Honoring the Class of 2021

All from this series

  • Looking at public health through an LTGBTQ+ lens

    Austin Marshall, M.P.H. ’21, wants to be a physician-advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and care for patients as a doctor.

  • Engineering change

    After graduating Harvard, Juliet Nwagwu Ume-Ezeoke ’21 is off to study civil engineering at Stanford University, but first, she will squeeze in yet another experience in Africa.

    Juliet Nwagwu Ume-Ezeoke ’21
  • Harvard awards 7,640 degrees and certificates

    At the ceremony honoring the Class of 2021, the University awarded a total of 7,640 degrees and certificates.

    Harvard flags.
  • Real scenes from an online graduation day

    Capturing the moments of celebration as Harvard recognizes the Class of 2021.

    Friends and families meet.
  • Finishing the work left undone in America

    Ruth Simmons, one of the nation’s top higher education leaders and president of Prairie View A&M University, called on Harvard and its graduating Class of 2021 to fight to close the chasm of inequality that recent years have illustrated still exists in America.

    Ruth Simmons.
  • A year of strength and resilience

    As life returns more to normal, there is so much to reflect on and to celebrate as we look back.

    A statue of someone leaping and reaching to the heavens.
  • The double life of Truelian Lee

    Concentrating in chemistry and English, Truelian Lee blended art with scientific problem-solving to bring chemistry to wider audiences.

    Truelian Lee.
  • Finding a call to action in global poverty and blindness

    Lawson Ung studied eye disease and the social determinants of where it’s most common

    Lawson Ung,
  • Honorands awarded for achievements in law, art, education, science

    Seven honorary degrees will be awarded to Frances Hamilton Arnold, Martin Baron, Arlie Russell Hochschild, Salman Amin Khan, Margaret Hilary Marshall, Anna Deveare Smith, and Sebastião Salgado.

    John Harvard Statue.
  • Blazing trails for others to follow

    Eli Langley graduates as Harvard’s first Coushatta and the youngest Koasati speaker.

    Eli Langley.
  • There is more to Jeremy Lin than ‘Linsanity’

    NBA star and activist Jeremy Lin ’10 spoke to graduating seniors about how he’s come to see his identity as a barrier-breaking Asian American in a new light.

    Jeremy Lin.
  • Aging matters

    Sneha Dutta, Ph.D. ’21, wants to understand why individuals age differently and if there’s a way to counter old age’s harmful effects .

    Sneha Dutta , Ph.D. ’21.
  • Bacow tells seniors COVID-19 brought losses, but also growth

    President Larry Bacow offered poignant reflections during the Baccalaureate Service honoring the Harvard College Class of 2021.

    Class Day
  • Four in a million

    In a virtual ceremony on May 26, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) awarded the Centennial Medal to four distinguished alumni who have made fundamental and lasting contributions to knowledge, to their disciplines, to their colleagues, and to society.

    John Harvard Statue.
  • In their own words

    DACAmented senior Tania Dominguez-Rangel wants to tell firsthand stories of undocumented immigrants.

    Tania Dominguez-Rangel
  • Fueled by a love of education and creativity

    Already a teacher and principal, Shahara Jackson came to Harvard hoping to learn how to become a transformational superintendent.

    Shahara Jackson,
  • Scene: College

    Actor Ece Hakim, who has appeared in 10 soap-opera-style television series and two movies in Turkey, plans to continue her career after graduation, this time in the U.S. But she values what she has learned from psychology, a discipline she recognized early on offers important insights for her work on the set.

    Ece Hakim.
  • Fueling a creative spark

    Hands-on engineering challenges fuel Daniela Villafuerte to solve problems and help build a better world.

    Daniela Villafuerte.
  • To support and defend the Constitution

    Eleven undergraduates and one student at Harvard’s Extension School will commission as officers in the military during Commencement week.

    Views of Milltary flags and a Veritas flag.
  • Viewing the pandemic as a turning point away from old inequities, injustice

    Three student orators will deliver speeches as Harvard honors the Class of 2021 on May 27.

    Harvard Yard.
  • Music and theater with a message

    Harvard senior Joy Nesbitt has devoted much of her Harvard time to producing theater and music with a message.

    Joy Nesbitt.
  • Creating a niche

    Harvard Medical School grad Ryoko Hamaguchi tapped her artistic talents as she bridge two worlds, two cultures.

    Ryoko Hamaguchi.
  • The business of oral health care

    Ashiana Jivraj brings a business background when seeking solutions to equitable dental care.

    Ashiana Jivraj.
  • When things just add up

    Opie Morgan says her years in the Math Department have been a time of validation and self-discovery.

    Morgan Opie.
  • Rahel Imru wants to bridge the science divide

    For Rahel Imru, encouraging more Black students in STEM has been a goal since high school.

    Rahel Imru.
  • Divine rights

    Eboni Nash came to Harvard Divinity School to study Black liberation theology and prepare for a career of activism around issues of racial justice and mass incarceration.

    Eboni Nash.
  • And how about the time Churchill snuck into Commencement — in September

    University archivist Megan Sniffin-Marinoff, who is retiring after almost 20 years at Harvard, shares notable Commencements and Harvard University Archives’ role in preserving each year’s ceremony.

    Winston Churchill.
  • The quantum storyteller

    Sukin “Hannah” Sim develops algorithms and writes the computational stories that dictate how quantum computers tackle problems.

    Hannah Sim.
  • A literary translator, far from home, feels a tie with an exiled Ovid

    Muhua Yang ’21 — living in Cambridge and separated from friends and family by the pandemic — chose the elegies of the five volumes of “Tristia” as the subject of their senior thesis in literary translation.

    Muhua Yang '21
  • Engineering a startup by degrees

    When Michael Mancinelli ’15 arrived on campus to begin his journey through the M.S./M.B.A. program, it almost felt like he was coming home.

    Michael Mancinelli.