Commencement 2014

A collection of stories covering Harvard University’s 363rd Commencement.

All from this series

  • Reflections on a half century at Harvard

    John P. “Jack” Reardon Jr. ’60, who will step down as Harvard Alumni Association executive director in July, shares his memories as he looks back on 50 years at Harvard University.

  • Snapshots of a sun-splashed day

    A roundup of capsule stories and photos surrounding Harvard’s 363rd Commencement.

  • A man of many talents

    Law School graduate Elliot Schwab multitasks, from music to real estate to Talmudic studies

  • Bridging science and religion

    Divinity School graduate Shelley Brown is combining her love for science and religion to help stitch together two fields that rarely seem to meet.

  • A decade of breakthroughs

    The Harvard Stem Cell Institute is now 10 years old. What began as an idea embracing cross-disciplinary research quickly became a generator of scientific discoveries.

  • House calls, without visits

    With a master’s from the School of Public Health, physician Darrell Gray hopes to use telecommunications to extend care to endangered groups in underserved neighborhoods.

  • Harvard Campaign on track

    Donors have given $1 billion to The Harvard Campaign since its public launch in September, bringing the total raised to more than $3.8 billion.

  • House renewal and rebirth

    House renewal is one of the largest and most ambitious capital improvement campaigns in Harvard College history, aiming to transform the student experience by ensuring that each House can strongly support the learning and living needs of the modern undergraduate.

  • At 71, he earns his third degree

    Henry Hacker, a lifelong collector, earned his third degree at 71, in museum studies at the Harvard Extension School.

  • Carrying the Harvard flag

    HAA President Catherine A. “Kate” Gellert will pass the torch to Cynthia A. Torres. Both alumnae encourage engagement and connection as they envision Harvard’s future, locally and globally.

  • Eight to receive honorary degrees

    Former New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the principal speaker at Afternoon Exercises, will be joined onstage by a former U.S. president, a singer, an economist, and other leading lights.

  • High-stepping through life

    Rossi Lamont Walter Jr. ’14 graduates with a passion for dance, the history of science, and Jewish culture. He plans to help others see and develop their strengths.

  • A giant jewel box, lit by the sky

    The Harvard Art Museums will open its greatly expanded and renovated home this fall, aligning the Fogg, Sackler, and Busch-Reisinger museums under a massive glass roof.

  • From Tonga to Tercentenary

    Moana ′Ulu′ave, a Tongan-American who is getting her master’s from the Graduate School of Education, is bringing her storytelling culture to a wider world.

  • A laser focus on freedom

    Jieun Baek, who is graduating from Harvard Kennedy School with a master’s in public policy, is dedicated to opening North Korea to the world.

  • The community builders

    When the leadership of Harvard College changes hands later this summer from interim Dean Donald Pfister to incoming Dean Rakesh Khurana, undergraduates will find that while the life experiences and research backgrounds of the two couldn’t be more different, their focus on the job of dean is the same.

  • 7,334 degrees, certificates awarded at Harvard’s 363rd Commencement

    A breakdown of degrees and certificates awarded at Harvard’s 363rd Commencement.

  • Motivated by impact

    More than 700 alumni volunteers will ask their peers to give to Harvard in celebration of a reunion or as an annual gift.

  • Going forward, a look back

    The Harvard Campaign, milestones in the arts, and scientific breakthroughs marked 2013-14 at Harvard.

  • A celebration of ideas

    The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study is turning 15, with 900 of its closest friends in attendance. During the ceremonies, the institute will award the Radcliffe Medal to its former dean, Harvard President Drew Faust.

  • In 1914, poised for war

    The Harvard and Radcliffe Classes of 1914 were the University’s final ones before world war. Their brilliant students became players on a stage of vanishing national innocence.

  • Lean in, speak out

    At Class Day ceremonies, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg urged graduates to confront hard truths and address wrongs they find in the world.

  • Learning from nature, native peoples

    The Graduate School of Design’s Natalia Gaerlan, a world-class athlete who has earned a master’s in urban planning, studies how green infrastructure can protect coastal cities.

  • GSAS honors four with Centennial Medals

    This year, four prestigious scholars received the Centennial Medal.

  • Moving on to the military

    A Tercentenary Theatre ceremony launches seven ROTC graduates as officers in Marines, Navy, and Air Force.

  • Their memories and hopes

    A budding mathematician, an international thinker, and a creative achiever are the student speakers at Harvard’s 2014 Morning Exercises.

  • An immigrant triumph

    After leaving Brazil at age 11 for the United States, Eric Westphal ’14 learned English and started climbing life’s ladder, culminating as an honors graduate.

  • A hand up to a better future

    Graduating senior Jesse Sanchez has come a long way from the poor streets of San Diego’s City Heights neighborhood, and now wants to help those struggling toward college.

  • Listen for the bells

    In celebration of the city of Cambridge and of the country’s oldest university, a number of neighboring churches and institutions ring their bells at the conclusion of Harvard’s 363rd Commencement Exercises, for the 26th consecutive year.

  • Partners, from grade school to Medical School

    Fraternal twins Rosh and Roshan Sethi have shared much of their lives, including at Yale as undergraduates and sharing an apartment while enrolled at Harvard Medical School. Now preparing to graduate, they’re anticipating diverging careers, with Roshan exploring radiation oncology and Rosh head and neck surgery.