Third time’s the charm for the class of 2020! First they held a student-organized “faux-mencement” on March 14, 2020, before they were sent home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, then they attended a virtual graduation ceremony two months later. This year, on May 23, over 300 of the 569 members of the class returned to Wellesley for their official commencement exercises, kicking off their first reunion weekend.
Like so many college students around the country, at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020 Wellesley students were told that they could not return to campus after spring break. The red class of 2020 was hit especially hard, as they would miss all the senior spring traditions: Marathon Monday, Hooprolling, baccalaureate, academic department parties, awards ceremonies, and, of course, commencement. To mark the end of their time on campus before they left Wellesley, the seniors rallied and created the “faux-mencement” ceremony (which was beautifully documented in the New York Times photo essay “The Class of Covid-19”).
Then on May 31, Wellesley hosted a virtual graduation celebration for the class, which included remarks via video from student speaker Sam Churchill ’20, Wellesley President Paula A. Johnson, and commencement speaker Robin Chase ’80, plus recorded messages of support from Wellesley faculty, staff, and alums, including two former U.S. secretaries of state: Madeleine Korbel Albright ’59 and Hillary Rodham Clinton ’69. The hope at that point was that the class would return to campus a year later for in-person graduation exercises, but due to Wellesley’s ongoing COVID policies in spring 2021, the administration and the 2020 class council scheduled their commencement even further into the future: May 23, 2025, almost nine years after they arrived on campus as first-years.
The mood was jovial as the graduates and over 600 of their family members and friends found their seats in the packed Alumnae Hall Auditorium. The classmates shouted, hugged each other, and cried—some were seeing each other for the first time since the pandemic forced them to leave campus. Many of the guests dressed in red (one dad even wore a festive red Hawaiian shirt printed with parrots), and others held bouquets of flowers or Mylar balloons declaring “Congrats, Grad!” and “Go Change the World!”
College Marshal Alex Diesl began the ceremony by joyfully welcoming the class back to Wellesley. “I’ve been waiting five years to celebrate with you!” he said. He added that the Wellesley College Alumnae Association (WCAA) and members of the 2020 class council had planned the event, tailoring elements of a traditional commencement ceremony to honor this class’s “unique circumstances.”
Amira Quraishi, College chaplain and Muslim life coordinator, gave the invocation and land acknowledgment, and Stephanie Hsieh ’89, president of the WCAA board, gave a special welcome to the class.
“Reunion is one of our most treasured traditions as alums. Your choice to celebrate your commencement during your first reunion reflects everything we hold dear as alums,” said Hsieh. “It speaks of commitment, of community, of deep connections that transcend time, distance, pandemics—hallmarks of our unique and devoted network. It captured what we at the WCAA strive to live every day: living at the intersection of nostalgia and innovation. Honoring tradition, but always moving forward with intention and heart.”
-
“As I walk across the stage and carry her with me, I also am walking for myself today, because I am here, we are here, unbroken and carrying on, stronger than we were five years ago.” —Crystalina Guo ’20 -
“You are setting out on your lives in this changed and changing environment. Instead of fearing what might come, let us be challenged by it.”—Robin Chase ’80
Tiffany Sharma ’20 and fellow classmates, formerly part of the Wellesley choir, sang “Alma Mater” to raucous applause, and then Johnson addressed the class.
“At long last—this is your time!” she said. “We are just so thrilled to be here today, honoring your achievements, yes, but also celebrating the community you created during the most challenging of times.”
“As a class, you spent your commencement spread out across the country and around the world, feeling a collective, a deep collective loss—a loss that we felt with you … a loss that I felt with you,” Johnson continued. She feels a special connection to the class of 2020, she said, who started at Wellesley in fall 2016 just as she did.
But then came the pandemic: “I was so impressed by your resilience and determination. At a time when we all needed it—and each other—you inspired us with your creativity, indomitable spirit, and profound sense of community.” Remembering the class’s DIY ceremony in March 2020, Johnson said she had been touched by how, instead of diplomas, students chose a flower to carry with them. “Perhaps some of you still have those petals, safely pressed between pages of a favorite book,” Johnson said. “May today be a memory that you hold as dear.”
Stacie Goddard, Betty Freyhof Johnson ’44 Professor of Political Science and associate provost of Wellesley in the World, and Don Elmore, Michael and Denise Kellen ’68 Chair in the Sciences and professor of chemistry, reflected on the many challenging events that happened on campus and in the world between 2016 and 2020. Student speaker Katie Hodges ’20 noted that more time had elapsed since they finished their degrees than they spent earning them.
“It’s clear that each of us has assigned a meaning to today’s ceremony, or each of us would not have chosen to return after five years. Things have meaning because we give them meaning,” said Hodges.
“Ever since the spring of 2020, time has become truly fluid,” she continued. “Sometimes it stands still, sometimes it rushes forward, today it has moved in reverse for us … Five-year plan or not, it doesn’t matter what you do or when you do it, as long as what you do is the most meaningful thing you can do today … that’s what creates change and moves us forward.”
Crystalina Guo ’20, class president, also addressed her classmates, pointing out they are the only class at Wellesley ever to have their commencement and first reunion at the same time. Guo said her 2020 self was afraid, exhausted, and uncertain. “At that point in time, my past self could only see the past four years. She did not have the power to see what was waiting for her, as I do now,” said Guo. “As I walk across the stage and carry her with me, I also am walking for myself today, because I am here, we are here, unbroken and carrying on, stronger than we were five years ago.”
Chase, who addressed the graduates virtually in 2020, returned to campus to speak to them in person. Addressing all that has changed in the world over the past five years, the co-founder and former CEO of Zipcar encouraged the class of 2020 to take positive actions to make the world a better place. “You are setting out on your lives in this changed and changing environment. Instead of fearing what might come, let us be challenged by it,” Chase said, choking up. “Let’s gather a sisterhood, diverse in our life skills and experiences, to deflect and direct this dynamism, aiming towards a world that is more sustainable, more just, and more joyful.”
-
Alumnae Association Board Member Diana Lam ’20 hugs President Paula Johnson after walking across the stage. -
“It’s clear that each of us has assigned a meaning to today’s ceremony, or each of us would not have chosen to return after five years. Things have meaning because we give them meaning.” —Katie Hodges ’20
Each alum walked across the stage to the cheers of classmates as faculty marshals read their names and presented them with a special red stole (the class had already received their diplomas). Some wore the traditional black Wellesley caps or gowns or both, while others wore suits or dresses. A few donned red baseball hats or red flower crowns. Many wore academic regalia from other institutions that reflected advanced degrees earned in the past five years, and one alum crossed the stage with her toddler on her hip. Friends and family applauded, and many were moved to tears. After the last name was called, there was a moment of silence for two classmates who have passed away since graduation: Sammy Lincroft ’20 and Sama Mundlay ’20.
Sharma closed the ceremony by leading the singing of “America the Beautiful” by Katharine Lee Bates, class of 1880, per Wellesley commencement tradition. Kalyani Saxena ’20, now a producer for Here & Now, told WBUR host Asma Khalid that the singing was “really beautiful.”
“Now I feel like I really have had the classic graduate experience,” Saxena said.
–
The video recording of the class of 2020 commencement ceremony will be posted to this playlist once it is finalized. Stay tuned!
