2021 commencement program - oberlin college and
TRANSCRIPT
Oberlin College & Conservatory commencement exercises
may 14, 2021 | 9 : 00 am & 2 : 00 pm
Oberlin College & ConservatoryCommencement Exercises
may 14, 2021 | 188th anniversary
In addition to President Ambar, the following people are sharing the commencement platform:
Gordon Deane ’71, Honorary Marshal
Motoko T. Deane ’71, Honorary Marshal
David Kamitsuka, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
William Quillen, Dean of the Conservatory of Music
Donica Thomas Varner, Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Commencement Marshal
senior class speakers Henry Beecher Hicks IV
Joshua Emmanuel Rhodes
trustee of oberlin college Christopher Canavan ’84, Chair
Oberlin College is proud to ofer closed-caption service for the 2021 commencement ceremony. Live, real-time captioning is available via a mobile device browser at
go.oberlin.edu/captions using access code Oberlin. For links to translated captions in other common languages, please see page 37.
A live audio and video feed of the commencement ceremony is available on the Oberlin College website. Closed captions are also available on the live video stream.
Te college’s commencement exercises are being signed for hearing-impaired guests and students. Te signers are from the Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center and are standing on the lef side
of the main platform.
ADA seating is available.
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order of exercises
President Carmen Twillie Ambar Presiding
i | the academic procession
Honorary Marshals: Gordon Deane ’71 and Motoko Deane ’71
Procession Marshal: Donica Thomas Varner,Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
Music: The Commencement Brass Ensemble
Te outdoor academic procession has its antecedents in the medieval European university. Te procession is designed so that each graduate passes before each faculty member one fnal time before the conferring of the degrees.
Te modern academic gown evokes the medieval cappa clausa, a closed cloak typically worn by clerics; the modern hood, worn over the shoulders and down the back, recalls a functioning medieval head garment. In the late 19th century, the Intercollegiate Code was established for American universities, through which academic dress was standardized to convey the degree held, the feld of study, and the university awarding the degree. Accordingly, there are three shapes of gown: the bachelor’s gown is characterized by full, pointed sleeves; the master’s gown is characterized by oblong sleeves, cut away in front to leave a streamer of the sleeve behind; the doctor’s gown is faced with velvet, a likely echo of the clerical tippet, and features bell sleeves adorned with velvet bars.
Academic hoods vary in size, shape, and color; they are lined with silk in the ofcial color or colors of the institution that granted the faculty member’s highest degree. Te trim color of the velvet binding indicates the discipline of the degree, commonly including: Philosophy, dark blue; Music, pink; Arts, Letters, and Humanities, white; Education, light blue; Law, purple; Medicine, green; Library Science, lemon yellow; Science, golden yellow; and Divinity, scarlet.
Te gown is a symbol of the democracy of scholarship since it covers any clothing indicating rank or status. Te cap has its own traditions. Te frst right of a freed Roman slave was the privilege of wearing a cap, so the academic cap is the sign of the freedom of scholarship. Mortarboards have long been worn, but in recent years sof caps or tams and other colorful headgear have gained favor.
An increasingly large number of universities in America have developed unique academic gowns; most of these conform to the basic style of the Intercollegiate Code, although they replace traditional black with school colors and are ofen ornamented with embroidered university seals or emblems. European academic dress adds further diversity and color to the academic procession.
Te audience will rise until the procession reaches the stage and is seated.
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ii | invocation (audience stands) The Reverend David F.H. Dorsey, Multifaith Chaplain to the College and Conservatory
iii | greetings Christopher Canavan ’84, Chair, Board of Trustees
iv | welcome President Carmen Twillie Ambar
Biographical notes on retiring faculty members, as well as the recipients of the Alumni Medal, Distinguished Community Service Award, and Honorary Degrees may be found at the end of this program.
v | remarks Henry Beecher Hicks IV, Student Representative from the Class of 2021 (9 AM)
Joshua Emmanuel Rhodes, Student Representative from the Class of 2021 (2 PM)
vi | the presentation of the alumni medal (video) K. Scott Alberts ’94, President of the Alumni Association
candidate for the alumni medal
Walter “Walt” B. Galloway ’69
vii | the presentation of the award for distinguished service to the community (video) Motoko Deane ’71, Honorary Marshal
candidate for the award for distinguished service to the community
Gail Horn Wood ’70
Devoted to service in the Oberlin Community since her retirement from teaching at the Western Reserve School District and the Oberlin Public Schools; service with the Oberlin Schools Endowment Board; president of the board of trustees of the Oberlin Heritage Center and chair of the development committee and tour docent.
Te candidate will be presented by James Monroe Professor of Politics and Professor of East Asian Studies Marc Blecher.
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viii | the conferring of honorary degrees (live and video) President Ambar
candidate for the honorary degree of doctor of fine arts
Renata Adler
Author, journalist, staf writer for the New Yorker; contributor to Vanity Fair, the New York Review of Books, Harper’s, the Atlantic, the New Republic; former chief flm critic for the New York Times.
Te candidate will be presented by Frederick R. Selch Associate Professor of Musicology James O’Leary.
candidate for the honorary degree of doctor of music
John Harbison
Institute professor at MIT, recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and a Pulitzer Prize; conductor and composer-in-residence with numerous orchestras and festivals.
Te candidate will be presented by Assistant Professor of Voice Kendra Colton.
candidate for the honorary degree of doctor of humanities
Michael J. Sorrell ’88
Te longest-serving president in the 149-year history of Paul Quinn College, nationally regarded for his eforts to remake higher education in order to serve the needs of under-resourced students and their communities.
Te candidate will be presented by Trustee Patricia Shanks ’63.
candidate for the honorary degree of doctor of fine arts
Peter Baker ’88
Chief White House correspondent for the New York Times, political analyst for MSNBC, former journalist with the Washington Post, author, and panelist on PBS’ Washington Week.
Te candidate will be presented by Robert S. Danforth Professor of Politics Eve Sandberg.
ix | commencement address Peter Baker ’88
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x | remarks President Ambar
xi | the presentation of the class of 2021 President Ambar
Listed are students from the college and the conservatory who were enrolled in courses needed to complete degree requirements as of Spring 2021; students who have completed requirements since May 2020; and students who have 12 or fewer credits to complete for their degree. Tis does not constitute the ofcial list of graduates for 2021. Te ofcial list will be made available by the registrar afer June 30, 2021.
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candidates for degrees the conservatory of music
Presented by Dean William Quillen
the degrees of bachelor of music and master of music in choral conducting
Jedidiah Lee Rellihan Raymore, MO
the degrees of bachelor of music and master of music in historical performance
Tigran Buniatyan Oberlin, OH
the degree of master of music in historical performance Zuguang Xiao Xiangyang, People’s Republic of China
the degree of artist diploma
Christopher James Archer Houghton, MI
Niki Khabbazvahed Tehran, Iran
Hanlin No Wang Guiyang, People’s Republic of China
Yizhang Wang Sr. Qingdao, People’s Republic of China
Chi Wai Wong Tuen Mun, Hong Kong
Wenqin Yi Dazhou, People’s Republic of China
the degree of bachelor of music
Nicolas Diego Alvarez Greer, SC
Colin Robert Anderson Upper Marlboro, MD
Ernest McIntosh Atkinson Jr. Kingstree, SC
Olivia Victoria Bentley Cincinnati, OH
Mercer Kingman Bristol Colorado Springs, CO
Andrés Felipe Carrero Leander, TX
Katherine Naomi Danforth Indianapolis, IN
Atlee Daniel Fort Worth, TX
Matthew Reed Dion Somerset, MA
Ian Bernard English Lafayette, LA
Isaac S. Fenner Oakland, CA
Mathea Goh Singapore, Singapore
Herdís Mjoll Gudmundsdottir Reykjavík, Iceland
Simone M. Hammett-Lynch Aurora, CO
Emily Barbour Hancock River Hills, WI
Amer Hasan Chicago, IL
Georgia John Heers Greer, SC
Scott Joseph Heinz Oberlin, OH
Claudia Grace Hinsdale Poughkeepsie, NY
Juntai Huang Guangzhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China
Aadam Ibrahim Addison, IL
Dian Jin Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
Sungeun Kim Seoul, Republic of Korea
Josephine Yoonji Lee Glendale, CA
SungKyung Lee Seoul, Republic of Korea
Gabriela Linares Albany, CA
Tomas Jonathan Litchev Dillon, CO
Jiaqing Luo Wuhan, People’s Republic of China
Ellie L. MacPhee Greenville, SC
Phoebe Mapes-Frances Newton, MA
Charlotte Jane Maskelony Arlington, VA
Shannon Mustard Moray, Scotland
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Cordelia Lindsey Mutter Piermont, NY
Mayumi Naramura Oberlin, OH
Nicole Maria Odreman-Valenciano Miami, FL
Yeajin Park La Palma, CA
Vincent Vinh Pham San Diego, CA
Anne Marie Pinkerton Wilmette, IL
Joshua Emmanuel Rhodes Fayetteville, NC
Alyssa Lyric Rivera Kingston, TN
Caleb Paul Rose Charlottesville, VA
Hannah Elizabeth Sandoz Lafayette, LA
Miguel Santos Orlando, FL
Max Richard Schlenk Shaker Heights, OH
Elliot Reed Shaull-Tompson Monkton, MD
Grace Elizabeth Sievert Homestead, FL
Craig Slagh Cincinnati, OH
Drew Smith Lawrence, KS
Esther Song Northvale, NJ
Peiwen Su Oberlin, OH
Alan Truong Salinas, CA
Gavin VanWinkle-Bright Akron, OH
Timothy Kenwood Voet Sacramento, CA
Ziyi Wang Linyi, Shandong Province, People’s Republic of China
Caroline Elisabeth Wolfe York, PA
Haoying Wu Chongqing, People’s Republic of China
Jiaqi Yu Changchun, People’s Republic of China
Yizhou Zhong Suzhou, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China
Jie Zhou Zhaoqing, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China
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candidates for degrees the college of arts and sciences and
the conservatory of music Presented by Dean David Kamitsuka and Dean William Quillen
the double degrees of bachelor of arts and bachelor of music
Max Kwadwo Addae Bloomfeld, NJ
Erika Aoki Tokyo, Japan
Joshua Augustin Rochester, MN
William J. Bertrand North Palm Beach, FL
Max Alexander Cook Ashland, VA
Andrew James Dame Novi, MI
Henry James Fernandez Cooperstown, NY
Julian Ben-David Grabarek Acton, MA
Sabine Uta-Lenore Gross Pittsburgh, PA
Charlotte Annabelle Hill Pleasantville, NY
Yuyu Ikeda Ichikawa, Japan
Margaret Susan Jackson Edina, MN
Julian Song Jacobs Rensselaerville, NY
Otto Sebastian Kailing Kalamazoo, MI
Julia Kristina Klein Ann Arbor, MI
Yuanzhe Liu Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
Clayton Dodge Luckadoo Georgetown, TX
Seyquan Michael Mack Boston, MA
Patrick Shiaohui McBride Bexley, OH
Céline Talia Opdycke Bellevue, WA
Natsumi Osborn Katy, TX
Marc-Antonio Padilla Appleton, WI
Nicholas Politi New York, NY
T. Colton Potter Orlando, FL
Dirk S. Roosenburg Athens, OH
Amber Ginmi Scherer Winnetka, IL
Annemarie Birgit Schubert Lincoln, NE
Sophie O’Meara Shalit River Edge, NJ
Samuel Weaver Fuquay-Varina, NC
Willow Weiner West Lafayette, IN
Jane Wickline Santa Monica, CA
Aidan Nathaniel Wiley Lippke Bloomington, IN
Janet Yuling Wu King of Prussia, PA
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candidates for degrees the college of arts and sciences
Presented by Dean David Kamitsuka
the degree of bachelor of arts
Sophie Mora Aaron Los Angeles, CA
Samuel Ray Agnoli Bexley, OH
Marah Ajilat Amman, Jordan
Brendan Aleman Chicago, IL
Katherine Ali Saint Paul, MN
William Zachos Anmahian Brookline, MA
Matthew Richard Antezzo Bridgewater, CT
Athina Arianna Apazidis Wayland, MA
Sara Lily Aragaki Upland, CA
Jordan Armstrong Sebastopol, CA
Liam Ashbrook Wallingford, PA
Adriano Wajdi Atallah New Rochelle, NY
Cameron Avery Los Altos, CA
Kyra Joy Aviles Armonk, NY
Liam Kyle Axon Newton, MA
Emma Bally Brooklyn, NY
Justin Archer Bank Riverwoods, IL
Didier N. Banyeretse Seminole, FL
Ivan A. Barrer McLean, VA
Anna Lea Tompson Barron Saint Paul, MN
Matthew Nicholas Barry Silver Spring, MD
Eleanor Taylor Beck Montclair, NJ
Kai Becker Hilo, HI
Jacqueline Adamson Bednar Prospect Heights, IL
Rae Bell Brookline, MA
Iris Anna Bennett Lincoln, MA
Olivia Berke New York, NY
Tomas Berle Carman Stockbridge, MA
Emily Alyssa Bermudez Chicago, IL
Emily Mae Berner Reisterstown, MD
Ruth Kiran Bieber-Stanley Albuquerque, NM
James Robert Bilhartz Dallas, TX
George Robert Birch Woodinville, WA
Alexander Marshall Black Bessen Philadelphia, PA
Billy Segal Blender Chicago, IL
Sheridan Blitz Cupertino, CA
Claire Regina Bodger Nipomo, CA
Emily Elizabeth Bollin Rocky River, OH
Olivia Eleanor Booth-Howe Scarborough, ME
Finn Bordal Santa Monica, CA
Anna Bosco Newton, MA
Elizabeth Braverman Bethesda, MD
Andrea Elizabeth Bray Davis, CA
Mary Clare Brody Santa Monica, CA
Isabel Brown Chevy Chase, MD
Oliver Bernard Brown Ridgefeld, CT
Luke David Buck Wakeman, OH
Caroline Barrett Budnick East Greenwich, RI
Austin Michael Buga Oberlin, OH
Camille Winifred Butler Elmhurst, IL
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Dzikamai Blessing Bwititi Harare, Zimbabwe
Minqi Cai Yulin, Guangxi, People’s Republic of China
Emily Grace Cairncross Media, PA
Brigit Cann Bethesda, MD
Eleanor Cannon Ithaca, NY
Grifn Nigro Cappelletti Sherman Oaks, CA
Gwendolyn Sylvia Cappel-McCoy McKinney, TX
Jonah Rishon Carrol Las Vegas, NV
Jocelyn Iris Cavins Davis, CA
Andrés Eduardo Ceballos Villa Tousand Oaks, CA
Mari Chandy Fremont, CA
Janie Lois Kae-Jung Chang-Weinberg Chandler, AZ
Gillian Beth Chanko Sandy Hook, CT
Yen Chun (Wenna) Chen Taipei City, Taiwan
Benjamin Lewis Ciener Santa Fe, NM
Lansing Porter Clark New York, NY
Malachi Clemons Skillman, NJ
Miles Isaiah Cohen Bethesda, MD
Sophie A. Collier Washington, DC
Tyler Brooke Collins Los Angeles, CA
Maya Colman Winchester, MA
Finley Audrey Congdon Hingham, MA
Bridget K. Conway Reno, NV
Kayri Alexis Craig Collinsville, VA
Silas Crewe-Kluge La Grange, IL
Leah Benson Crowther La Crescenta, CA
Samuel Peter Cryan Westerville, OH
Eleanor Teresa Cunningham Sanibel, FL
Ry Granata Currier New York, NY
Isabelle D’Arcy Hudson, NY
Emarie Rose De La Nuez Bronx, NY
Mikaela Renee de Lemos Southlake, TX
Domenick De Luca Federal Way, WA
Sara De Roy Bellingham, WA
Matteo Paolo Debole Los Angeles, CA
Liam Patrick DeLaite Montclair, NJ
Mara Delta Falls Church, VA
Olly Jacob DeStefano Redwood City, CA
Akira Di Sandro Schaumburg, IL
Maeve Kiana Dick Lexington, VA
Hang (Heather) Tanh Do Hanoi, Vietnam
Carson Alexander Dowhan Walnut Creek, CA
Han Du Nanjing, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China
Reuben Dubester Washington, DC
Eli Hayes Hearth Durand McDonnell Bar Harbor, ME
Abigail M. Dyson Webster, NY
Joseph Riley Edell West Chicago, IL
Nathan Miles Edelmann Washington, DC
Emma Edenbaum Medford, NJ
Emma Bley Eder Seattle, WA
Emma Edney New York, NY
Sarah Jane Edwards Arlington, VA
Anjali Kaur Eichbaum Woodside, CA
Loubna El Meddah El Idrissi Temara, Morocco
Ambia Dessie Elias Bronx, NY
Lauren Elwood Bangor, ME
Olivia Estrada Saint Louis, MO
Alexander Daniel Etgen Raleigh, NC
Jakob Tristan Faber Oberlin, OH
Anna Farber Brooklyn, NY
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Madeleine Adrien Faubert Montvale, NJ
Yunfei Feng Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China
Eleda Horner Fernald Wallingford, PA
Samuel Hunt Fertig Brussels, Belgium
Katie Annalise Feuerstein Mequon, WI
Leina Mizuno Fieleke Lexington, MA
Kennie Fierro El Paso, TX
Isaac Leon Finestone San Francisco, CA
Olivia Fink Manchester, NH
Lydia Simone Finkel New York, NY
Victoria Lynn Fisher Wellington, OH
Kate Fishman New Paltz, NY
Delaney Anne Flaherty Albany, NY
E. Daniel Fleischer Hanover, NH
Benjamin Flomenbaum Lincoln, MA
Grace Flynn-Young Novato, CA
Ilana Foggle Madison, CT
Gina Helen Fontanesi Los Angeles, CA
Brendan Tomas Fontanez Saint George, VT
Fox West Hartford, CT
Micaiah Wright Fox North Brunswick, NJ
Ella G. Franklin Lexington, KY
Sarah Marie Frazier Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
Lucy J. Fredell Washington, DC
Jennifer L. Gallagher Conneaut, OH
Sophia Garcia Oberlin, OH
Hanae Eda Garrison Maplewood, NJ
Bethany MunYeen Gen Sacramento, CA
Renée Geyer Fredericksburg, VA
Gregory James Gillen Mount Vernon, OH
Madi Goetzke Saint Louis, MO
David Emanuel Gold Albuquerque, NM
Maya Goldberg Brooklyn, NY
Amos Elijah Goldfarb-Brown Tucson, AZ
Lauren Rathus Goldsamt Great Neck, NY
Olivia Cambron Goldstein Louisville, KY
Xiaoyun Gong Beijing, People’s Republic of China
Paola González Quevedo Milwaukee, WI
Sarah Goodstein Northridge, CA
Reet Kaur Goraya Rockville, MD
Megan Catherine Grabill East Lansing, MI
Avery Ruth Grace Brookline, MA
Adeline Michelle Grame Oberlin, OH
Maeve Greising Johnston, IA
Sophie Grosskopf Seattle, WA
Peng Gu Nanjing, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China
Maeve Kennedy Gualtieri-Reed Chapel Hill, NC
Puma Guerrero Lewisburg, PA
Olivia Anne Guerriero Keene, NH
Zoe Rose Mock Guiney Granville, OH
Maxwell Benjamin Gutterman New York, NY
Caroline Haas Los Angeles, CA
Will Emmet Hagan Cleveland, OH
Julia Acadia Halm Dallas, TX
Lawrence William Morris Hamilton Seminole, FL
Isaac David Raphael Handy New York, NY
Alyssa Roberta Corse Harder Charlottesville, VA
Kristen Janeé Harris Calumet City, IL
Ella Marie Hass Berkeley, CA
Brianna Renee Hayes Houston, TX
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Christo Hays Cambridge, MA
Zoe Hecht Boston, MA
Tomas Edward Hefer Longwood, FL
Alaina A. Helm Hummelstown, PA
Dylan Henson Chico, CA
JunYoung Heo Northbrook, IL
Maxwell Mark Herman Traverse City, MI
Anna Heubert-Aubry Hastings-on-Hudson, NY
Connor Edward Hibbard Saline, MI
Henry Beecher Hicks IV Nashville, TN
Catherine Emily Higgins Yardville, NJ
Cheikh S. Higgs Camden, NJ
Daniel Russell Hill Oberlin, OH
Eva Noelle Morehead Hilton Los Angeles, CA
James Barlow Holland Annapolis, MD
Lauren Alyssa Holmes Arlington, VA
Joshua Steiker Holtzman Newton, MA
Nicole Jinshil Hong Palo Alto, CA
Mikaela Johnell Howard Durham, NC
Orion Avelino Howard Hartford, CT
Alex Kenneth Howell Seattle, WA
Xiran Hu Beijing, People’s Republic of China
Eric A. Hughett Milford, OH
Emily A. Humphreys North Reading, MA
Olive G. Hwang Fishers, IN
Zoe Nicole Iatridis Atlanta, GA
Christian Ikeokwu Lagos, Nigeria
Ritesh Kumar Isuri Camp-Diable, Mauritius
Jillian Renee Jaczkowski Clinton Township, MI
Zoe Pekor Jasper Newton, MA
Gustav Erik Jaynes Plainfeld, NH
Sierra Jelks Denver, CO
Alexander Eric Nishimura Jensen Swarthmore, PA
Seok Jun Jeon Seoul, Republic of Korea
Yan Jin Beijing, People’s Republic of China
Carolina Maria Johnson Stockholm, Sweden
Jessica Abby Julian Brookline, MA
Kotaro Kajita Tokyo, Japan
Lucy Kayla Kaminsky Sleepy Hollow, NY
Zareen Kaur Kang Somerset, NJ
Abigail Keller Oberlin, OH
Emma Flynn Keppler Portland, OR
Miriam Khanukaev Boston, MA
Alex Khater Joliet, IL
Leon Joseph Khoury III Columbia, SC
James Stephen Kibitel Bay Shore, NY
Eunice Yeeun Kim Fremont, CA
Marisa Juliet DeAngelo Kim San Francisco, CA
John William Kirkpatrick Kirchenbauer Arlington, VA
Julian William Klingen Washington, DC
Robert Allan Klock River Forest, IL
Caleb Michael Knapp Ridgefeld, CT
Tory Knapp San Francisco, CA
Jenna Ko Seoul, Republic of Korea
Milend Carl Kolbet New York, NY
Katherine Joyce Koritz River Forest, IL
Sara L. Kostic Shorewood, WI
Alexander John Kott Washington, DC
Max Phillips Kraemer Parkland, FL
Lauren Deborah Kuchnir Southborough, MA
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Tomas Prendergast Kumar Carversville, PA
Davis Tyler Lai New York, NY
Minh C. Lam Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Robinson Tomas Lamont Brookline, MA
Ellisa Momoko Lang Honolulu, HI
Adelaide Laros Wilmette, IL
Emma Katherine Larson Cottontown, TN
Leo Lasdun Brooklyn, NY
Madeline Marie LaValley Bernardston, MA
Lorenzo M. Lawson Chicago, IL
Isabelle Virginia Leavy Sacramento, CA
Brooklyn Olivia Lee Issaquah, WA
Xander Lee Santa Monica, CA
Gideon Zecher Leek Cambridge, MA
Will Coult Chamberlain Leet Chicago, IL
Denise Marie Lepore Yorba Linda, CA
Nuriel Zamir Leve New York, NY
Dorian Levine Oberlin, OH
Isaac McCusker Levy Philadelphia, PA
Amelia Helena Neuber Lewis Hamden, CT
Nia Patricia Lewis Elkins Park, PA
Nicholas Teodore Lewitt Brookline, MA
Tian Liang Shenzhen, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China
Michael Liu Princeton Junction, NJ
Michelle Y. Liu Sharon, MA
Xueyao Liu Beijing, People’s Republic of China
Justin Changyuan LiXie Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
Hsu Tai Lo Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Ezra Loeb Catonsville, MD
Tomas Vincent LoVoi Tulsa, OK
Yan Lu Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
Iliana Lukasik Lancaster, NY
William Robertson Lynch Arlington, VA
Qianjun Ma Beijing, People’s Republic of China
Sophie Paige Macaulay Duxbury, MA
Cameron MacIntyre Mansfeld, MA
Katherine MacPhail Durham, NC
Samuel Mader Washington, DC
Kristof Magnus Crozet, VA
Corinne Wickham Marble Acton, MA
Zenobia Lee Marder Brooklyn, NY
Kiera Rose Markham Tinley Park, IL
Molly Marie LaDue Marshall Reno, NV
Alexander D. Martin Denver, CO
Sophia V. Matossian Ann Arbor, MI
Man Kit Mau Zhongshan, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China
Catherine Elise Mavrich Oberlin, OH
Zachary Bennett Mayer-Bickel Boulder, CO
Grace Juliana McAllister Brooklyn, NY
Maximillian Ehlert McAllister San Francisco, CA
Khalid McCalla Atlanta, GA
Emory Wood McCool Maplewood, NJ
Jhaylen Sway McDavid Simsbury, CT
Caitlin N. McDermott Washington, DC
Fiachra Robert McDonagh Beechhurst, NY
John M. Mckeown University Park, MD
Robert G. McLaughlin Highland Park, IL
Anna McLean Charlottesville, VA
Margarette Katherine McLean South Burlington, VT
Bailey Arden McWilliams-Woods Kent, OH
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Bhairavi Mehra Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Lucas A. Mendicino Bufalo, NY
Louise Hai Li Metz Troy, NY
Lila Sara Michaels Bethesda, MD
Ivy Simone Miller Oracle, AZ
Enrico Ugo Milletti Hillsborough, CA
Daniel Miriti Pacheco Columbus, OH
Alexis Christine Mitchell Fort Mill, SC
Jasmine Nicole Mitchell Herndon, VA
Julian Mitchell-Israel Brooklyn, NY
Daniel Montes Chicago, IL
Sung-il (Sun) Moon Marina, CA
Emma Angeline Maitland Moore Baltimore, MD
Daniel Procida Moramarco Haddonfeld, NJ
Evelyn Morrison Seattle, WA
Marika Mortimer-Lotke Arlington, VA
Ella Mosher Ann Arbor, MI
Kahtia Grace Moyotl Queens, NY
Stella Zilpha Mulroney Los Angeles, CA
Ceiveon Caesar Munoz Willis, TX
Chelsea Brooke Munster San Luis Obispo, CA
Sophia Madeline Musiak Federal Way, WA
Jae Muth Cary, NC
Alexa Coyne Myles Pasadena, CA
Rajitha Narreddy Bloomfeld Hills, MI
Samuel Narváez Longmont, CO
Claire Sullivan Nave Bellevue, WA
Khang Do Gia Nguyen Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Nguyen Ngoc Tran Quang Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Vu Minh Nguyen Hanoi, Vietnam
Lexi Nieves Oberlin, OH
Zachary Kandel Novick Sharon, MA
Elliot R. Nuss Portland, OR
Noa Oberman Palo Alto, CA
Natalie Jane Odmark Carmel, IN
Oluwadamilare Oluwatimilehin Ogunjimi Dolton, IL
Connor O’Loughlin Newington, CT
Roger Charles Ort Avon, CT
Lucilla Ruth Ostheimer Newark, DE
Maddison M. Paladino Downers Grove, IL
Joseph Alec Palmiotti Newtown, PA
Mallika Pandey Kathmandu, Nepal
John Walter Sullivan Parker Bay Village, OH
Sarah Nicole Passannante Livermore, CA
Natalie Kaye Passaro Oak Park, IL
Wesley Tompson Patterson Greenville, MS
Danielle Pechthalt Los Angeles, CA
Silas Gerald Pelkey Hilo, HI
Mary Meadowlark Perchlik Marshfeld, VT
Samantha J. Perez Vernon Hills, IL
Maranda May Phillips Encinitas, CA
Micaela Lucia Pirzio-Biroli Mercer Island, WA
Gaurab Pokharel Morang, Nepal
Patrick Dylan Powers La Grande, OR
Corrie Purcell Fayetteville, AR
Talia Emma Putnoi Brookline, MA
Sheng Qin Shenzhen, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China
Alexis Quirk Topsfeld, MA
Tumas Rackaitis Hudson, OH
Roberto Ramos Santa Ana, CA
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Lucia Rathbun Seattle, WA
Paige Reinstein Bufalo Grove, IL
Sofe Divall Rejto Curl Curl, Australia
Zihua (Corinne) Ren Foshan, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China
Jane Francis Rissover-Plotke Chicago, IL
Tyler Patrice Roberts Brooklyn, NY
Garrett Andrew Robins Fort Collins, CO
Niki Johanna Rodgers Milton, VT
Bella Mayumi Rody-Wright Delmar, NY
Julia Lane Rohde Valparaiso, IN
Marie Antonia Romanelli Mount Prospect, IL
Helen Bianca Ross Fort Tomas, KY
Leo Claire Ross Brooklyn, NY
Esme Margarita Rubinstein Allison Park, PA
Ella Jo Rumsey Atlanta, GA
Jordan Oscar Sacks Los Angeles, CA
Victor Cesar Salcido Rockville, MD
Kiera Saltz Lafayette, CO
Mickel Armstrong Sandifer McComb, MS
Farzad Sarkari Sugar Land, TX
Matthew Sato Louisville, KY
Sydnie Elizabeth Savarese Boonton Township, NJ
Allison Elizabeth Schmitt Mountville, PA
Hannah Sheridan Scholl Wellesley, MA
Samuel Anthony Schuman Montclair, NJ
Isobel Vaughan Schwob Cumming, IA
Alexander Tompson Scott Andover, MA
Jojo Ryan Scott Buena Vista, CO
Mark C. Scott Northfeld, IL
Kurtis Wade Scranton Leesburg, VA
Maya Seckler Newton, MA
Noa Segal Randolph, NJ
Shafe Selvidge Chapel Hill, NC
Max Jesse Shain San Francisco, CA
Madeline Ann Shaw Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA
Maja Elvia Shaw Todorovic Elmhurst, IL
Danyating Shen Oberlin, OH
Ziwei Shu Guangzhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China
Tess Ann Siciliano Sarasota, FL
Eduardo Ramon Sienra Lempeke Asunción, Paraguay
Shivani Singh Rochester, NY
Shea Sion Potomac, MD
Kayla Jasmine Small Fulton, MD
Bridget Smith Lawrence, KS
Ivy Fernandez Smith Austin, TX
Olivia Lynette Smith Maplewood, NJ
Patrick G. Smith Dayton, OH
Benjamin Hantho Smullyan Montclair, NJ
Jenna Nicole Snowden Cincinnati, OH
Mirian Soria Chicago, IL
Emily Grace Spezia-Shwif Hood River, OR
Clare Stevens Arlington, VA
Emma Grace Stillman Plymouth, MA
Robert Leslie Stott II Fair Haven, NJ
Charles W. Stube Grand Island, NY
Emmeline Sudock Hastings-on-Hudson, NY
Isabel Anjali Ruskin Tadmiri New York, NY
Gideon G. Tamir Beverly Hills, CA
Alexandra Bishop Tash Tucson, AZ
Nathan Alexander Taubkin Clifon Park, NY
Juliane Patricia Taylor New York, NY
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Miles Temoney Upper Marlboro, MD
Rosie Tale Chicago, IL
Molly Russell Tayer Belmont, MA
Yuan Tian Beijing, People’s Republic of China
Georgeanna Tisdale Oberlin, OH
Will FK Tokunaga Albany, CA
Piper Jo Divine Triggs Boulder, CO
Spencer Tu Tokyo, Japan
Emily Patrina Tucci East Dundee, IL
Elmo Tumbokon Los Angeles, CA
Jacqueline Elaine Valentine Walnut Creek, CA
Rochelle Kathryn van der Merwe Saint Paul, MN
Periklis Vasilikos Tessaloniki, Greece
Zachary Andrew Vaughn Canton, GA
Leilani Marie Vellon Chicago, IL
Luke Flanagan Volkert Philadelphia, PA
Gianna Volonte Corona, CA
Ty Logan Wagner Denver, CO
Patrick Wai East Brunswick, NJ
Maya Johanna Walsh-Little Baltimore, MD
Taylor Hawthorne Walters West Lake Hills, TX
Yuting Wang Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
Ren Wang Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
Zikai Wang Shenzhen, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China
Jonas Wanstok Cambridge, MA
Katharine Addison Ware Arlington, VA
Cara Margaret Waters Memphis, TN
Emily Lauren Weakley Bloomington, IN
Olivia Grace Weeks Los Altos, CA
Emma Mae Wehrman Kirkland, WA
Jamie Patrick Weil Plantsville, CT
Alexandra Babcock Wessel Pittsburgh, PA
Judd Louis Wexler Los Angeles, CA
Elizabeth White Charleston, SC
Ashlyn Marie Whittington Columbia, SC
Jessica Elizabeth Wilber Hinsdale, IL
Devin Michael Williams New York, NY
Paige Valentine Wilsie San Diego, CA
Rachel Nicole Witt University Heights, OH
Barnaby James Woods Seattle, WA
Jalen A. Woods Chicago, IL
Alexandra Catherine Wooldredge Stow, OH
Spencer Jun Wright Crownsville, MD
Binhong Wu Shenzhen, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China
Christina Yi Wu Saint Charles, IL
Elaine Wu Lexington, MA
Sulan Wu Rockville, MD
Yiwen Wu Luoyang, Henan, People’s Republic of China
Shuting Xie Beijing, People’s Republic of China
Laura Elizabeth Young Pepper Pike, OH
Cong Yu Beijing, People’s Republic of China
Shuangwei Yu Beijing, People’s Republic of China
Jingyi Yuan Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China
Sophia Alexandra Zandi Loveland, CO
Raul J. Zaorski Wellesley, MA
Yifan Zeng Wuxi, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China
17
Miles Bixby Zhang Bethesda, MD
Valentina (Xingzi) Zhang Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China
Zeyuan Zhang Oberlin, OH
Mincheng Zhao Suzhou, People’s Republic of China
Hengrui Zhu Heibei, People’s Republic of China
Xiaoqian Zhu Zuhai, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China
Rania Ziar Chicago, IL
Joanna E. Zienkiewicz La Grange, IL
Quentin Zimbalist Montclair, NJ
Avehn Li-Ming Zimmer-Chu Round Hill, VA
Noah Allan Zobel Amherst, MA
Natalie Rose Zoltners Chapel Hill, NC
Ava Jurgita Sabas Zuschlag Oberlin, OH
xii | closing remarks President Ambar
xiii | recessional The Commencement Brass Ensemble
Te audience will remain seated until the academic procession has withdrawn.
18
honors
graduationwith distinction
Sophie Mora Aaron with Highest Honors in Sociology
Marah Ajilat with Highest Honors in Politics
William Zachos Anmahian with Honors in Philosophy
Cameron Avery with Highest Honors in Politics
Liam Kyle Axon with Highest Honors in Mathematics
Emma Bally with High Honors in English
William J. Bertrand with High Honors in Physics and Astronomy
George Robert Birch with Honors in Computer Science
Elizabeth Braverman with Highest Honors in Hispanic Studies
Luke David Buck with High Honors in Biochemistry
Caroline Barrett Budnick with Honors in History
Emily Grace Cairncross with High Honors in Mathematics
Maya Colman with High Honors in History
Silas Crewe-Kluge with Highest Honors in Comparative American Studies
Olly Jacob DeStefano with Honors in Philosophy
Loubna El Meddah El Idrissi with Honors in Physics and Astronomy
Lauren Elwood with Highest Honors in Teater and Dance
Jakob Tristan Faber with High Honors in Physics and Astronomy
Anna Farber with High Honors in Art History
Yunfei Feng with Highest Honors in Chemistry
Leina Mizuno Fieleke with Honors in Art History
Lydia Simone Finkel with Highest Honors in Comparative Literature
Bethany MunYeen Gen with Honors in Politics
Madi Goetzke with High Honors in Art History
Lauren Rathus Goldsamt with High Honors in Philosophy
Xiaoyun Gong with Honors in Mathematics
Megan Catherine Grabill with High Honors in Anthropology
Olivia Anne Guerriero with Highest Honors in Dance
Zoe Rose Mock Guiney with Highest Honors in Hispanic Studies
Julia Acadia Halm with Highest Honors in Environmental Studies
Alaina A. Helm with High Honors in Geology
Anna Heubert-Aubry with Highest Honors in Teater
Henry Beecher Hicks IV with Highest Honors in Comparative American Studies
Alex Kenneth Howell with Highest Honors in Teater
Emily A. Humphreys with Highest Honors in Biology
Christian Ikeokwu with Highest Honors in Computer Science
Carolina Maria Johnson with Highest Honors in Anthropology
Kotaro Kajita with Honors in Mathematics
Eunice Yeeun Kim with High Honors in Biochemistry
Julian William Klingen with Highest Honors in Economics
Robert Allan Klock with Honors in Computer Science
Caleb Michael Knapp with Honors in History
Alexander John Kott with High Honors in Politics
Adelaide Laros with Honors in Philosophy
Madeline Marie LaValley with High Honors in Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies
Gideon Zecher Leek with High Honors in Politics
Nicholas Teodore Lewitt with High Honors in Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies
19
Tian Liang with Honors in Physics and Astronomy
Yan Lu with Highest Honors in History
Lila Sara Michaels with High Honors in Sociology
Jasmine Nicole Mitchell with Honors in East Asian Studies
Sung-il (Sun) Moon with Honors in Economics
Emma Angeline Maitland Moore with High Honors in History
Roger Charles Ort with Highest Honors in Biology
Sarah Nicole Passannante with Honors in Classical Civilization
Gaurab Pokharel with High Honors in Computer Science
Patrick Dylan Powers with Highest Honors in Russian
Roberto Ramos with Honors in Biology
Dirk S. Roosenburg with Honors in Physics and Astronomy
Esme Margarita Rubinstein with High Honors in Physics and Astronomy
Hannah Sheridan Scholl with High Honors in Politics
Samuel Anthony Schuman with Highest Honors in History
Noa Segal with High Honors in History
Olivia Lynette Smith with Highest Honors in Biology
Clare Stevens with High Honors in Economics
Yuan Tian with High Honors in Biochemistry
Spencer Tu with High Honors in Economics
Gianna Volonte with Honors in Religion
Patrick Wai with High Honors in Philosophy
Yuting Wang with Honors in East Asian Studies
Katharine Addison Ware with High Honors in Sociology
Cara Margaret Waters with High Honors in Chemistry
Samuel Weaver with Highest Honors in Chemistry
Alexandra Catherine Wooldredge with Highest Honors in Biology
Jingyi Yuan with High Honors in East Asian Studies
Sophia Alexandra Zandi with Highest Honors in Comparative Literature
Hengrui Zhu with Highest Honors in Physics and Astronomy
Ava Jurgita Sabas Zuschlag with Honors in Philosophy
delta phi alpha:tau lambda chapter
Sophia Mora Aaron Ruth Kiran Bieber-Stanley James Barlow Holland Clayton Dodge Luckadoo Charlotte Jane Maskelony Shannon Mustard Hannah Sheridan Scholl
omicron delta epsilon: the alpha theta chapter of ohio
Griffin Nigro Cappelletti Thomas Berle Carman Gregory James Gillen David Emanuel Gold Julian William Klingen Leo Lasdun Justin Changyuan LiXie Sung-il (Sun) Moon Danyating Shen Ziwei Shu Clare Stevens Spencer Tu Alexandra Babcock Wessel Spencer Jun Wright Shuangwei Yu Miles Bixby Zhang
phi beta kappa: the zeta chapter of ohio
Max Kwadwo Addae Samuel Ray Agnoli Marah Ajilat Liam Kyle Axon William J. Bertrand Ruth Kiran Bieber-Stanley George Robert Birch Billy Segal Blender Luke David Buck Emily Grace Cairncross Yen Chun (Wenna) Chen Andrew James Dame Madeleine Adrien Faubert Yunfei Feng Leina Mizuno Fieleke Victoria Lynn Fisher Ilana Foggle Bethany MunYeen Gen David Emanuel Gold Maya Goldberg
2 0
Olivia Cambron Goldstein Julian Ben-David Grabarek Megan Catherine Grabill Avery Ruth Grace Maeve Kennedy Gualtieri-Reed Julia Acadia Halm Christo Hays Eva Noelle Morehead Hilton Emily A. Humphreys Olive G. Hwang Alexander Eric Nishimura Jensen Eunie Yeeun Kim Julia Kristina Klein Isabelle Virginia Leavy Amelia Helena Neuber Lewis Tian Liang Justin Changyuan LiXie Yan Lu Sophie Paige Macaulay Maximillian Ehlert McAllister Robert G. McLaughlin Louise Hai Li Metz Sung-il (Sun) Moon Daniel Procida Moramarco Ella Mosher Chelsea Brooke Munster Natalie Jane Odmark Roger Charles Ort Mary Meadowlark Perchlik T. Colton Potter Alexis Quirk Garrett Andrew Robins Esme Margarita Rubinstein Hannah Sheridan Scholl Annemarie Birgit Schubert Isobel Vaughan Schwob Jojo Ryan Scott Maya Seckler Emily Grace Spezia-Shwif Juliane Patricia Taylor Spencer Tu Rochelle Kathryn van derMerwe Patrick Wai
Cara Margaret Waters Samuel Weaver Emma Mae Wehrman Paige Valentine Wilsie Spencer Jun Wright Janet Yuling Wu Cong Yu Jingyi Yuan Sophia Alexandra Zandi Miles Bixby Zhang Avehn Li-Ming Zimmer-Chu
pi kappa lambda: the theta chapter
Max Kwadwo Addae Joshua MacLaughlin Augustin Andrew James Dame Katherine Naomi Danforth Atlee Daniel Julian Ben-David Grabarek Sabine Uta-Lenore Gross Emily Barbour Hancock Amer Hasan Charlotte Annabelle Hill Claudia Grace Hinsdale Julia Kristina Klein Josephine Yoonji Lee Clayton Dodge Luckadoo Shannon Mustard Mayumi Naramura T. Colton Potter Craig Slagh Samuel Weaver Aidan Nathaniel Wiley Lippke Janet Yuling Wu Yizhou Zhong
society of sigma xi:the oberlin chapter
Erica Aoki Athina Arianna Apazidis Justin Archer Bank Emily Alyssa Bermudez William J. Bertrand
Luke David Buck Mikaela Renee de Lemos Jakob Tristan Faber Yunfei Feng Renée Geyer Paola González Quevedo Julie Acadia Halm Alaina A. Helm Daniel Russell Hill Lauren Alyssa Holmes Emily A. Humphreys Ritesh Kumar Isuri Carolina Maria Johnson Eunice Yeeun Kim Emma Katherine Larson Isaac McCusker Levy Amelia Helena Neuber Lewis Michelle Y. Liu Jhaylen Sway McDavid Roger Charles Ort Maddison M. Paladino Roberto Ramos Dirk S. Roosenburg Esme Margarita Rubinstein Farzad Sarkari Jojo Ryan Scott Olivia Lynette Smith Yuan Tian Zachary Andrew Vaughn Cara Margaret Waters Samuel Weaver Alexandra Catherine Wooldredge Jingyi Yuan Raul J. Zaorski Hengrui Zhu Joanna E. Zienkiewicz
21
fellowships and prizes
the africana studies award for excellence in academic achievement
Emarie Rose De La Nuez
the africana studies award for excellence in academic achievement and communityleadership
Khalid McCalla
the africana studies award for excellence in artistic achievement and academic achievement
Micaiah Wright Fox
the africana studies award for excellence in artistic achievement and communityleadership
Georgia John Heers
the africana studies award for excellence in communityleadership
Brianna Renee Hayes
Henry Beecher Hicks IV
Nia Patricia Lewis
Jasmine Nicole Mitchell
Mickel Armstrong Sandifer
the africana studies honorable mention for academic leadership
Kristen Janeé Harris
Lorenzo M. Lawson
Daniel Miriti Pacheco
the american chemical societycertified bachelor’s degree in biochemistry
Joanna E. Zienkiewicz
the american chemical societycertified bachelor’s degree in chemistry
Yunfei Feng
Paola González Quevedo
Daniel Russell Hill
Zachary Andrew Vaughn
Cara Margaret Waters
the american chemical societycertified bachelor’s degree in chemistryand biochemistry
Ritesh Kumar Isuri
Farzad Sarkari
the american chemical societyundergraduateaward in inorganicchemistry
Samuel Weaver
the american chemical societyundergraduateaward in organicchemistry
Joanna E. Zienkiewicz
the american chemical societyundergraduateaward in physical chemistry
Yunfei Feng
the walter e. aschaffenburg prize
Natsumi Osborn
the william t. battrick poetryfellowship
Sierra Jelks
the john d. baummemorial prize
Liam Kyle Axon
the rick black ’73 and robin silverblatt black ’72 geology student research award
Denise Marie Lepore
Georgeanna Tisdale
the mardie wheatley blanchardscholarship
Emma Angeline Maitland Moore
Noa Sega
22
the arthur blank fellowship
Iliana Lukasik
the andrew bongiorno prize in english
Emory Wood McCool
the lysle k. butleraward
Adriano Wajdi Atallah
the jason chicoinememorial prize inbiology
Alexis Quirk
Alexandra Catherine Wooldredge
the classics departmentalumni prize
Sarah Nicole Passannante
the congress-bundestag youthexchange for young professionals
Ruth Kiran Bieber-Stanley
Charlotte Jane Maskelony
the norman c. craig ’53 chemistryscholarship
Liam Kyle Axon
Oluwadamilare Oluwatimilehin Ogunjimi
the crc presschemistry award
Liam Kyle Axon
Daniel Russell Hill
Alexis Quirk
Isobel Vaughn Schwob
Alexandra Catherine Wooldredge
the critical languagescholarship
Jasmine Nicole Mitchell
the dahl philosophy prize
Jakob Tristan Faber
the distinction in dance award
Maeve Kiana Dick
the david a. evans ’63 chemistry prize
Cara Margaret Waters
the karen gebhartflint ’64 and peterh. flint initiative grants (figs)
Matthew Reed Dion
Simone M. Hammett-Lynch
Emily Barbour Hancock
Julie Kristina Klein
Anne Marie Pinkerton
the stuart friebert and diane vreuls prize for excellence in creative writing
Khalid McCalla
the fulbrightenglish teachingassistantship
Ruth Kiran Bieber-Stanley
Megan Catherine Grabill
Julia Lane Rohde
Hannah Sheridan Scholl
the fulbrightscholarship
Jakob Tristan Faber
the daniel gardneraward for student excellence in community-basedlearning
Avehn Li-Ming Zimmer-Chu
the goldwaterscholars
Olivia Cambron Goldstein
Daniel Russell Hill
Alexandra Catherine Wooldredge
the joyce a. gornmemorial prizein environmental studies
Bridgit Cann
Madeleine Adrien Faubert
Julia Acadia Halm
Lauren Alyssa Holmes
Maya Seckler
Isabel Anjali Ruskin Tadmiri
Jessica Elizabeth Wilber
Avehn Li-Ming Zimmer-Chu
23
the frank b. hanson, jr. memorial prize ineconomics
Justin Changyuan Lixie
Spencer Tu
Miles Bixby Zhang
the hope hibbard memorial scholarship in biology
Tyler Brooke Collins
Kristoff Magnus
Louise Hai Li Metz
Sarah Nicole Passannante
Silas Gerald Pelkey
Mikel Armstrong Sandifer
Matthew Sato
Alexander Thompson Scott
Janet Yuling Wu
the clyde holbrook memorial prize
Alex Khater
the harry n.holmes prize
Daniel Russell Hill
Yan Tian
the selbyharlan houston conservatory prize
Mayumi Naramura
the carl e. howe prize in physics
Patrick Wai
the emma r. howell ’03 poetry prize
Elmo Tumbokon
Jamie Patrick Weil
the faustina hurlbutt conservatory prize
Georgia John Heers
the jacobs prize forthe study of religion
Margarette Katherine McLean
the louis and annette kaufman music achievement award in piano
Jiaqing Luo
the louis and annette kaufman music achievement award in violin
Herdís Mjoll Gudmundsdottir
the thomas kutzen ’76 prize in economics
Julian William Klingen
Clare Stevens
the lahaurine-johnston memorial prize in french
Benjamin Flomenbaum
Ella G. Franklin
the gilbert lawallprize in classics
Sarah Nicole Passannante
the joshua levittmemorial prize
Robert Ramos
Matthew Sato
Alexandra Catherine Wooldredge
the john d. lewismemorial prizefor excellence in comparative politics
Alexander John Kott
the john d. lewismemorial prizefor excellence in international politics
Marah Ajilat
Anna McLean
the john d. lewismemorial prize for excellence in political theory
Cameron Avery
the george g.and carrie c. life scholarship
Caroline Barrett Budnick
Maya Colman
Gina Helen Fontanesi
Caleb Michael Knapp
Yan Lu
Natalie Jane Odmark
Emily Grace Spezia-Shwiff
Jonas Wanstok
Cong Yu
the wendell and bettye logan prize injazz studies
Georgia John Heers
the professor louise. lord classics creativity award
William Robertson Lynch
2 4
the mellon maysundergraduatefellows
Cameron Avery
Emarie Rose De La Nuez
Leina Mizuno Fieleke
Elmo Tumbokon
the james stantonmclaughlinmemorial prize
Lauren Elwood
Alex Kenneth Howell
the margaretgoodwin meacham prize in english
Emma Mae Wehrman
the leo s. millar memorial prize
Renée Geyer
Maeve Kennedy Gualtieri-Reed
Olive G. Hwang
Katherine Joyce Koritz
the rachel morris paper award inpsychology
Samuel Ray Agnoli
Ruth Kiran Bieber-Stanley
Leina Mizuno Fieleke
Avery Ruth Grace
Madeline Marie LaValley
Maranda May Phillips
Isobel Vaughan Schwob
the nash drama award
Anna Heubert-Aubry
Connor O’Loughlin
the professorjames k. newtonjapanese prize
Natsumi Osborn
the neuroscience department prize
Xiran Hu
Corrinne Wickham Marble
Robert G. McLaughlin
Tyler Patrice Roberts
Isobel Vaughan Schwob
Jojo Ryan Scott
Rochelle Kathryn van der Merwe
Janet Yuling Wu
Rania Ziar
the oberlin college research fellows
Brendan Aleman
Ritesh Kumar Isuri
Sung-il (Sun) Moon
Oluwadamilare Oluwatimilehin Ogunjimi
Gaurab Pokharel
Olivia Lynette Smith
Sophia Alexandra Zandi
Avehn Li-Ming Zimmer-Chu
the rebecca c. orr memorial prize
Liam Kyle Axon
the jesse philips fellowship in economics
Julian William Klingen
the pi kappa lambdamusicianship award
Max Kwadwo Addae
Janet Yuling Wu
the pianofaculty prize inaccompanying
Julian Ben-David Grabarek
the theodore presserundergraduatescholar award
Max Kwadwo Addae
the nancy k. rhodenessay prize
Lauren Rathus Goldsamt
the nancy robellmemorial prize
Yen Chun (Wenna) Chen
Victoria Lynn Fisher
Emma Flynn Keppler
Claire Sullivan Nave
Marc-Antonia Padilla
the paul patrick rogers prize in hispanic studies
Elizabeth Braverman
Zoe Rose Mock Guiney
Alexander Eric Nishimura Jensen
Rosie Thale
the royal society of chemistry certifcateof excellence
Luke David Buck
Eunice Yeeun Kim
the scholars and artists fellows
Zoe Hecht
Sophia Alexandra Zandi
25
the science and technology researchopportunities for a new generation (strong) scholars
Sheridan Blitz
Andrés Eduardo Ceballos Villa
Wesley Thompson Patterson
Samantha J. Perez
Roberto Ramos
the rudolf serkin conservatoryscholarship
Jiaqing Luo
the shansi fellows
Reet Kaur Goraya
Leina Mizuno Fieleke
Jasmine Nicole Mitchell
Lucilla Ruth Ostheimer
Samantha J. Perez
Corrie Purcell
Jessica Elizabeth Wilber
Elaine Wu
the comfort starr prize inanthropology
Megan Catherine Grabill
Carolina Maria Johnson
Isabelle Virginia Leavy
Jae Muth
Piper Jo Divine Triggs
the comfort starr prize in comparative american studies
Brendan Aleman
Talia Emma Putnoi
the comfort starr prize in economics
Justin Changyuan Lixie
Ziwei Shu
Spencer Tu
Spencer Jun Wright
Miles Bixby Zhang
the comfort starr prize in history
Thomas Berle Carman
Samuel Anthony Schuman
Jamie Patrick Weil
the comfort starr prize in politics
Cameron Avery
Emma Bally
Jocelyn Iris Cavins
Eli Hayes Hearth Durand McDonnell
Bethany MunYeen Gen
Marisa Juliet De Angelo Kim
Alexander John Kott
Anna McLean
Hannah Sheridan Scholl
Bridget Smith
Ty Logan Wagner
the comfort starr prize in sociology
Sophie Mora Aaron
Jessica Abby Julian
Yan Lu
Lila Sara Michaels
Samantha J. Perez
Juliane Patricia Taylor
Katharine Addison Ware
the raymond h. stetson award in psychology and psychobiology
Samuel Ray Agnoli
Ruth Kiran Bieber-Stanley
Emma Edenbaum
Olivia Cambron Goldstein
Dylan Henson
Devin Michael Williams
Rachel Nicole Witt
Christina Yi Wu
Jingyi Yuan
the stetson-heiser prize
Mikaela Renee de Lemos
Hang (Heather) Thanh Do
Isaac McCusker Levy
Marika Mortimer-Lotke
the louis sudler prize in the arts
Olivia Berke
the norma d. swearingen memorial prize
Eleanor Theresa Cunningham
the r.j. thomas ’52 award for outstanding computer science students
Domenick De Luca
Samuel Hunt Fertig
Christian Ikeokwu
Robert Allan Klock
Gaurab Pokharel
Tumas Rackaitis
Emily Patrina Tucci
2 6
the timara founders fund john clough prize
Drew Smith
the timara founders fund olly wilson prize
Max Kwadwo Addae
the truman scholarship
Henry Beecher Hicks IV
the watson fellowship
Eleda Horner Fernald
Madi Goetzke
the george b.wharton, jr. prize in geology
Lauren Alyssa Holmes
the lucy popewheeler poetry prize
Olivia Anne Guerriero
the aaron wildavsky memorial prize
Hannah Sheridan Scholl
the edward t. wongmemorial prize inmathematics
Emily Grace Cairncross
the norman hill wright prize in biology
Emily A. Humphreys
Michelle Y. Liu
Roger Charles Ort
Roberto Ramos
Olivia Lynette Smith
the xarts award
Olivia Victoria Bentley
Charlotte Jane Maskelony
Samuel Narváez
Mikaela Lucia Pirzio-Biroli
Will FK Tokunaga
the grover zinn prize
Gianna Volonte
27
biographical notes
i | retiring members of the faculty
Yolanda Cruz, Robert S. Danforth Professor of Biology
Yolanda Cruz was appointed assistant professor of biology in 1986, associate professor in 1992, professor in 1997, and Robert S. Danforth Professor of Biology in 2008. She taught courses in epigenetics and in general, cell, molecular, and developmental biology. She also taught a health careers practicum, a bioethics colloquium, and a frst-year seminar in biotechnology. She chaired the Department of Biology in the 1998-99 academic year and from 2000 to 2002. As convenor for the natural sciences from 2002 to 2013 and from 2014 to 2021, Cruz was instrumental in organizing the Oberlin Summer Research Institute and Oberlin Workshop and Learning Sessions. Her scholarly work concerned embryogenesis and embryo-maternal signaling in metatherian mammals and received funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. She also taught a course in developmental genetics at the University of the Philippines in 2015 as a Fulbright Senior Fellow.
Harry Hirsch, Erwin N. Griswold Professor of Politics
Harry Hirsch earned his AB summa cum laude at the University of Michigan and his MA and PhD at Princeton University. His areas of study include constitutional law and jurisprudence, gender and sexuality, and modern political theory. He has published several books and numerous articles on constitutional theory and practice, gay rights and politics, and the First Amendment. Hirsch taught courses on constitutional law, gay and gender politics, and American political thought. During the 2005-06 academic year, he also served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Michael Manderen ’76, Director of Conservatory Admissions; Lecturer in Guitar, Lute, and Historical Plucked Strings
Michael Manderen began working at Oberlin in 1978 afer earning a bachelor of music in lute performance and a bachelor of arts in history and music at Oberlin as a dual degree student. He has served as a judge at state- and regional-level American String Teachers Association and Music Teachers National Association guitar competitions. He has done commercial studio work in New York and Cleveland and has made appearances with the Cleveland Orchestra on lute and guitar and with the baroque orchestra City Musick (Chicago) on theorbo. He is also a sponsored touring artist under the Ohio Arts Council Fee Support Program and a recommended performer by the United States Information Agency. Manderen retired in 2020 afer 41 years at Oberlin.
2 8
David Walker ’72, Professor of English and Creative Writing
David Walker has taught at Oberlin since 1977 and has “never had the urge to look for a position anywhere else.” His teaching interests centered on 20th-century literature, drama, and creative writing. He served as chair of the English department from 1996 to 2002 and served as acting chair of the creative writing program in the 2020-21 academic year. Walker was coeditor of Oberlin College Press and the poetry journal FIELD and has published numerous articles, reviews, and books. He directed the Oberlin-in-London Program seven times and codirected a London theater tour for Oberlin alumni every other June. In 2011, Walker was a recipient of Oberlin’s Excellence in Teaching Award; in 2012, he was featured in the Princeton Review’s “Te 300 Best Professors.”
Robert Young, James F. Clark Professor of Mathematics
Robert Young earned a bachelor’s degree at Colby College in 1965 and a PhD in mathematics at the University of Michigan in 1971. He joined Oberlin’s Department of Mathematics in 1971 and was named the James F. Clark Professor of Mathematics in 1988. He was chair from 1986 to 1990, during which time he helped secure grants from the Sloan Foundation and from the General Electric Foundation. He has authored more than 40 publications, including two textbooks, An Introduction to Nonharmonic Fourier Series and Excursions in Calculus: An Interplay of the Continuous and the Discrete. He received Oberlin’s Excellence in Teaching Award in 2008 and the Professor Props award for Best Instructor of the Year in 2012. Among all of his experiences in mathematics and the arts, his participation in the Oberlin-in-London Program in 1992 was perhaps the most transformative.
29
ii | candidate for the alumni medal
Walter “Walt” B. Galloway ’69
Walt Galloway earned a degree in chemistry at Oberlin College in 1969 and served in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia and Eritrea from 1969 to 1971. He started working with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Ofce of Research and Development in 1974, where he served as a chemist, environmental scientist, facilitator, change agent, and manager. While at the EPA, Galloway conducted environmental research and various forms of training, facilitation, and organization development. Most of his work was with local governments, citizens, and fellow research scientists, helping them succeed in community-based environmental protection eforts. He retired in 2012.
Galloway is a member of the RI Rivers Council and the steering committee of the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program, and he is a past board member of a local Waldorf school. He and his wife, Hollie, sing early ecclesiastical music with a small group, and he continues a non-dual path of spirituality as an SBNR (Spiritual But Not Religious) person.
At Oberlin, Galloway is cochair of the Class of 1969 Ambassador Team. He previously served as chair of the Oberlin Annual Fund Advisory Board, the Oberlin EnviroAlums Steering Committee, and his 50th class reunion. He is also active with the Alumni Recruiting Network (ARN) and enjoys giving back to Oberlin as a volunteer. “Oberlin set the stage for my entire life in myriad ways,” he says. “Returning to Oberlin several times a year to volunteer recharges my soul in ways that few things do. I really value the ARN to facilitate and enhance the probability of prospective students and Oberlin coming together to continue our long history of producing citizens of the world who want to and can make a diference. And serving as an ambassador, I get to support Oberlin and contact people I sometimes haven’t seen in more than 40 years, and that’s really fun!”
Galloway is a third-generation Obie. His parents, Gordon and Mary Helen Gethman Galloway, were in the Class of 1943, and his paternal grandmother, Alice Anderson Galloway, was in the Class of 1916.
iii | candidate for the award for distinguished service to the community
Gail Horn Wood ’70
Gail Horn Wood has been a resident of Oberlin since Commencement/Reunion Weekend 1970 when she and classmate Reid Wood ’70 married and received their BA degrees. Tey are the parents of Alex B. Wood and Eli D. Wood and have two grandchildren. In service to Oberlin College, Gail and Reid volunteered as the frst class agents for the Class of 1970 and worked on reunion committees every fve years, including the 50th Reunion Committee that is still planning a delayed gathering.
Wood retired in 2007 afer 37 years of teaching in the elementary grades, frst at Western Reserve School District and then 31 years in the Oberlin Public School District. Wood earned a master’s degree in elementary education at Bowling Green State University in 1975. Her Prospect School third- and fourth-grade “Open Room” team-taught classroom was recognized in 1990 as a Center for Excellence for Students at Risk by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). Between 1994 and 2007, she and her teaching partner collaborated with Cleveland Opera on Tour as part of its Music! Words! Opera! program, leading to the production of nine original student-written and composed operas. In 1996 and 2005, Wood organized the revision and coedited the textbook for third graders, Oberlin: Yesterday,
3 0
Today, Tomorrow, and, with colleagues, received the History Teacher of the Year award from the Oberlin Heritage Center in 2005. She achieved national board certifcation as a middle childhood generalist in 2001 from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. As an educational leader, she led numerous conference workshops for teachers locally and throughout the United States and served for three years on the NCTE Editorial Board.
During her teaching career, Wood was an advocate for quality education through her active and long-term work on curriculum committees and advisory councils and as a district lead mentor for new teachers and chair of the local professional development committee. She held a variety of leadership positions in two teachers’ associations, including 24 years on the executive committee of the Oberlin Ohio Education Association (OOEA), with seven years as president. She was part of the bargaining team that crafed the frst negotiated contract between teachers and the Western Reserve School District and helped secure and maintain protections for teachers and students as a bargaining team member of OOEA. She served on the Oberlin College Graduate Teacher Education Planning Committee and the College-Public School Partnership Steering Committee.
Wood has been devoted to service in the Oberlin community since her retirement from teaching. She was the chair of the annual Art & Wine fundraising event of the Firelands Association of Visual Arts for 10 years and served seven years on the Oberlin Schools Endowment Board, including fve years as chair of the grant review committee. She has been on the board of trustees of the Oberlin Heritage Center since 2010, currently serving in her ffh year as president while continuing as chair of the development committee and tour docent. She has been a counselor for the AARP Tax-Aide program in Lorain County since 2009 and has been the local coordinator of the Oberlin site since 2019.
iv | honorary degree recipients
Renata Adler, Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts
An award-winning journalist, novelist, and flm critic, Renata Adler is known for her analytic essays and reviews for New Yorker magazine, where she was a staf writer-reporter from 1962 to 1968 and from 1970 to 1982. Adler won frst prize in the O. Henry short-story awards competition in 1974, and her frst novel, Speedboat, won the 1976 Ernest Hemingway Prize for best frst novel. Additional works by Adler include Gone: Te Last Days of Te New Yorker (1999) and Irreparable Harm: Te U.S. Supreme Court and the Decision Tat Made George W. Bush President (2004).
Adler has reported on some of the most defning historical moments of the last 50 years. She’s known for her searing depictions of struggles for civil rights at home, in the Middle East, and in Africa; her clear-eyed analysis of the Supreme Court and executive branch; her sharp critique of journalistic ethics at some of the most powerful media organizations in the country; and her insight into how criticism afects artists and patrons. She holds an AB from Bryn Mawr College, an MA from Harvard University, a JD from Yale Law School, and an Honorary Doctor of Law from Georgetown University.
In addition to her work at the New Yorker, Adler has been a contributor to Vanity Fair, the New York Review of Books, Harper’s, the Atlantic, and the New Republic. She was also chief flm critic for the New York Times, professor of journalism at Boston University, and a visiting fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. Adler calls herself part of the “radical middle,” politically unaligned on principle and suspicious of what might be called “institutional thought.” Her one enduring interest has been to uncover the ways that organizations (political, media, arts) press their members into thinking a certain
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way, whether by intimidation, by prestige, or by reward. Her reporting remains at all times wary of frenzy and hype, and throughout her career, her goal has been to defate bluster through meticulous analysis and to arrive at the hidden story that sits unnoticed beneath the sloganeering.
Despite her meticulous evidence and analysis, her interests remain deeply ethical, deeply human. Adler’s work constantly reminds us that, at the heart of every Constitutional ruling, behind every world-altering confict, beneath the ballyhoo of every national headline, under every totalizing political philosophy, lie humans. She reminds us that they, too ofen, get lost in the fray. Adler has spent her career fghting for them with her evidence and her words.
Peter Baker ’88, Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts and Commencement Speaker
Peter Baker is the chief White House correspondent for the New York Times, responsible for reporting on President Joe Biden. He previously covered presidents Donald J. Trump and Barack Obama for the Times and presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton for the Washington Post. He is also a political analyst for MSNBC.
Baker joined the Times in 2008 following 20 years at the Post and has reported on some of the most important stories in Washington, including elections, inaugurations, economic crises, foreign policy, natural disasters, legislative battles, and Supreme Court nominations. He served as the Post’s lead writer on the impeachment of President Clinton and covered the ups-and-downs of the Bush and Obama presidencies, including the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina, and the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. He also chronicled the tumultuous Trump administration through the coronavirus pandemic, the storming of the Capitol, and both impeachments.
In between stints at the White House, Baker and his wife, Susan Glasser, spent four years as Moscow Bureau chiefs for the Post, documenting the rise of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, the rollback of Russian democracy, the second Chechen War, and a variety of terrorist attacks. Baker also covered the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He was the frst American newspaper correspondent to report from rebel-held northern Afghanistan afer September 11, 2001, and he spent the next eight months covering the overthrow of the Taliban and the emergence of a new government. He later traveled in the Middle East for six months, reporting from inside Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and around the region before embedding with the U.S. Marines as they drove toward Baghdad. He briefy served as the Jerusalem Bureau Chief for the Times.
Baker is author or coauthor of six books, most recently the bestselling Te Man Who Ran Washington: Te Life and Times of James A. Baker III (Doubleday, 2020), which he wrote with Glasser and which was named one of the books of the year by the New York Times, the Washington Post, Financial Times, Fortune, and Bloomberg. His previous books include Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House (Doubleday, 2013), which was named one of the fve Best Non-Fiction Books of the year by the New York Times, and Te Breach: Inside the Impeachment and Trial of William Jeferson Clinton (Scribner, 2000), a New York Times bestseller. He and Glasser wrote Kremlin Rising: Vladimir Putin’s Russia and the End of Revolution (Scribner, 2005), named one of the Best Books of the Year by the Washington Post, and they are currently working on a book about President Trump.
Baker has won all three major awards devoted to White House reporting: the Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Coverage of the Presidency (twice), the Aldo Beckman Memorial Award (twice), and the Merriman Smith Memorial Award. He is a frequent panelist on PBS’ Washington Week.
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A native of the Washington area, Baker attended Oberlin College and worked for the Washington Times for two years before joining the Post in 1988 as a Virginia reporter. Glasser is now a staf writer for the New Yorker, and the two live in Washington with their son, Teodore.
John Harbison, Honorary Doctor of Music
Composer John Harbison’s concert music catalog of more than 300 works is anchored by three operas, seven symphonies, 12 concerti, a ballet, six string quartets, numerous song cycles and chamber works, and a large body of sacred music that includes cantatas, motets, and the orchestral-choral works Four Psalms, Requiem, and Abraham. He also has a substantial body of jazz compositions and arrangements.
Harbison has received commissions from most of America’s premiere musical institutions, including the Metropolitan Opera, Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. One of America’s most distinguished artistic fgures, he is a recipient of numerous awards and honors, among them a MacArthur Fellowship and a Pulitzer Prize. He has been composer-in-residence with the Pittsburgh and Los Angeles orchestras; the American Academy in Rome; and numerous festivals, including Tanglewood, Aspen, Marlboro, Santa Fe, and Songfest.
Harbison is Institute Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, principal guest conductor at Emmanuel Music, and past music director of Cantata Singers. He was president of the Copland Fund and a trustee of the American Academy in Rome. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a trustee of the Bogliasco Foundation.
He and violinist Rose Mary Harbison, the inspiration behind many of his works for violin, have been artistic codirectors of the annual Token Creek Chamber Music Festival since its founding in 1989.
Harbison’s 80th birthday was celebrated worldwide during the 2018-19 season, marked by three major premieres, several new recordings, performances across the globe, and his frst book, a compilation of essays on Bach. Te 2020 pandemic year saw a food of new compositions, especially works for voice, solo keyboard, and chorus, including children’s choir.
Michael J. Sorrell ’88, Honorary Doctor of Humanities
Michael J. Sorrell is the longest-serving president in the 149-year history of Paul Quinn College. During his 13 years of leadership, Paul Quinn has become a nationally regarded institution for its eforts to remake higher education to serve the needs of under-resourced students and communities.
Included among Paul Quinn’s numerous accomplishments during Sorrell’s tenure are the following: winning the HBCU of the Year, HBCU Student Government Association of the Year, and HBCU Business Program of the Year awards; achieving recognition as a member of the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll; creating the New Urban College Model; demolishing 15 abandoned campus buildings; partnering with PepsiCo to transform the football feld into the WE over Me Farm; achieving full-accreditation from the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS); creating the college’s frst faculty-led study abroad program; and rewriting all institutional fundraising records.
Sorrell is one of the most decorated college presidents in America. Recently, former president George W. Bush and the George W. Bush Presidential Center awarded him the Bush Institute Trailblazer Citation. He has been named one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders by Fortune Magazine; is the only three-time recipient of the HBCU Male President of the Year Award; won Higher Education’s President of the Year
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award as named by Education Dive; and Time Magazine listed him as one of the 31 People Changing the South. Washington Monthly Magazine identifed him as one of America’s 10 Most Innovative College Presidents, and Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. and PUSH/Excel honored him with its Education Leadership Award.
Sorrell is the recipient of both the Dallas Bar Association’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Justice Award and the City of Dallas’ Father of the Year Award. In addition to being a member of the “Root 100” (a list of the top 100 emerging leaders in America) by Te Root online magazine, Sorrell received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Duke University, the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, and St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago, Illinois; the A. Kenneth Pye Award for Excellence in Education from Duke University’s School of Law Alumni Association; the Social Innovator Award from Babson College; the Vision Award, Center for Social Entrepreneurship, Middlebury College; Luminary Award from SMU; and the TRACS Leadership Award. Te Dallas Historical Society honored him for Excellence in Educational Administration. Sorrell is a past recipient of the Dallas Urban League’s Torch for Community Leadership and both President’s and C.B. Bunkley awards from J.L. Turner for his outstanding contributions to the Dallas legal community. He also holds an honorary degree from Austin College.
Sorrell earned a JD and MA in public policy at Duke University and an EdD at the University of Pennsylvania. While in law school, he was one of the founding members of the Journal of Gender Law & Policy and served as vice president of the Duke Bar Association. He received a Sloan Foundation Graduate Fellowship, which funded his studies at both Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government (as a graduate fellow) and Duke University. He graduated from Oberlin College with a BA in government, served as secretary-treasurer of his senior class, was a two-time captain of the men’s varsity basketball team, and graduated as the school’s ffh all-time leading scorer.
Among the entities for which Sorrell serves as a trustee or director are Duke University’s School of Law, the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania, JP Morgan Chase’s Advancing Black Pathways, Amegy Bank, the Hockaday School, the Dallas Advisory Board of Teach for America, the Dallas Foundation, and EarthX.
Sorrell is married to the former Natalie Jenkins, who is an alumna of Spelman College and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Tey have two children, Michael Augustus and Sage Louise-Sinclair.
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in memoriam
Commencement at Oberlin is a celebratory and joyous event for our graduating seniors, their parents and relatives, and the entire Oberlin College Community. On this special weekend, we also
remember those members of our community who died during the past academic year.
Mary Blavos, Special Assistant, AVP Finance
David Boe, Emeritus Professor of Organ
Norm Craig, Emeritus Professor of Chemistry
Aiden Day ’21, Politics and Hispanic Studies student
Stuart Friebert, Emeritus Professor of Creative Writing
Glen Gerstacker, Buildings and Grounds
Helen Hastings ’24, frst-year student working toward her dreams
Richard Levin, Emeritus Professor of Biology
Carolyn Macha, Secretary, Controller’s Ofce
Eleanor “Skip” Matus, Custodial Staf
Suzanne Overstreet, Secretary, Creative Writing Program
Eugene Rogers, Groundsworker
Marlene Schreiber, Financial Assistant, Controller’s Ofce
Fredrick Shults, Emeritus Professor of Athletics and Physical Education
Edith Swan, Associate Dean for Academic Afairs
Barbara Thomas, Assistant Director, Student Counseling
Delores Whitney, Secretary, Career Services
Patricia Wolf, Purchasing Department
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in memoriam
Today we remember Ammar Abo-El-Naga (1999-2018) and Aiden Day (1998-2020), who entered Oberlin College as members of the Class of 2021. Ammar was a rising sophomore, and Aiden a rising senior, at the time of their passing. Ammar and Aiden remain beloved by their friends and peers and deeply admired and missed by their mentors and professors. We honor their achievements today alongside their families and friends with gratitude for the unique gifs that each shared so generously.
Ammar Abo-El-Naga, from Kafr El-Sheikh, Egypt, studied neuroscience. A Bonner Scholar and a member of the Muslim Student Association, Ammar frequently volunteered at Oberlin Community Services and at Kendal at Oberlin, a local retirement community. Marah Ajilat ’21 shared that Ammar was “for countless people, the frst friend they made at Oberlin,” as well as “a role model and inspiration.” Dana Hamdan, associate dean of students and executive director of the Career Development Center, knew Ammar to be “an explorer who was intrigued by people, new experiences, and life. His deep curiosity found many homes, drawing him to questions of science, philosophy, and everything in between. Tis harmony is one that few are able to achieve. But that was Ammar. His soul touched us all, and he will forever be in our hearts. Allah Yerhamo.”
Aiden Day, from Deerfeld, Massachusetts, was pursuing majors in politics and Hispanic studies. A member of the lacrosse team, Aiden stood up for justice through his words and actions. Natalie Winkelfoos, associate vice president for athletics advancement and Delta Lodge Director of Athletics & Physical Education, shared with the Oberlin Review that “the way he chose to show up in this world and for his teammates made an impact that is beyond measure. He is the illustration of courage, kindness, strength, and love.” Associate Professor and Chair of Hispanic Studies Claire Solomon saw these qualities in the classroom as well, sharing that Aiden “always had a smile for everyone” and worked diligently to apply his skills in the service of others, whether locally or abroad.
Ammar Abo-El-Naga and Aiden Day each leave a profound legacy through the many lives they touched. Te Oberlin community will carry their memories long afer this day.
As we celebrate the accomplishments of our graduates, please also celebrate the lives of these former members of our community who contributed so much to the life of Oberlin College and Conservatory.
Carmen Twillie Ambar President
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additional notes for our guests
• Oberlin ofers translated captions for several common languages. You may access them online here:
» go.oberlin.edu/captions-english » go.oberlin.edu/captions-arabic » go.oberlin.edu/captions-japanese » go.oberlin.edu/captions-korean » go.oberlin.edu/captions-spanish » go.oberlin.edu/captions-vietnamese
• Please remain seated for the entire duration of the ceremony. Oberlin College staf will assist guests with a safe and healthy arrival and departure process.
• All guests must follow all posted protocols and guidelines including maintaining a 6-foot distance from other households and wearing a mask at all times.
• Concessions and refreshments are not available for guests at the athletics complex.
• ADA-compliant restroom facilities can be found nearby at the Knowlton Athletics Complex and on the northeast side of the stadium.
• Emergency medical services are available at Mercy Allen Hospital on Lorain Street. Tose needing assistance may contact any Oberlin College security ofcer.
• Lost items will be collected and held by the Ofce of Campus Safety on West College Street. Contact a security ofcer or facilities staf member to turn in a found item or inquire about a lost item.
• If you are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms, please do NOT attend the ceremony.
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