Honoring the Class of 2020

All from this series

  • In tune with a program of dual study

    Avanti Nagral decided to try the new dual-degree program and earned a bachelor of arts degree from Harvard while getting her master’s from Berklee College of Music — all in five years.

    Avanti Nagral in a car.
  • Rising above a biased system he’s now determined to change

    Growing up in Mattapan, Kwame Adams refused to be defined by low expectations. Now the Ed School grad aims to help Boston students of color avoid the same biases he faced.

    Kwame Adams
  • A drive that’s taken her around the world

    Lessons learned from Rewan Abdelwahab’s four trips to five countries during her time at Harvard.

    Rewan Abdelwahab in Egypt.
  • HAA honors three with Harvard Medal

    The Harvard Alumni Association has announced that David L. Evans, Leila T. Fawaz A.M. ’72, Ph.D. ’79, and Joseph J. O’Donnell ’67, M.B.A. ’71, will receive the 2020 Harvard Medal.

    Memorial Hall at Harvard University.
  • Coming full circuit

    From a high school electricity class in Kenya, Billy Koech knew he was destined to become an electrical engineer. This May, he will graduate from Harvard’s John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences doing just that.

    Billy Koech.
  • Doing the right thing

    Jose Cerda III ’88, Koma Gandy Fischbein ’95, and Theresa Reno-Weber, M.P.P. ’08, offer the Class of 2020 advice about the value of public service.

    Reno-Weber leads a crew for Metro United Way’s Day of Action.
  • Reason to smile

    After he graduates from Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Jeffrey Taylor will pursue a residency in oral and maxillofacial surgery where he’ll one day reconstruct damaged jaws, fix life-altering facial deformities.

    Jeffrey Taylor.
  • Positive disruption

    Saamon Legoski, a student in Harvard Chan School’s M.P.H.-45 program is on a mission for environmental justice.

    Saamon Legoski.
  • Once on this island

    Marvin Merritt IV ’20 was born and raised on the small island of Deer Isle, Maine, the centerpiece for his senior thesis and a single destination in this artist’s journey.

    Deer Isle-Stonington Bridge.
  • Birth of a sleuth

    As a first-year, Jordan Villegas ’20 took his passion for archival research to the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study and spent his next four years becoming a Radcliffe triple threat.

    Jordan Villegas.
  • Elevating people of color and women in the workplace

    Deeneaus ‘D’ Polk, M.P.P. ’20, found his way from Mississippi to Harvard Kennedy School via Germany — but his plan is to return to the South and bring opportunity to jobseekers.

    Deeneaus “D” Polk.
  • Breaking ground with new degree

    Juan Reynoso will be the second Harvard student to have completed a new joint Master in Public Health/Master in Urban Planning degree program.

    Juan Reynoso.
  • Adding it all up

    Akshaya Annapragada, who will graduate with an A.B. in applied mathematics and an S.M. in engineering sciences-bioengineering, with a secondary in global health and health policy at the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, arrived at Harvard eager to develop better medical tools.

    Akshaya Annapragada.
  • Harvard postpones Commencement

    Harvard’s 369th Commencement ceremony will be indefinitely postponed, a move aimed at stemming the spread of the coronavirus.

    Commencement crowd in Harvard Yard 2019.
  • Melinda Gates to receive Radcliffe Medal

    Melinda Gates, co-chair of the world’s largest philanthropic organization, will be presented the Radcliffe Medal on May 29.

    Melinda Gates looking at a computer with nurses in Tanzania.
  • Harvard readies for 369th Commencement

    Harvard University will hold its 369th Commencement on May 28.

    Harvard Yard during Commencement.
  • Martin ‘Marty’ Baron to speak at Commencement

    Martin “Marty” Baron, widely regarded as one of the leading newspaper editors of his era, will be the principal speaker at the Afternoon Program of Harvard’s 369th Commencement on May 28.

    Photo of Marty Baron at his desk.
  • Koma Gandy Fischbein ’95 elected chief marshal

    Koma Gandy Fischbein ’95 will serve as chief marshal at Harvard’s 369th Commencement on May 28.

    A portrait of Koma Gandy Fischbein.