. Her profound influence in the fight for equality led former Massachusetts congressman Barney Frank to describe her as “the LGBT community’s equivalent of Thurgood Marshall.” Bonauto deflects acclaim, saying, “This movement has involved so many people for so many decades that I feel a completely inadequate stand-in for all of those millions of people, for all they have done.”

Angela Duckworth

A leading voice in the study of human behavior, Angela Duckworth has revolutionized our understanding of resilience and success. Her research has also advanced insights into how people make choices in real-world contexts, from education to public health.

Using research data from West Point cadets, National Spelling Bee finalists, novice teachers, sales professionals, entrepreneurs, and other high-achieving individuals, Duckworth published Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance in 2016. A cultural phenomenon and No. 1 international bestseller, the book has shaped the way educators, business leaders, and individuals approach personal growth. With more than 35 million views, her TED Talk on grit is one of the most viewed of all time. 

Duckworth is the Rosa Lee and Egbert Chang Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, where she is also the faculty co-director of the Penn-Wharton Behavior Change for Good Initiative and Wharton People Analytics. She has advised the World Bank, NBA and NFL teams, and Fortune 500 CEOs, served as a McKinsey management consultant, and co-founded Character Lab, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing scientific insights that help children thrive.

A former math and science teacher at public schools in New York City, San Francisco, and Philadelphia, Duckworth is a 2013 MacArthur Fellow, selected for “clarifying the role that intellectual strengths and personality traits play in educational achievement” and for “providing an alternative to the focus on cognitive skills now dominant in American education practice.” Prior to her career in research, she founded a summer school for underserved children that was profiled as a Harvard Kennedy School case study. She earned a bachelor’s degree in neurobiology from Harvard College, a master of science in neuroscience at Oxford as a Marshall Scholar, and a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.

Stanley Nelson

A multiple Emmy Award–winning filmmaker and recipient of the National Humanities Medal, Stanley Nelson is a director, writer, and producer of documentaries that capture the struggles and triumphs of the American experience, particularly through the lens of Black history and civil rights.

Through his more than 30 films, including Freedom Riders, Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution, The Murder of Emmett Till, and Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, Nelson has shaped public memory and historical discourse while elevating and amplifying voices never before heard. “What I’m trying to do is part detective,” he once said. “There’s a feeling that we all know about the civil rights movement. So part of it is finding new and exciting voices that we haven’t heard.”

A 2002 MacArthur Fellow, Nelson is an American Film Institute Guggenheim Symposium honoree and is mentoring a new generation of filmmakers of color through Firelight Media, an incubator for underrepresented voices in documentary film that he co-founded with his wife, the writer and producer Marcia Smith. In 2013, President Barack Obama presented the filmmaker with the National Medal in the Humanities. In 2022, Nelson received his first Oscar nomination for Attica, a documentary about the 1971 prison uprising, which won Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary from the Directors Guild of America.

In a 2020 New York Times story on documentary film’s role in advancing racial justice, published in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, Nelson said that moving images are “responsible for people getting out on the streets all over the country. You don’t have to start a movement, there’s already something happening and you can just join in.” Nelson earned a bachelor’s degree from the Leonard Davis Film School at the City College of New York.

Deval Patrick

Born on Chicago’s South Side, Deval Patrick has spent a lifetime championing justice, opportunity, and servant leadership. As governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015, he led the Commonwealth to a 25-year employment high and top national rankings in student achievement, healthcare coverage, entrepreneurial activity, and veterans services. He defended marriage equality and led the state’s response to the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013.

Before serving as governor, Patrick was a partner at two Boston law firms, an executive at two Fortune 50 companies, and a civil rights attorney at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, where he litigated cases involving voting rights and the death penalty. Under President Bill Clinton, he was the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, where his cases included the response to a wave of arsons targeting Black churches — the largest criminal investigation in U.S. history prior to 9/11. 

After leaving office, Patrick founded and led Bain Capital Double Impact, a fund to deliver both market returns and positive social and environmental impact. He was the founding chair of Our Generation Speaks, which brings together young Israeli and Palestinian leaders through entrepreneurship. Patrick is also the author of two books, A Reason to Believe and Faith in the Dream, which reflect on his commitment to servant leadership. A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, he is currently the David R. Gergen Professor of Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School and a senior partner at The Vistria Group, a mission-driven investment firm.

In 2020, speaking to �ֲ���ý alumni as the inaugural speaker for the Benjamin Mays Black Alumni Society, he noted that “government has had a role to play in helping people help themselves” — an apt reminder for anyone who has lived the American Dream.

Want to show your Bobcat pride? Celebrate your graduate with these lawn sign designs. Just download and order through your local copy & print business. Download the printable PDF to see the complete collection.

Printable Lawn Sign for 2025 Families

• Download the PDF 12×18
• Download the PDF 18×24

Thumbnail previews of each option:

Social Media Frames

Portrait sessions are provided to every senior at no charge, with an option to purchase these portraits from These senior portraits are separate from those taken at Commencement in your caps and gowns though students will have the option to take portraits in a cap and gown. 

PortraitEFX of Maine will offer seniors one last opportunity on campus on May 14th to take a senior portrait. Students can sign up by visiting this website:  . The event code for this year: �ֲ���ý Spring 2025. Students will then be prompted to create their one unique password. This service comes at no charge to students. Students and their families can choose to purchase the portraits taken by PortraitEFX but they are under no obligation to do so. Here are the details:

• When: May 14th from 9am to 8pm
• Where: Commons 221/222
• How to sign up: You can sign up online by visiting tor by clicking this link:  . The event code is �ֲ���ý Spring 2025.
• Alternatives: Students who are unable to take portraits on May 14th on campus may call PortraitEFX  directly  at 207- 657-6372 to arrange for a portrait to be taken at their studio at 12 Portland Road, Gray Maine.