{"id":6401,"date":"2026-05-15T14:20:42","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T18:20:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/?page_id=6401"},"modified":"2026-05-15T14:20:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T18:20:42","slug":"commencement-2020","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/fall-2022\/along-the-walk\/commencement-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Commencement 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Graduates processing on the Long Walk<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cSuccess belongs to us because when it mattered most, we did it as a community,\u201d class speaker Matthew Rivera \u201920 said to fellow members of the Trinity College Class of 2020 during their long-awaited\u00a0Commencement, held more than two years after the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted their senior year.<\/p>\n

About 350 alumni from the Class of 2020 returned to the Main Quadrangle on Saturday, June 11, for the celebration of their graduation during\u00a0Reunion Weekend 2022. While members of the Class of 2020 already received their diplomas by mail after being honored via a\u00a0virtual celebration in 2020, a total of 537 degree recipients\u2014not all of whom could attend in person\u2014were recognized at the special ceremony, with 335 earning B.A. degrees, 187 earning B.S. degrees, and 15 earning M.A. degrees. Included among the undergraduate degree recipients were 13\u00a0Individualized Degree Program (IDP)\u00a0students.<\/p>\n

Rivera told his fellow alumni to think back to spring 2020, when students were sent home and classes were completed remotely. \u201cWe made our relationships with one another a priority and recognized that the only way to weather the storm that was in front of us was to do it together,\u201d he said. A sociology major at Trinity, Rivera was the first in his family to attend and graduate from college. He serves as executive director of\u00a0The Dream Support Network, through which he has worked with more than 40 Connecticut schools, delivered more than 100 speeches, and exchanged more than 40,000 \u201cice creams for dreams.\u201d He also is pursuing a master of divinity degree at Yale Divinity School.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Will McCormack \u201996 offering remarks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Actor and Academy Award-winning filmmaker Will McCormack \u201996, who graduated from Trinity with a B.A. in English, also offered remarks. The recipient of a 2021 Oscar for Best Animated Short Film for\u00a0If Anything Happens I Love You<\/em>\u00a0(2020), which he co-wrote and co-directed, McCormack recalled feeling pure joy and connection after his first performance on stage at Trinity. \u201cIn a moment, I knew at age 19 that I would devote my life to storytelling. I didn\u2019t know how, but I knew why. I believed stories mattered,\u201d he said. \u201cTrinity College nurtured and championed this passion for story. I did every single play I could. I worked at\u00a0Cinestudio\u00a0and saw every single film.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCormack came to Trinity in the footsteps of his sisters: Bridget Mary McCormack \u201988, H\u201913, chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, and actress Mary Catherine McCormack \u201991. Will McCormack was among members of the Class of 1996 belatedly celebrating their 25th Trinity College Reunion on campus this year, after the pandemic delayed Reunion celebrations in 2021.<\/p>\n

\"\"
President Joanne Berger-Sweeney and Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Anita Davis among others on the podium<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Trinity President Joanne Berger-Sweeney, in her charge to the class,\u00a0reminded the graduates that they had much to celebrate, including the compassion shown by the Trinity community when students left campus in March 2020. \u201cStaff cared for students who were unable to go home, and you, your families, and many alumni and others made donations to the\u00a0Student Emergency and Equity Fund\u00a0to ensure that all of our students had whatever they needed to complete their Trinity educational experience,\u201d she said. Berger-Sweeney also mentioned that the class received personal notes of encouragement from members of the Class of 1980.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Valedictorian Alexandra M. Sinson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The ceremonial conferring of degrees began by recognizing the achievements of the\u00a0class\u2019s valedictorian and salutatorian. Alexandra M. Sinson, of Wisconsin, who earned a B.S., summa cum laude, with honors in engineering and with a second major in environmental science, was the class valedictorian. Tarek Abdallah, of Germany, who earned a B.S., summa cum laude, in economics, was the class salutatorian.<\/p>\n

Honorary degree recipients for 2020, celebrated during Commencement 2021, included the first four women to receive undergraduate degrees from Trinity: Professor of Theater and Dance, Emerita,\u00a0Judy Dworin \u201970; Elizabeth Martin Gallo \u201970; Judith Odlum Pomeroy \u201970; and Roberta Russell \u201970 (posthumously). Additional honorands were Francisco L. Borges \u201974, chair and managing partner of Landmark Partners; the Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry, the 27th presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church; and James Hanley and Peter McMorris, co-founders of Cinestudio, the art house cinema on the Trinity campus.<\/p>\n

For videos, photos, and more, visit the 2020 Commencement website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Accolades (Recognized during 2021 Commencement)<\/h2>\n

Trustee Award for Faculty Excellence<\/strong>: Professor of Physics and Environmental Science Christoph E. Geiss, Principal Lecturer and Laboratory Coordinator in the Environmental Science Program Jonathan R. Gourley<\/p>\n

Trustee Award for Staff Excellence<\/strong>: Then-Director of Campus Safety Brian Heavren<\/p>\n

Trustee Award for Student Excellence<\/strong>: Rahuljeet Chadha \u201920, Hamna Tariq \u201920<\/p>\n

The Thomas Church Brownell Prize for Teaching Excellence<\/strong>: Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of History\u00a0Cheryl L. Greenberg<\/p>\n

The Dean Arthur H. Hughes Award for Achievement in Teaching<\/strong>: Assistant Professor of Psychology\u00a0Michael Grubb<\/p>\n

Photos by Nick Caito
\nHeader image: Student speaker Matthew Rivera \u201920<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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