{"id":4673,"date":"2025-10-06T08:48:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T12:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/?page_id=4673"},"modified":"2025-10-06T08:48:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T12:48:15","slug":"commencement","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/fall-2025\/along-the-walk\/commencement\/","title":{"rendered":"Commencement"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cGreat change is also a time of great opportunity,\u201d Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont told members of the Trinity College Class of 2025. \u201cEvery generation has its challenges. I want you to take on those challenges with optimism, because optimism is an energizer, and not fear, because fear is a tranquilizer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lamont addressed those assembled for Trinity\u2019s 199th Commencement on Sunday, May 18, on the Main Quad, where 511 students were honored. Among the undergraduates, 281 received a B.A. and 215 received a B.S. Five of the undergraduate degree recipients were\u00a0Individualized Degree Program (IDP)\u00a0students. Fifteen graduate students received an M.A.<\/p>\n

Trinity bestowed an honorary doctor of laws degree on Lamont in recognition of his lifelong dedication to public service, an unfaltering commitment to education, and his leadership of the State of Connecticut. The College awarded two additional honorary degrees: a doctor of humane letters degree to Shabana Basij-Rasikh, in recognition of her work as co-founder and president of the\u00a0School of Leadership Afghanistan, the world\u2019s first and only Afghan-led boarding school for Afghan girls, and an honorary doctor of science degree to Joseph M. Connors \u201969, in recognition of his dedication to healing and his groundbreaking research efforts in understanding and treating lymphoid cancers.<\/p>\n

As this Commencement marked President Joanne Berger-Sweeney\u2019s last at Trinity after\u00a0leading the College for 11 years before retiring on June 30, she looked back on the time she spent \u2019neath the elms, referencing a song for each year\u2014\u201cthe soundtrack of my presidency.\u201d Berger-Sweeney named-checked Pharrell Williams, Adele, Rihanna, Ed Sheeran, Billie Eilish, The Weeknd, Bad Bunny, Harry Styles, Beyonc\u00e9, and Michael Jackson before concluding with \u201cFor Good,\u201d from the musical\u00a0Wicked<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201c \u2018And you\u2019ll be with me,\u2019 my final class of Trinity graduates, \u2018like a handprint on my heart,\u2019 \u201d she said. \u201c \u2018I do believe I have been changed for the better.\u2019\u00a0For good<\/em>, we have grown together and created a community that will continue to flourish well beyond our time here\u2014we<\/em>\u00a0are the handprints on Trinity\u2019s and one another\u2019s hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Student speaker Theodora Tatsi \u201925 noted that a Trinity education isn\u2019t just a personal achievement but also a responsibility. \u201cOur degrees hold power. Our education holds power. Our whole Trinity experience holds power. And the world needs us to use that power in a meaningful way,\u201d Tatsi said. \u201cIf all we do is use this privilege to succeed on our own, then we\u2019ve missed the point. Let\u2019s use it to build, open doors, and create space for those who come after us and, most importantly, for those who were never given a seat at this table.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jacob Kaplan, of Connecticut, who earned a B.S., summa cum laude, in neuroscience, was named valedictorian, and Jacob Loor, of Texas, who earned a B.A., summa cum laude, with honors in political science, was named salutatorian.<\/p>\n

As the ceremony came to an end,\u00a0Trinity College Alumni Association<\/a>\u00a0President Amy McGill Dilatush \u201994 welcomed the Class of 2025 into the company of Trinity\u2019s 30,000 alumni.<\/p>\n

Accolades<\/h2>\n

Trustee Award for Faculty Excellence: <\/strong>Professor of History Jennifer Regan-Lefebvre; Staff Excellence: <\/strong>Director of Admissions Anthony T. Berry; Student Excellence:<\/strong> Ava C. Caudle \u201925, Venghour Than \u201925<\/p>\n

The Thomas Church Brownell Prize for Teaching Excellence: <\/strong>Principal Lecturer in the Allan K. Smith Center for Writing and Rhetoric Irene Papoulis<\/p>\n

The Dean Arthur H. Hughes Award for Achievement in Teaching: <\/strong>Assistant Professor of Environmental Science and Chemistry Arianne A. Bazilio; Assistant Professor of Economics Brianna Halladay<\/p>\n

The Charles A. Dana Research Professorship Award:<\/strong> Professor of History and International Studies Zayde G. Antrim<\/p>\n

The Charles A. Dana Research Associate Professorship Award:<\/strong> Associate Professor of Language and Culture Studies Rosario Hubert, Associate Professor of Computer Science Ewa Syta<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cGreat change is also a time of great opportunity,\u201d Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont told members of the Trinity College Class of 2025. \u201cEvery generation has its challenges. I want you to take on those challenges with optimism, because optimism is an energizer, and not fear, because fear is a tranquilizer.\u201d Lamont addressed those assembled for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":139,"featured_media":0,"parent":4669,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4673","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCommencement - The Trinity Reporter<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/fall-2025\/along-the-walk\/commencement\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Commencement\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cGreat change is also a time of great opportunity,\u201d Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont told members of the Trinity College Class of 2025. \u201cEvery generation has its challenges. I want you to take on those challenges with optimism, because optimism is an energizer, and not fear, because fear is a tranquilizer.\u201d Lamont addressed those assembled for […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/fall-2025\/along-the-walk\/commencement\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Trinity Reporter\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/fall-2025\/along-the-walk\/commencement\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/fall-2025\/along-the-walk\/commencement\/\",\"name\":\"Commencement - The Trinity Reporter\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-06T12:48:15+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/fall-2025\/along-the-walk\/commencement\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/fall-2025\/along-the-walk\/commencement\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/fall-2025\/along-the-walk\/commencement\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Trinity Reporter Fall 2025\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/fall-2025\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Along the Walk\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/fall-2025\/along-the-walk\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Commencement\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/\",\"name\":\"The Trinity Reporter\",\"description\":\"The Trinity College alumni magazine\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Commencement - The Trinity Reporter","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/fall-2025\/along-the-walk\/commencement\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Commencement","og_description":"\u201cGreat change is also a time of great opportunity,\u201d Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont told members of the Trinity College Class of 2025. \u201cEvery generation has its challenges. I want you to take on those challenges with optimism, because optimism is an energizer, and not fear, because fear is a tranquilizer.\u201d Lamont addressed those assembled for […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/fall-2025\/along-the-walk\/commencement\/","og_site_name":"The Trinity Reporter","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/fall-2025\/along-the-walk\/commencement\/","url":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/fall-2025\/along-the-walk\/commencement\/","name":"Commencement - The Trinity Reporter","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-10-06T12:48:15+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/fall-2025\/along-the-walk\/commencement\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/fall-2025\/along-the-walk\/commencement\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/fall-2025\/along-the-walk\/commencement\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Trinity Reporter Fall 2025","item":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/fall-2025\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Along the Walk","item":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/fall-2025\/along-the-walk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Commencement"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/","name":"The Trinity Reporter","description":"The Trinity College alumni magazine","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/139"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4673"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4673\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4703,"href":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4673\/revisions\/4703"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}