Commencement 2021

It had been a long, hard year, and the forecast called for thunderstorms. But on Friday, June 4, the skies cleared long enough for the 570 members of the class of 2021 to celebrate the College’s 143rd commencement. President Paula Johnson welcomed the seniors gathered on Severance Green and over 100 scholars from around the United States and from China, India, Morocco, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Zimbabwe.

A student and a faculty member speak, the faculty member with their hands over their heart

A student adjusts Harambee House and Africana studies stoles before commencement

Students in line before commencement, wearing robes and stoles and tams

A student adjusts their tam, decorated with a colorful wreath of flowers, at commencement

A student uses their cell phone to take a picture of two other students embracing and smiling for the camera

Two students in robes and tams high-five with both hands

The back of a students tam decorated with the word "sea" and a painted seascape

Faculty members in regalia joshing around

Students process to their seats, some carrying signs with the names of students attending remotely

Faculty applaud as students process during commencement

Faculty carrying the spirit stick (it's a stick wrapped in white and blue ribbons?)

A view of the stage at Commencement 2021

Kimimilasha “Kisha” James ’21 at the podium

An acknowledgment that Wellesley is built on the ancestral and unceded lands of Indigenous people was offered by Kimimilasha “Kisha” James ’21, an enrolled member of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) and Oglala Lakota.