As a student, Muskan Verma ā€™21 of Shimla, India, always paid attention to the ivy stones around campus, particularly the newer ones she saw while passing Pettengill Hall.

Ivy stones have been placed on campus buildings since 1879 as a rite of graduation; old or new, they feature familiar elements. Like ivy, for one, seen on most of them. Other campus features pop up occasionally, like Hathorn and its bell tower (in closeup in 2020, 1973 and 1963 and from a distance in 2019), and lantern and lamp motifs (1980, 2005, and 2014). The Class of 1999 went a little meta, sketching bricks on their design along with the ivy.

ā€œWhat if ours could look different?ā€ Verma asked herself.

The best way to make that happen, she reasoned, was to do it herself. Regardless of the outcome of the competition, even the prospect of having something sheā€™d made etched in stone was a good motivator. ā€œI didnā€™t really expect my submission to be selected,ā€ she says. ā€œI just wanted to give it a try.ā€

Yet the rhetoric and theater majorā€™s design was indeed selected, by a vote of the senior class. (Voters did not know who the designers were.) It now adorns Pettengill itself, installed by ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ mason Ron Tardif on May 25, just to the right of the front door entrance.

It features a few very specific motifs. Thereā€™s the Bobcat (not unusual, the Bobcat can also be found on 2011ā€™s and 1929ā€™s stone) but just below the catā€™s noble face is a sign of the times circa 2020ā€“21: a pandemic face covering.

ā€œAt first I thought about not including anything related to COVID-19 in the design,ā€ Verma says. ā€œBut it felt incomplete to me. It would be a disservice to everyone who was adversely affected by this pandemic in different ways to completely skip over a tough but important part of our ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ experience.ā€

The mask, Verma felt, was the ā€œmost universal symbol for the pandemicā€ but it was also a reminder of one good thing: ā€œthe efforts the ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ community put in to keep each other safe.ā€ 

She softened it by adding a few ivy leaves growing around it, a very deliberate choice to represent how the campus community grew from the experience.  ā€œI wanted to make it look dynamic, hopeful and a step towards better,ā€ she says.

Verma also made the bold move of including a raised fist, the century-old, iconic symbol of resistance and activism made freshly ascendent in the Black Lives Matter movement. For a class that witnessed the country explode in powerful protest after the June 2020 murder of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis, it made great sense to Verma that the symbol be present.

ā€Our class has been around to experience and more importantly, stand up and highlight that by protesting the oppression of marginalized people,ā€ she says. Included in that was taking a stand close to home, to interrogate the story of ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ā€™ founding and to issue a wake-up call to ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ ā€œto do more in the struggle for equity, inclusion and antiracism.ā€

ā€œTo me, [the fist] symbolizes the non-violent strength of the masses. People power,ā€ she says, mentioning causes like feminism, socialism, labor rights, and the Black Power movement. ā€œBut thatā€™s just a personal take. I understand different people and generations associate it with different types of resistance.ā€

It was already resonating even before the mortar was dry. “Power to the people,” said Tardif approvingly as he put the finishing touches on the 2021 ivy stone.

This is one of the very few ivy stones to make direct reference to contemporary events. The Class of 1970 seems to feature the Earth ā€” though it could be the sun ā€” on its stone, perhaps in homage to Earth Day, first held in April 1970.

The 1946 stone includes what looks like a shipā€™s wheel, a nice nod to the presence of the Navy at ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ during their years. And the 2015 stone is illustrated with palindromic binary code ā€” 11111011111 ā€” that signifies the numerals 2015 to reflect the digital age. 

Ultimately though, for Verma, ā€œthis was just as much a symbol of the power of the student body that makes up this college and holds the power to make change.ā€

Vermaā€™s hope is that people who see the stone will think of the resilience of the Class of 2021. It should stand as a symbol, ā€œthat our work isnā€™t yet done and that resistance will be even more important when we are out there, not together anymore, but still a community.ā€ Ideally, the message is personal for her classmates. ā€œI hope the design represents at least in some ways, every single person from my class and that they are able to think of our time here when they come across it.ā€

Below are the complete video recordings of the college’s two Commencement 2021 ceremonies, morning and afternoon, on May 27. Each features these element:

• Processional
• Welcome: President Clayton Spencer
• Senior Address: Nicole Kumbula (morning) Munashe Machoko (afternoon)
• Presentation of Honorands and Honorand Remarks (remote)
  Yvon V. Chouinard
  Vanessa L. German
  Rhiannon Giddens
  Chase B. Strangio
• Presentation of the Class of 2021
• Benediction: The Rev. Brittany A. Longsdorf, Multifaith Chaplain

Watch the full morning Commencement ceremony on May 27, 2021

Watch the full afternoon Commencement ceremony on May 27, 2021

One of the things that I say to every ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ student I meet is that, whatever it takes, know yourself and know yourself well.

Engage in the critical self-reflection thatā€™s necessary to really know who you are, who youā€™ve been, and who you want to be. So often we go through the motions of life not thinking about what exactly weā€™re doing and why exactly weā€™re doing it. And then we wonder why we feel unfulfilled.

Life is hard enough ā€” why live it with less intention, meaning, and purpose than we have to? It can be difficult to look inward and think deeply about our whys. Sometimes itā€™s because weā€™ve never done it so we donā€™t know how, sometimes itā€™s because weā€™re worried about what weā€™ll find or not find. And yet, itā€™s through knowing the whys that we find clarity, direction, and focus.

As you reflect on your own lives and next steps, and because you donā€™t all know me yet, I thought Iā€™d share a few thoughts and confessions that you may find helpful ā€” or at the very least sufficiently amusing. I hope youā€™ll get a sense of my whys as well as who I am, who Iā€™ve been, and who I want to be.

You may (and probably should) ask for advice and guidance from others, but you should always be the final arbiter of your own destiny.

To start, Iā€™ll confess that Iā€™ve always wanted a tattoo. Of course, my pain threshold is pretty much non-existent, so it still hasnā€™t happened yet. But Iā€™m only 42, so thereā€™s still plenty of time, right? Specifically, Iā€™ve always wanted a tattoo of a compass, on the back of my neck, with the needle pointing upward. Itā€™s because I know that I am my own true north ā€” and you are yours.

You may (and probably should) ask for advice and guidance from others, but you should always be the final arbiter of your own destiny. As soon as you relinquish your decision-making power, you take a back seat to what could be an amazing journey of your own design. Even if you run into challenges along the way, donā€™t let anyone else take the steering wheel. All of the bumps and detours ā€” they will test you. How you respond to them and what choices you make ultimately contribute to a narrative, a story, a life that’s truly yours.

If I listened to everyoneā€™s ā€œYou must do thisā€ or ā€œYou canā€™t do thatā€ ā€” Iā€™m not sure Iā€™d feel quite as empowered as I do at this point in my life.

Iā€™ll confess that I donā€™t know how to drive, so I really should avoid all car and road references since I honestly have no idea what Iā€™m talking about. I used to have the line: ā€œIā€™m so excited to learn how to drive in Maineā€ in my bio. Six months ago, I specifically asked my colleague Sheila to remove that line. At some point during the pandemic, I decided that I simply donā€™t care enough. Iā€™m a free and independent spirit ā€” a Sagittarius born in the year of the horse ā€” so not knowing how to drive has definitely limited how far Iā€™ve been able to go. 

However, Iā€™ve been able to see more of the world without a license than most would ever think possible. More importantly, I have other things that Iā€™d rather do with my time. As this crazy and intense year has shown us, you never know what life will bring, so you need to figure out what your priorities are, separate from what everyone else has to say. If I listened to everyoneā€™s ā€œYou must do thisā€ or ā€œYou canā€™t do thatā€ ā€” Iā€™m not sure Iā€™d feel quite as empowered as I do at this point in my life. For now, my priorities are: finding community, building relationships, and making friends. And yā€™know what? They all have cars!

Iā€™ll confess that Iā€™ve always been afraid of public speaking. I literally cried when I had to memorize two lines for my fifth-grade play ā€” a play that neither I nor my classmates nor our parents remember the title of three decades later. In school, I hated getting randomly called on in class. At work, I hated making presentations, especially to strangers. I either talked way too fast, jumbled my words, or sounded like a robot. Or some combination of all three.

Unlike driving, though, public speaking is something Iā€™ve always wanted to get better at. I mean, it literally shows up in every aspect of my personal and professional life. And if Iā€™m being completely honest, I know that 1) I have a dramatic streak and 2) Iā€™m a bit of a ham.

When something matters enough, youā€™ll do what you need to. And even if itā€™s not always the best show, try to make it your best effort.

So I took a deep breath and then a deep dive straight into the fear. While I was in grad school, I became a fitness instructor, because what could be more terrifying than having 30 people staring at you, in a wall of mirrors, for 60 minutes? On one occasion, I completely crashed and burned on a routine. No one knew what was going on ā€” including me. It was an epic fail, but no one got injured (thankfully) and the entire class was really supportive. And despite the embarrassment, even I couldnā€™t help laughing about it. 

When I worked at Penn, I signed up for Acting 101. We could take one class for free every semester and this was the motivation I needed. I still remember the shock ā€” and thrill ā€” of being able to memorize 10 whole minutes of dialogue with my scene partner Adriana, a junior who was incredibly patient whenever she sensed my anxiety level rising. I canā€™t say public speaking has gotten that much easier over time, but Iā€™ll own all of the progress Iā€™ve made since that fifth-grade play. When something matters enough, youā€™ll do what you need to. And even if itā€™s not always the best show, try to make it your best effort.

Iā€™ll confess that I hate grass. Especially live grass. With bugs. I grew up in the urban jungle of New York City, where I spent more time on concrete pavement than dirt roads. My family was poor, so I never had the chance to go to sleepaway camp or get exposed to nature in a way that was deeply impactful. So it meant a lot to be able to go away to Dartmouth for college. I couldnā€™t wait to escape the noise and pollution of the big city for the fresh air and mountains of New Hampshire. I also love snow, so I was always so excited for the first snowfall of the year. Of course, when the snow melts and spring arrives, the grass comes out. 

You may have people who dismiss you for your quirks and idiosyncrasies, but the ones who love you are the ones whoā€™ll allow you to be who you are and make space for your strange and special qualities.

So when I say I hate grass, I really mean it. I hate walking in it. I hate sitting in it. I donā€™t even like the smell of it. One spring, my best friend, Derek, really wanted me to watch him play ultimate frisbee on the green. Of course, I immediately said no. And he knew exactly why. Itā€™s not like heā€™d never teased me about it, but he certainly never made me feel bad about it either.

So what did he do? He found the biggest blanket he could find. In my fuzzy memory, it seemed as big as a 10-foot square. He laid it out on the grass and had me sit right in the middle of it. Just me in a sea of blanket. You may have people who dismiss you for your quirks and idiosyncrasies, but the ones who love you are the ones whoā€™ll allow you to be who you are and make space for your strange and special qualities. No strings attached.

Iā€™ll confess that I love shooting. Ever since I met my first-year hallmate Doug, who shot and hunted regularly with his family in Montana, Iā€™d really wanted to try it. Of course, itā€™s not something everyone wants to do and back then I wasnā€™t sure about doing it on my own ā€” I mean, itā€™s not really a city girl hobby. So when I visited my friend Victor from grad school at home in Texas, he made sure the local shooting range was on my itinerary.

Like Doug, heā€™d also grown up shooting, so he was comfortable showing me the ropes. Despite being petite and lightweight myself, to everyoneā€™s surprise, I preferred shooting the .45 ā€” a higher-caliber gun ā€” where I could feel the weight and recoil more intensely. I also hit the bullseye multiple times from 100 yards away. 

For a long time, I used to ascribe that to beginnerā€™s luck, but after shooting more regularly, I realized that Iā€™m pretty good. Itā€™s because Iā€™m careful, and focused, and committed. Over the last six years, Iā€™ve taken group classes, gotten private lessons, and worked on my accuracy and precision. During the pandemic, I even got the chance to shoot a rifle, which had been on my to-do list for some time. 

For me, being able to shoot isnā€™t about causing harm or inflicting pain. It is however about flipping the script on who I can be and what I can do.

Letā€™s be clear. As a 5-foot-2-inch Asian woman, I navigate a multitude ā€” a multitude ā€” of gender and racial stereotypes every single day ā€” ones that constantly frame me as quiet, passive, and weak. And whether the world admits it or not, these stereotypes exist, and they persist, and they continue to impact how others experience me and how I experience them. And because I donā€™t subscribe to all of the assumptions, presumptions, and norms applied to me, I simply want everyone to know that Iā€™m a boss. For me, being able to shoot isnā€™t about causing harm or inflicting pain. It is however about flipping the script on who I can be and what I can do. Whenever I have the chance, I make it a point to challenge the expectations of the world. I strive to be and do more because I know that I can.

Iā€™ll confess that Iā€™m terrible at poker ā€” and anything that requires deception. I wear all of my emotions on my face ā€” from delight to disdain, from glee to gloom. I canā€™t bluff, I canā€™t lie, and if you deserve it, I definitely wonā€™t hesitate to give you side-eye. Whether Iā€™m extremely excited or deeply disappointed, I donā€™t want to hide it. At the end of the day, authenticity is my deepest of values, and all I ever want is to be wholly me. I want to say what Iā€™m thinking and what Iā€™m feeling. I donā€™t ever want people to wonder whatā€™s on my mind.

You have to accept your voice for what it is and what it can do. Embrace it, own it, and use it ā€” hopefully to make the world a better place.

Of course, that hasnā€™t always won me favors, or friends, or followers. Not everyone wants to hear the whole truth and nothing but the truth, especially when itā€™s criticism. You can always work on your diction and framing, your timing and tone. At some point though, you have to be comfortable with your voice and saying what you need to say. You may not always get the response you want and you have to figure out how to navigate that possibility, but you have to accept your voice for what it is and what it can do. Embrace it, own it, and use it ā€” hopefully to make the world a better place.

I hope these confessions have helped you get to know me a little bit better and what I care about. I share them with you earnestly because I want you to be comfortable embracing all of the ways that youā€™ve grown, all of the ways that youā€™re still growing, all of your strange and special qualities, and all of the people who love you for them.

As I like to say, thereā€™s nothing between the lines ā€” what you see is what you get. But if a summary would be helpful, hereā€™s what I hope you heard:

• Believe in yourself and write your own story. Thereā€™s only one author.
• Set your own priorities. Do what you want. Achieve what you want.
• Embrace your fears and become a better version of yourself in the process.
• Find people who love you just the way you are. Keep them around.
• Be fierce and exceed the expectations the world has for you.
• You have one life, one truth, and one voice. Do good with them.

Iā€™m so excited for what the future will bring you as you find your meaning, your purpose, and your pathway. I hope that youā€™ll keep us updated as you imprint yourselves on the minds and hearts of those who have the honor of meeting and knowing you.

Cheers to your success in the world!

After fending off curveball after curveball hurled by COVID-19 during 2020ā€“21, the ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ community today got a pitch to hit out of the park.

On a breezy bluebird May day, the ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ Class of 2021 was able to celebrate an in-person Commencement and all the comforts of its familiar rituals, including words of wisdom and love.

After a yearā€™s absence (2020ā€™s Commencement was entirely virtual, featuring pre-recorded segments), the ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ graduation ceremony returned to its familiar stage, the Coram Library Terrace, in front of physically distanced seniors, family, friends, faculty, and staff seated on the Historic Quad.

And as baseball great Ernie Banks once said, ā€œLetā€™s play two.ā€ To achieve physical distancing, ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ did just that, hosting a daytime Commencement doubleheader, two ceremonies on the Historic Quad, one at 9 a.m. and one at 3 p.m. 

Each ceremony celebrated half the senior class, which all told numbers 469. (We say ā€œcelebratedā€ not ā€œgraduatedā€ due to one of those COVID curveballs, a compressed academic calendar, which means the seniorsā€™ final grades arenā€™t in yet, so they technically havenā€™t graduated just yet.) 

While there was no real thunder on the partly-cloudy day ā€” Wednesday nightā€™s raucous storms had skedaddled by early Thursday morning ā€” the rumbling power of thunder was invoked by President Clayton Spencer in her welcoming remarks, as she quoted from the poem ā€œA House Called Tomorrow,ā€ by Alberto RĆ­os, including these four lines: 

Make us proud. Make yourself proud.
And those who came before you?

When you hear thunder,
Hear it as their applause.

ā€œYou have already made us proud,ā€ Spencer told the seniors. ā€œNow please hear the thunder of our applause.ā€ And boom like that, the audience responded.

ā€˜Something extra specialā€™

ā€œThere will always be something extra special about the Class of 2021, with all that you went through together, and the trust you placed in each other and in the college,ā€ Spencer said in her welcome.

Signaling a theme of the dayā€™s remarks, the hard-tested resilience of the Class of 2021, Spencer lauded the seniorsā€™ contributions to ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ and to the local community throughout their ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ years, and especially during the pandemic.

ā€œYou have knit this campus and community together over the past four yearsā€ through their various activities and ā€œremarkable intellectual accomplishments.ā€ā€œOver the past 15 months, the world has taught us all lessons that we didnā€™t sign up for and probably wouldnā€™t have chosen,ā€ she said.

During the pandemic year of 2020ā€“21, she said, ā€œyour flexibility, your solid efforts ā€” at least until recently ā€” to follow irksome public health guidelinesā€ (a humorous nod to the spread of another communicable phenomenon, spring fever, in recent days), ā€œand your perseverance allowed us to keep the college operating safely, and your lives moving forward, in the face of some pretty high hurdles.ā€

Along with praise came an acknowledgement that the pandemic, and the public-health response to it, had diminished their college experience, creating extreme stress and difficulty. Students had so much less of ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ at their fingertips this year. Some had experienced the deeper distress of family deaths from COVID ā€œat a time when you were not able to gather with loved ones to honor and mourn them.ā€

ā€œFor some of you, the love of learning that brought you to ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ has been stretched to the breaking point by the pace and pressure of modules, the limitations of Zoom, and the loss of the joy and insight that come from the spontaneity of being actually, physically present with classmates on a journey together with a fabulous professor.ā€

Still, she said, the life lessons learned during the pandemic, however hard-earned, ā€œmay stick with you longer than the things we thought we were here to teach you and that you thought you came here to learn.ā€ 

In her benediction, the Rev. Brittany Longsdorf, ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ā€™ multifaith chaplain, offer the hope that, ā€œIn the future, when someone asks you about the challenges youā€™ve faced in your life, you may think of this last year ā€” not with sorrow alone but also with pride and revelation.ā€

As she traditionally does, Spencer ticked off statistics and facts about the class, whose members are from 38 states and the District of Columbia and from 43 countries besides the U.S. Sixty-five seniors are first-generation students. Thirty-two seniors received honors in their major; two of those completed two honors theses.

Forty percent of the class played a varsity sport. Two received Fulbright Student Awards for 2020ā€“21 (fewer than in past years due to pandemic disruptions), and one earned a prestigious Watson Fellowship.

Still a pandemic

To be sure, markers of the pandemic were still seen everywhere today. Along Alumni Walk, where the seniors gather for the traditional academic procession, ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ staff had painted hundreds of pawprints, each 6 feet apart, as another reminder of the physical distancing rule students have lived under for more than a year.

Admission to each ceremony was by ticket only ā€” two tickets per in-person senior ā€” and the seating area in front of Coram Library was enclosed by 112 sections of 7-foot metal crowd-control fencing.

Within the enclosure, each seniorā€™s chair was 6 feet from the next, measured just so by the ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ grounds crew earlier in the week using purpose-cut sections of PVC trim. The guest seats, meanwhile, were charmingly arranged in groups of two. And, of course, everyone was wearing face coverings. (In a nod to the ubiquity of masks in 2020ā€“21 and the concerns of the current era, the seniorsā€™ traditional ivy stone design features a COVID mask, Bobcat, and a Black power fist.)

Because the seating was spread out for physical distancing, the very last row of chairs was a football field away from the Coram stage, back near the flagpole. But binoculars werenā€™t needed: a large video wall displayed with LED clarity the dayā€™s four-camera livestream. 

Echoes of 2020

As joyous as the day was, echoes remained of the Class of 2020ā€™s experience, including its hasty departure last March and a virtual Commencement. (The college plans to welcome the class back when health guidelines allow.) 

The senior member of the ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ faculty, Michael Murray, the Charles Franklin Phillips Professor of Economics, carries the mighty ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ mace at the head of the academic procession at Commencement. Last year, the ā€œprocession,ā€ just Murray and a few others, was pre-recorded on a nearly-empty Quad for the virtual program. 

When he carries the mace, Murray, who has acted in a number of ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ theater productions, imagines performing for an audience. Last year, as he walked, he imagined ā€œall the seniors who I knew who should have been here.ā€

A significant difference

While many elements of the a.m. and p.m. ceremonies were the same, there was one striking difference (besides an entirely different cast of seniors and guests!): two different senior speakers.

Both coincidentally from Zimbabwe, Nicole Kumbula ā€™21 addressed the Aā€“K group in the morning, and Munashe Machoko ā€™21 spoke to the Lā€“Z cohort in the afternoon.

Kumbula invoked the ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ custom of holding the door for a fellow ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ person. The custom is practical ā€” without some help, ā€œthat sandwich box the other person is holding could fall into the snow.ā€ Itā€™s also symbolic, of ā€œsomeone willing to wait a bit, just to make sure the door is open wide enough so that I can enter into the space with them ā€” or at times even before they do.ā€

Even when ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ doors were shut tight during the strictest part of the COVID lockdown last summer, which Kumbula spent on campus, she felt connected to her community by joining with others to make handmade face coverings for the essential ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ campus workers. ā€œThis gave us purpose and something to look forward to once every week.ā€ 

Machoko described the resilience that he learned at ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ before and during the pandemic, ā€œthe ability to know that whatever I might be going through, no matter how unfamiliar, I will certainly figure it out, and so will each and every one of my graduating peers here with me today.ā€

His coursework paid dividends, he added, because it was spiced with the ā€œcamaraderie, collaboration, and mutual respect that make ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ies special.ā€

Watch the full morning Commencement ceremony on May 27, 2021

Watch the full afternoon Commencement ceremony on May 27, 2021

The pandemic necessitated remote presentation of the dayā€™s four honorary degrees. But what may have been lost by not having the honorands present was gained by another difference in this yearā€™s ceremony.

Rather than one honorand delivering a single Commencement address, each offered recorded video remarks that were poignant and pointed, in which the settings themselves underscored the message.

Chase Strangio

Chase Strangio is an ACLU lawyer and trans-rights activist who has been a crucial force behind the most important U.S. Supreme Court victories for LGBTQ rights in the past decade.

He recorded his remarks from his New York City apartment, noting that while it feels ā€œbizarre to be wearing this regalia and speaking to you from my Queens apartment, it also feels quintessentially right now.”

“There are things so fragmented about living in 2021. But there are also things so internally fragmenting about major life transitions and all of the expectations that come with them…. Whatever comes next for each of you, you’ll undoubtedly take with you the lesson that struck me most from the past year: We truly never know what’s coming.”

He said, 

When I graduated from college in 2004, two things I knew for sure were that I would never become a lawyer and I would never live in New York City. Yet here I am speaking to you from my home in New York City, where I’ve lived for more than a decade, practicing law….I keep surprising myself. And that’s one of the gifts of being alive, I have found. I find comfort in living in contradiction, accepting that I definitely don’t know what’s coming, and hoping to meet others and myself with grace, as we all continue to navigate the nonstop project of learning that comes with being human and alive. 

In conferring his citation, Spencer said:

Activist and advocate, challenger and champion, 
You carry the standard and raise the bar for justice and visibility
Crafting a better future by breaking with an unjust past.

Vanessa German

Vanessa German recorded her remarks from her , the community creativity center in the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh. The building was seriously damaged by a Feb. 14 fire.

ā€œWhen Art House was on fire, some of my best friends in the city came and they just stood by me,ā€ she said. Unfortunately we had to stand and watch the house burn. But I have so much gratitude for them. You’re going to need people to stand by you and be in support of you.ā€ 

Then she did a twirl in her cap and gown, ā€œchanneling Megan Thee Stallion,ā€ before continuing her remarks about being kind to oneā€™s self: ā€œI’m graduating into the triumph of loving my whole self wholly.ā€

German said,

There is so much subtle, generative, creative, powerful information swimming around us all the time. And inside of that powerful, magical information are gems of love and gems of deep endurance that are for us. So as you go forward into the world [think] about how you can fully inhabit your humanity and every day, inhabiting the fullness of the miracle of your humanity with as much wisdom and guts and honesty and heart and body and soul as you can muster. 

In conferring German’s degree, Spencer said:

You are the power figure, the poem, the purpose ā€”
Focusing our attention and widening our perspective
Ensuring that art is for ā€” and by ā€” and in celebration of ā€” one and all.

Yvon Chouinard

Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, who was born in Lewiston, delivered his recorded remarks in front of a bright white background, an austere presentation that underscored the simplicity of his message, the state of ā€œour home planet. If you find yourself getting depressed about [climate change], then do something.ā€ 

Chouinard said, 

Climate change is trumping all other problems that we have. David Brower, the environmentalist, said that there’s no business to be done on a dead planet. There’s probably nothing else to be done on a dead planet. I….believe in karma. If you do good work, then good things will happen to you. So I wish all of you graduates the best of luck in doing something about the state of our home planet.

In conferring Chouinard’s degree, Spencer said:

From the humble Androscoggin to the mighty Pacific
You have scaled peaks both topographical and commercial
Giving 100 percent of your passion
For people and planet.

Rhiannon Giddens

Rhiannon Giddens, who recorded her remarks at home in Ireland, is a bluegrass and Americana musician and ethnomusicologist who has peeled back the layers of a historical fraud, the whitewashing of country musicā€™s origins.

She said she felt a connection with ĄÖ²„“«Ć½, noting that Oberlin, her undergraduate college, ā€œis a kind of sister school to ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ with its tradition of activism. This is a really lovely connection for me in a lot of ways.ā€

Giddens said:

As you go out into this uncertain future, I encourage you to find those people who can support you through the challenges, who can give you the ideas and the inspiration and the encouragement to get up off of the floor, who will give you a hand, who don’t ask, ā€œWhy are you down there?ā€ but who just say, ā€œCome on, I was down there yesterday, let’s figure out what we’re going to do together. Find those people, find that energy, because what we all need going forward is the idea that we’re holding each other up.

In conferring Giddens’ degree, Spencer said:

Across years and continents
Between sense of self and the perceptions of the wider world
You find truth in both major and minor keys
Mining meaning from music.

‘You can always return’

At the conclusion of each Commencement ceremony, Longsdorf delivered the benediction. None of us who attended both ceremonies minded hearing it twice:

May you feel in your soul all that you have gained and all that you have added to this place. May you sense in your bones the resilience and courage that has nestled inside of you in your time here. May you know in your heart that this is a home you can always return to. 

With that, it was a doubleheader Commencement sweep, a hard-earned win for the home team.

In what promises to be another highly distinctive ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ graduation, following last yearā€™s virtual edition, this year’s Commencement will feature two complete, in-person ceremonies on May 27.

Each ceremony will accommodate half of this year’s 469 seniors, and audience members will be admitted by ticket only, with each ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ senior who participates in person receiving two guest tickets.

The morning ceremony, for seniors with last names Aā€“K, will begin at 9 a.m., and the afternoon ceremony, for last names Lā€“Z, at 3 p.m.

For our Class of 2021 seniors, here are 21 frequently, and infrequently, asked questions about this year’s Commencement.

1. Whatā€™s different about this year’s ceremony?

The processional, from Lane Hall to the Historic Quad and Coram Library, will take a more direct route rather than heading around the Quad.

It will not involve the tradition of the graduates pausing on either side of the walkway while the president, honorands, and faculty march between them.

2. Whatā€™s the same?

Nearly everything else.

At each ceremony, President Spencer will offer a welcome, followed by the Senior Speakers, presentation of honorary degrees, and seniors celebrating their individual moments of accomplishment by crossing the Coram Terrace as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty Malcolm Hill announces their names. 

Each ceremony will conclude with a benediction by Multifaith Chaplain the Rev. Brittany Longsdorf, after which seniors and guests will have meals available to them near their residences.

3. How do I watch the ceremonies?

The two 2021 Commencement ceremonies will be publicly livestreamed for all to watch:

• ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ Website: /commencement/live/ (via Facebook embed)
• Facebook: .

For the convenience of guests attending in person, the livestream will be displayed on a 20 foot by 10 foot monitor on the Coram Library Terrace, giving the spread-out audience a good view of graduates as they cross the terrace to accept President Spencerā€™s congratulations.

4. Don’t you mean, ā€œwhen they accept their diploma from President Spencerā€?

Er, no. Due to the logistics of this yearā€™s academic calendar, with final exams ending just two days before Commencement and grades not due until June 3 for graduating seniors, they will receive their official diplomas after Commencement by mail in late June.

President Spencer will offer congratulations to each senior as they cross the Coram Terrace, and a diploma case with a greeting. 

And there will be no handshakes this year, for reasons of physical distancing and other COVID-19 protocols.

5. When does a senior officially graduate?

Before Commencement, the Board of Trustees and the ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ faculty will approve ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ degrees to the Class of 2021. The official conferral date, which will be noted on the diploma, will be May 30, 2021, the original date of Commencement.

6. Who are the honorands?

There are four:

Yvon Chouinard, born in Lewiston and founder of Patagonia.

Vanessa German, an artist whose work was celebrated at the ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ Museum of Art last year.

 Rhiannon Giddens, an acclaimed and award-winning musician.

Chase Strangio, a nationally recognized ACLU lawyer and transgender rights advocate.

7. Will they be in person at Commencement?

No, but balancing their virtual appearance will be the fact that each will offer brief recorded remarks. Weā€™ve heard the remarks, and theyā€™re wonderful, both the topics and the context. 

For example, Vanessa German, in full regalia, presented hers from a , the creativity community center in the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh through which fire swept on Feb. 14.

8. Who is the Senior Speaker?

That’s Senior Speakers: Nicole Kumbula and Munashe Machoko, who, by coincidence, are both from Zimbabwe.

9. Are the ceremonies outdoors rain or shine?

Yes. Rain or shine. Rain and shine. Shine and rain. And even if Shinedown comes to play.

As of Friday, the forecast looks mild. Our dry stretch looks to continue.

As far a severe weather, Maine has the lowest average number of days per year with thunderstorms of any state east of the Rocky Mountains. Over the last five years, there has only been one day in May in this area that had thunder.

According to our calculations, there’s a 0.3 percent chance of a thunderstorm in Lewiston, Maine, between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. on May 27.

10. What are the expectations for guests?

All participants and guests at Commencement 2021 are expected to observe public-health guidelines and a Guest Testing and Vaccination Policy

11. Can I buy ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ gear on Commencement Day?

Yes. Though the ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ College Store will be closed to walk-in traffic on May 27, curbside will be fulfilled continuously Monday through Friday from 8am to 4pm.

Customers who place online orders for curbside pickup will receive an email providing them with pickup information.

12. With physical distancing restrictions, where can we have a family photo?

Please to take family photos after the ceremony, away from areas that might be congested and/or the center of campus. The best bet would be to head to your seniorā€™s residence.

This year, guests will not be allowed to leave their seats during the ceremony. A professional photographer will be taking photos of each senior.

13. Will there be a picnic as in the past?

Great food, yes; but picnic, no.

Boxed meals, offering lobster rolls or portobello mushroom sandwiches, will be distributed at four outside locations convenient to seniors and guests: Olin Arts Center (near the Residential Village); the Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library; parking area behind Lane Hall next to Lake Andrews; and on Frye Street.

14. Why no dogs allowed, aside from service animals?

The 2020ā€“21 year has been all about simplifying where ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ can in order to deliver a safe experience for our community. We love our dogs, and in a normal year, where we would not have to worry about physical spacing, folks could move around with their pets ā€” itā€™s just not possible this year.

15. Iā€™m a parent. How do I know what there is for vehicle access for helping my student move out?

ā€œI know there are students who have well-appointed rooms with furniture thatā€™s been with them for four years,ā€ says Associate Dean of Students for Residence Life and Health Education Molly Newton ā€˜11.

When it comes to moving the stuff out, ā€œtrust your senior on this one,ā€ she says. ā€œThey will know how to get a vehicle close to their residence.ā€

16. Can we leave some of our student’s stuff behind, like fans and furniture and rugs, for the collegeā€™s Clean Sweep recycling program?

No, please do not. Due to the pandemic, there is no Clean Sweep in 2021, the collegeā€™s annual garage-sale of items left behind by students when they move out.

Instead, a truck will come to campus from the  Auburn SHAREcenter on Monday, May 24, and Tuesday, May 25, and be stationed in front of Pettengill Hall on North Bardwell. In addition, students can, located in Auburn, to the.

We urge students to take advantage of these opportunities prior to their move-out day. 

17. Have there ever been two Commencement ceremonies in a year?

Sort of. In the mid-1960s, ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ created a third academic term, which became Short Term, to offer a three-year plan. In 1968, 1969, and 1970, ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ had two Commencements, one for three-year grads and one for four-year grads.

During World War II, ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ was on a 12-month schedule, and undergraduates could choose an accelerated program, so diplomas were awarded a few times a year (three times in 1943).

In this clip, the sailors of the ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ V-12 program lead the way to the Oct. 24, 1943, convocation, where 13 students received bachelorā€™s degrees.

18. Has there ever been a Commencement on a traditional workday?

Yes. In most years since the 1930s, Commencement was on a Monday, either in June (through the 1980s) or in late May, sometimes coinciding with Memorial Day, sometimes not. Commencement moved to its now-traditional Sunday spot in 2006.

19. Has there ever been a ticketed outdoor ceremony?

Not that we can find.

20. What was the last ticketed outdoor event at ĄÖ²„“«Ć½?

An NCAA playoff men’s lacrosse victory over Amherst on May 13, 2017, at Garcelon Field.

21. Isn’t that just 20 questions?

Not now! Congratulations to all seniors!

Itā€™s never easy, picking a senior to speak at Commencement, a tradition started by President Clayton Spencer. 

Any senior can submit a speech; from all submissions, upwards of two dozen some years, a committee of seniors, staff and faculty select several finalists to deliver their speeches in person. 

And always, says Kerry Oā€™Brien, committee member and assistant dean of the faculty, there are ā€œmany resonant, heartfelt speeches that capture the senior experience.ā€

The spring of 2021, hard on so many levels, did make the committeeā€™s choice slightly easier though. 

Thatā€™s because Commencement 2021, in adherence to physical distancing guidelines established for COVID-19, is happening in two parts on May 27, the first half of the class (divided by alphabet) graduating at 9 a.m. and the second at 3 p.m., opening the doors to not one Senior Speaker, but two. 

By coincidence, the two speakers selected share not just their interest in the sciences (both are STEM majors) and their international status, but they are from the same country: Zimbabwe. 

And both speakers, Nicole Kumbula and Munashe Machoko, will tell ā€œcompelling stories that are personal and universal, capturing the deep value of the ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ experience,ā€ says Oā€™Brien.

Kumbula, a chemistry major, will go first, and touch on the wonder of her early days at ĄÖ²„“«Ć½, starting with her first trip down the stairs at the Portland Jetport to see a driver there, holding a sign with her name on it and ready to bring her to Lewiston, a place she had only visited through images and imagination.

Kumbula attended the prestigious Monte Cassino Girls High School in an eastern province of Zimbabwe, almost a five-hour drive from her home in the town of Chinhoyi. At Monte Cassino, she studied mathematics, physics, and chemistry and as school progressed, began to plan a path to college in the U.S..

During an internship at the U.S. Embassyā€™s education advising offices, one of her duties was organizing college fairs. Thatā€™s where she first saw the words ā€œĄÖ²„“«Ć½ College,ā€ on a cap worn by Kudzaiishe Irene Mapfunde ā€˜19, a fellow Zimbabwean who was home for the summer and staffing the ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ table. ā€œI remember she was wearing this African print, it was colorful, it was orange, but she had a ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ cap,ā€ Kumbula says.

A friend who graduated from Amherst encouraged her to look at NESCAC schools, including ĄÖ²„“«Ć½. She looked into financial aid. ā€œI was looking for a school that offers financial aid to international students,ā€ she says, since relatively few U.S. colleges and universities do. She was accepted to ĄÖ²„“«Ć½, Early Decision, on Dec. 17, 2017. ā€œSo that was a good Christmas,ā€ she says.

At ĄÖ²„“«Ć½, one of her first courses was a newly created First-Year Seminar on race, gender, and identity in STEM, taught by Aleksander Diamond-Stanic, an assistant professor of physics who was also her first-year adviser. 

He made a recommendation that she considers crucial in her adaptation to life at an American college as a Black woman. She was trying to figure out how to get a bank account, a phone, even how to understand American food, but also had larger questions about America. ā€œI was asking him all these questions,ā€ Kumbula says. ā€œAnd he advised me to take a sociology or a psychology class so I can understand the social setup of the U.S.ā€

The international community at ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ was supportive and so were the Africana club and her Africana Big Sisters and Big Brothers. She also made a best friend, Roman Hudgins ā€˜21, whose family in Winchester, Mass., has welcomed her into their home for holidays and breaks during her time at ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ (getting back to Zimbabwe, always a financial and logistical challenge, became impossible during the pandemic). ā€œI really appreciated Romanā€™s mom,ā€ Kumbula says. 

A major theme of Kumbulaā€™s speech is gratitude, including faculty mentors, who she’ll describe as ā€œthe amazing women in STEM who believed in me even in times when I did not believe in myself.ā€

She recalls how worrying about grades was ā€œgetting in the way of actually understanding the materialā€ and GeneviĆØve Robert, an associate professor of earth and climate sciences, was particularly helpful. Kumbula had grown close to Robert when the two traveled to Missouri to run viscosity experiments in summer 2019.

Kumbula gives her professor ā€œso much creditā€ for giving her advice about managing her classes and assignments without panicking about having a less than perfect grade at any given time. ā€œIt took a whole year of her telling me, ā€˜It is OK Nicole, itā€™s OK, this is what you should do.ā€™ā€ And it worked, Kumbula says. ā€œEver since I let go of that obsession over the grades, my grades started going higher.ā€

After a long-delayed visit back to Zimbabwe after Commencement, Kumbula will return to the U.S. to begin graduate work in environmental chemistry at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies. ā€œIā€™m on a Ph.D. journey,ā€ she says. ā€œI want to be an environmental chemist because I want to make sure that women and children in sub-Saharan Africa are able to have a clean and healthy environment.ā€ 

Munashe Machoko, the afternoon Commencement speaker, says he didnā€™t even know until far into the process that Kumbula was also submitting a speech. ā€œBut for me,ā€ he says. ā€œ I feel like it just worked out perfectly that we both got it.ā€

The biochemistry major, with a minor in math, is from Chitungwiza, Zimbabweā€™s third largest city. Itā€™s about a three-hour drive from Kumbulaā€™s hometown. They met after he saw her in the Class of 2021 Facebook group. Heā€™d just come back from China, where heā€™d been on a scholarship for the International Baccalaureate high school program, so he went over to visit her at her embassy office.

His road to ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ began at an admissions event in China. “ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ sounded perfect,ā€ Machoko says. He was looking for a small school where he could have close relationships with professors.Ā 

But it took him a while to understand that ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ was in Maine and what that might mean for his future winters, which were chillier than he even expected, and which heā€™ll talk about in his speech. ā€œI knew about New York City and Chicago and D.C.,ā€ he says, laughing. ā€œBut nothing about Maine.ā€

His summers have been packed with internships since he arrived at ĄÖ²„“«Ć½. After first year, he did computational neuroscience work with Assistant Professor of Neuroscience Michelle Greene, an experience he found eye opening. ā€œIt was like, ā€˜Wait a second, so we can actually use computers to address the things that weā€™re seeing in life sciences? That is cool.ā€™ And Iā€™ve just been stuck on that ever since.ā€

Heā€™s had two internships at Massachusetts General Hospital, the second a remote gig working on a project for screening for COVID-19. ā€œThat was really cool.ā€ 

His senior thesis, which he hopes to be binding on Sunday, is a computational approach to studying the virus, ā€œusing a computer algorithm to look at this structure of the coronavirus itself and try to identify possible areas of it on which it’s more realistic or more effective to develop a vaccine on.ā€)

Mass General has extended a job offer to him and heā€™ll start there in August, joining an interdisciplinary public health team. ā€œIā€™m really grateful for the opportunity,ā€ he says, adding with a smile that he hopes to ā€œstick around the U.S. for a little while,ā€ where opportunities for work in research labs abound. ā€œThere are very few countries that have as good funding for research.ā€

Heā€™ll spend the summer studying for the MCATs, the grueling, day-long test for medical school, which he plans to enroll in, eventually. ā€œI also want to volunteer and get to know the Lewiston community better before I leave for Boston in July.ā€

And when he leaves for Boston in the summer, heā€™ll take with him the memory of how the ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ community came together to figure out how to stay on task, and together, during the pandemic. 

ā€œTo me, thatā€™s the power of a ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ education,ā€ he will say at his Commencement. ā€œThe ability to know that whatever I might be going through, no matter how unfamiliar, I will certainly figure it out, and so will each and everyone of my graduating peers here with me.ā€

The 155th ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ College Commencement takes place on the collegeā€™s Coram Library Terrace on the Historic Quad on Thursday, May 27.

In what promises to be another highly distinctive graduation ā€” following last yearā€™s virtual edition ā€” Commencement 2021 will feature two complete, in-person ceremonies.

In order to follow Maine regulations for large gatherings, each ceremony will accommodate half the senior class, and audience members will be admitted by ticket only, with each ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ senior who participates in person receiving two guest tickets.

The ceremonies, one beginning at 9 a.m. and the other at 3 p.m., will feature traditional ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ Commencement moments, including a class procession to Coram and a welcome by President Clayton Spencer.

Spencer’s remarks will be followed by the Senior Address, presentation of honorary degrees, and seniors celebrating their individual moments of accomplishment by crossing the Coram Terrace as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty Malcolm Hill announces their names. The ceremonies will conclude with a benediction by Multifaith Chaplain the Rev. Brittany Longsdorf.

This yearā€™s four honorands will accept their degrees remotely and offer brief recorded remarks to the graduating seniors and their guests. They are: 

Yvon Chouinard, born in Lewiston, outdoorsman, and entrepreneur whose company, Patagonia, shows that forthright environmental activism is good for business, will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters degree.

Vanessa German, a dynamic and versatile artist and speaker whose work celebrates human connection and the transformative power of art, will receive a Doctor of Fine Arts degree. 

Rhiannon Giddens, an acclaimed and award-winning musician whose gift of song serves to educate, entertain, unify, and illuminate, will receive a Doctor of Music degree.

Chase Strangio, a nationally recognized ACLU lawyer and advocate whose involvement in landmark legal cases is rooting out harmful policies and debunking inaccurate beliefs about transgender people, will receive a Doctor of Laws degree.

ā€œI am thrilled that we are able to celebrate the accomplishments and promise of the Class of 2021, together in person, on ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ā€™ Historic Quad,ā€ said President Spencer.

She added, ā€œWe are also honored to recognize four individuals whose lives and work exemplify extraordinary creativity, purpose, and high achievement. They have given voice to the unheard and visibility to the unseen, and they have shown us how to embrace our common humanity and the planet we all share.ā€

Yvon Chouinard

A consummate outdoorsman, entrepreneur, and environmental activist who founded the clothing company Patagonia, Yvon Chouinard shows that doing right by the environment is good business.

A native of Lewiston who spent his boyhood in nearby Lisbon, Chouinard got his start by teaching himself blacksmithing and selling pitons out of the back of his car to fund his mountain-climbing adventures. Learning that his pitons were damaging the cracks needed by rock climbers on popular routes in Yosemite and elsewhere, he created chocks, a non-damaging alternative.

Since Chouinard founded Patagonia in 1973 with his wife, Malinda, it has become the archetypal activist company, with a forthright focus on conservation, sustainability, and fair labor practices. Chouinard once told TIME that ā€œprofit is what happens when you do everything else right.ā€ 

A surfer, climber, and fly-fisher, he is also the author of several books, including Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman, and in 2018 received the Sierra Clubā€™s top honor, the John Muir Award. He is a producer of three documentaries: DamNation, about the benefits of dam removal; Artifishal, about the salmon-hatchery industry; and Public Trust, about the need to protect public lands.

Famously donating 1 percent of its sales to grassroots environmental groups, Patagonia also turns the sustainability lens on itself, working toward carbon neutrality; examining the supply chain of its products; and once, as a way to highlight the environmental impact of producing consumer goods, even creating an ad to encourage customers to rethink buying a new Patagonia jacket.

Vanessa German

Among the brightest rising stars of the art world, German is known for her ā€œpower figureā€ sculptures: often female and often repurposing doll parts, and embellished with seemingly random objects that at closer inspection reveal a wealth of allusion and symbolism.

A self-described citizen artist, German creates art that repairs and reshapes disrupted human systems, spaces, and connections. ā€œThe big human lie [is] that we are not all connected,ā€ German has said. ā€œFor me itā€™s a matter of life and death if I do not do violence to the lie.ā€ 

Germanā€™s work has been shown and collected by institutions including Figge Art Museum, Flint Institute of Arts, Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and the ĄÖ²„“«Ć½ College Museum of Art.

Invoking the power of art and love to transform communities, German is deeply rooted in her Pittsburgh neighborhood of Homewood, a place that inspires her and that she seeks to uplift. She is the founder of ARThouse, a community arts initiative for neighborhood children. (After a fire damaged the house in February, a crowd-funding page surpassed $100,000 in gifts to restore the house.)

German is also a poet and spoken-word performance artist who has given several TEDx talks and addresses at festivals, schools, museums, and youth organizations. She has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning and NPRā€™s All Things Considered. She received a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Grant, the Jacob Lawrence Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the United States Artists Fellowship, and, from the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the Don Tyson Prize, honoring exceptional achievement in American art.

Rhiannon Giddens

An acclaimed musician, ethnomusicologist, performer, and storyteller, Rhiannon Giddens uses her art expansively ā€” to grow our understanding of African American contributions to music, make connections across supposedly disparate musical traditions, and enrich our common cultural vocabulary.

Pitchfork has said that few artists are ā€œso fearless and so ravenousā€ in their musical exploration, and Smithsonian Magazine called her ā€œan electrifying artist who brings alive the memories of forgotten predecessors, white and Black.ā€ In 2020, Rolling Stone detailed Giddensā€™ efforts to ā€œexpose the lie” of country musicā€™s white founding history “through her music, through her writing, through her speaking,ā€ and also to name the forces of white supremacy that created that lie.

A recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, often called a ā€œgeniusā€ grant, Giddens co-founded the Grammy Awardā€“winning Carolina Chocolate Drops, and she has been nominated for six additional Grammys for her work as a soloist and collaborator. Released in early April, Giddensā€™ newest album, Theyā€™re Calling Me Home, was recorded with multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi in Ireland during the pandemic lockdown.

In 2019, Giddens was co-recipient of the inaugural Legacy of Americana Award from Nashvilleā€™s National Museum of African American Music in partnership with the Americana Music Association. She has been profiled in depth by CBS Sunday Morning, The New York Times, The New Yorker, and NPRā€™s Fresh Air, among many others, and was featured in Ken Burnsā€™ Country Music series. A member of the band Our Native Daughters, she co-produced the groupā€™s debut album Songs of Our Native Daughters, which tells stories of historic Black womanhood and survival. As an actor, Giddens had a featured role on the television series Nashville.

Chase Strangio

Chase Strangio is a nationally recognized legal expert on transgender rights whose advocacy work on behalf of LGBTQ people and people living with HIV is rooting out harmful policies and debunking inaccurate beliefs and myths.

As a lawyer and deputy director for transgender justice with the American Civil Liberties Union, Strangio is a ā€œrepresentative in every sense of the word: in court, in the media, and sometimes in state legislatures, for his clients, for the trans community, and for himself,ā€ wrote The New Yorker.

Strangio has been a member of ACLU legal teams on landmark court cases in recent years, including Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states must recognize same-sex marriage, and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2020), which ruled that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects transgender people from employment discrimination.

Prior to joining the ACLU, Strangio was an Equal Justice Works Fellow and director of prisoner justice initiatives at the Sylvia Rivera Law Project. In 2012, he co-founded the Lorena Borjas Community Fund, which covers bail and legal fees for LGBTQ immigrants. (The organizationā€™s namesake, LatinX LGBTQ activist Lorena Borjas, died in 2020 of COVID-19.)

In 2020, Strangio was included as one of TIMEā€™s 100 most influential people in the world and awarded the American Bar Associationā€™s Stonewall Award, presented to lawyers who have ā€œconsiderably advanced lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals in the legal profession and successfully championed LGBT legal causes.ā€ He earned his undergraduate degree from Grinnell College, which awarded him an honorary degree in 2018, and his law degree from Northeastern University School of Law.