Reintroducing the Class of 2020
Two years after ϳԹ’s Class of 2020 graduated virtually at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, about 300 class members returned to campus to reconnect and, at long last, celebrate their graduation in person.
Those who were in attendance recreated the fun of ϳԹ Senior Week and the poignance of crossing a stage in front of their peers, families, and the College community. The Commencement Celebration in Arthur Zankel Music Center in recognition that many of the graduates and their families are now all over the world.
There were hoots, hollers, and high-fives, as well as tears of joy, relief, and some
sorrow. More importantly, members of the class were able to celebrate the completion
of a seminal life journey and reflect, with classmates, on four memorable years at
ϳԹ and two subsequent years of challenge, perseverance, and accomplishment.
They were also finally able to hug some of the people they’ve so dearly missed.
Looking back, a message from their unprecedented virtual Commencement set the tone
for their weekend: “No one could have prepared us for our current situation,” Jinan
Al-Busaidi ’20, president of the class, said in May 2020. “Nevertheless, nothing can
take away the experiences that have allowed us to grow, nor the families we have made
for ourselves at ϳԹ … ‘We made it’ means so much more to the Class of 2020.
Let us look forward to the future because we have earned it.”
Al-Busaidi returned to address the class once again at the Celebration alongside President
Marc C. Conner and President Emeritus Philip A. Glotzbach. Two honorary degree recipients,
Dr. Tricia Hellman Gibbs and Dr. Richard Gibbs, were also recognized at the ceremony.
Class of 2020, it was great to have you back. Your resilience and spirit, your willingness
to accept and embrace the unexpected, and your ongoing contributions to the world
will be etched in our hearts and in the history of the College for a long time to
come.
In honor of your belated celebration, we’ve curated a few points to remember your
remarkable time at ϳԹ.
642 Graduates
435 B.A., 206 B.S., and 1 M.A.
32
49
39
91
70
Academics
Terrence Gatton '20 and Haoyang Huang '20 study the sleeping pattern of fruit flies during a summer research program inside the Neuroscience department.
In true multidisciplinary, liberal arts fashion, the graduates collectively completed 752 majors and 384 minors. The most popular major was management and business (111), and the most popular minor was media and film studies (32).
They collected hundreds of awards and memberships in national honor societies, co-authored published research, and presented at numerous academic conferences.
Flashback: Stories from Spring 2020
Athletics
Class of 2020 student-athletes challenged and rewrote the record books during their time at ϳԹ. It's hard to celebrate without recognizing that spring athletes missed much of their senior seasons, but no one can deny that the time before and after has been about building lifelong connections with teammates.
Flashback: Stories from Spring 2020
With the end of the spring 2020 semester completed remotely, athletic teams found creative ways to honor and celebrate their seniors. Below are the individual pieces by each team.
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Campus Life
The Class of 2020 arrives at ϳԹ in September 2016
The Class of 2020 poured their hearts and souls into their four years at ϳԹ, joining and leading countless student clubs, participating in and going to hundreds of campus events and performances, advocating for equity and justice on campus and across the globe, creating new sustainability initiatives, and serving as peer mentors, health educators, and more. Along the way, every student made a difference.
Flashback: Stories from 2016-2020
Post-grad and beyond
Despite unimaginable obstacles in this country and across the globe, the Class of 2020 tenaciously pushed forward and pursued their dreams. From graduate school to first jobs, some of the places members of the Class of 2020 headed to right after graduation included:
Employers
AIG
Albany Molecular Research Inc.
Amazon Web Services
AmeriCorps
Ayco
BBC News
Boston Children’s Hospital
Capital One
City Year Boston
Columbia University
Dana Farber Cancer Institute
Denver Public Schools
Freedom Mortgage
GE Power
Guidepoint Healthcare Consultancy Group
i360
IBM
KPMG
M&T Bank
Massachusetts General Hospital
McKinsey Consulting
NPR
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration/Cooperative Institute for Research in
Environmental Sciences
Northeastern University
Office of the New York State Attorney General
Santander Corporate & Investment Bank
Saratoga Hospital
Social Security Administration
Somerville Homeless Coalition
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Success Academy Charter Schools
The Chestnut Hill School
Trilia Media
Vineyard Vines
Further education
Auburn University, counseling/psychology
Boston University, physical therapy
Brown University, public humanities
Colorado State University, food science and human nutrition
Columbia University, ecology evolution and conservation biology
Cornell University, accounting
Dartmouth College, engineering
Duke University, business
George Mason University, sports and recreation studies
Hunter College, dance education
Indiana University, law
McGill University, law
New York University, data science
Rochester Institute of Technology, business
Sarah Lawrence University, creative writing
Simmons University, library and information science
Swedish University of Agricultural Science, soil, water and environment
Syracuse University, illustration
The Johns Hopkins University, data science
University of Chicago, public policy
University of Connecticut, law
University of Iceland, geology
University of Miami, exploration science
University of North Carolina at Charlotte, kinesiology
University of Texas, law
University of Wisconsin - Madison, atmospheric and oceanic sciences