On September 2, Shreeya Lakkapragada ’26 and her fellow seniors donned their black graduation gowns and, together with hundreds of members of the incoming green class and other students, headed to convocation, Wellesley’s traditional ceremony to mark the beginning of the academic year. This year, it also marked the official start of Wellesley’s 150th anniversary celebrations. “It’s such a blessing to be in the class of 2026, because it feels like the entire universe is celebrating your last year because of the 150th,” said Lakkapragada.
Wellesley welcomed its first incoming class in September 1875, President Paula A. Johnson recalled in her opening remarks, describing the “chaotic scene” of that inaugural move-in, as “Wellesley’s magnificent College Hall [was] still under construction and workers [were] racing to make it habitable.” Johnson continued: “This year, we will both explore and celebrate our history as well as consider our current tumultuous time and ask the question, how does Wellesley meet the moment? What does it demand of us, collectively and individually, that will help to ensure our strength for the next 150 years?”
Addressing the incoming class of 2029, Johnson told the first-years that they’ll be “an important part of Wellesley’s next chapter as it adapts to the many political, social, and moral challenges of our day. The knowledge, skills, and courage you develop during your college years are going to be an immense benefit to the world around you.”
Courtney Coile, provost and Lia Gelin Poorvu ’56 Dean of the College, spoke of the value of the liberal arts. “A Wellesley education does not prepare you for a specific career. It prepares you for any career,” she said. “At Wellesley, you will focus on flexible skills like critical thinking, creativity, and communication––skills that are essential for success along whatever career path you end up following. Here, you will learn how to learn, and being a great learner is the best preparation for a rapidly changing world.”
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President Paula A. Johnson speaks to the audience during Convocation. -
Olivia Torres ’26 greets a friend ahead of the ceremony. Photos by Shannon O'Brien
Zainab Khan ’26, College Government president, encouraged her fellow students to band together to find solutions for the world’s many problems. “Because when we attend an institution that is always reminding us that we can both do more for and ask more of the world we live in,” said Khan, “we are never going to be content with the status quo. And we never should be!”
Johnson reminded students in her speech that 150 years ago the creation of the College itself was a radical act, in protest of the status quo. Wellesley founders Pauline and Henry Durant’s mission was to “educate women of all economic backgrounds so that they could be active participants in building this country and in addressing social challenges … a revolutionary idea at the time” and that “unlike students at other women’s colleges, [Wellesley students] would be taught by women faculty and led by women presidents. This was a clear statement that women’s intellects were equal to men’s, and that women’s concerns would preside here.”
Celebrating and honoring the College’s history is what this year’s sesquicentennial festivities are all about. The milestone also added to the inspiration of Lakkapragada’s thesis topic: A double major in psychology and South Asia studies, she has been researching Wellesley’s history with the Indian subcontinent and South Asia, under the guidance of religious studies professor Neelima Shukla-Bhatt. Lakkapragada recently interviewed Nayantara Pandit Sahgal ’47, one of the first Indian women to attend Wellesley and a 2002 Alumnae Achievement Award recipient.
“My thesis came from this love and passion for learning about Wellesley’s history,” said Lakkapragada. “Wellesley’s history is my history. I should know about it, right? It’s 150 years of how Wellesley––this place that I now call home––was built. It’s part of how I came to be.”