‘Bring All That You Are to All the World Needs’

The strength of community was a common theme among the honorary degree recipients and college and student leaders who addressed the class of 2025 during Smith’s 147th Commencement ceremony on May 18.

“We are not here just to succeed by ourselves. We are here because together we are stronger. Together we are better,” Senior Class President Lala Rukh ’25 told fellow graduates assembled in the Quad. “We’re not just going out there to face the world, we’re going out there to change it.”

Student Government Association President Ehle Cameron DeVaughn ’25 credited Smith with giving students “the space to question deeply, learn openly, and imagine otherwise—in a world where education is increasingly censored, where critical thinking is treated like a threat.”

“We’re not leaving here fragile,” DeVaughn said. “We’re going out with grit and urgency…. We’ll lead with both intellect and heart.”

In her welcoming remarks, President Sarah Willie-LeBreton emphasized that Smithies can count on their community even after leaving campus.

“Your education will continue, your friendships will grow deeper and more meaningful as the years pass, and your connection to this place will endure and even sustain you as you venture into other co-existing worlds to undertake the hard work of making it better,” Willie-LeBreton said. While taking up that “serious work,” she encouraged graduates to look for “moments of unexpected joy.”

“When they land on your doorstep do not shut the door. Invite them in, or join them on the stoop,” Willie-LeBreton said. “When you do these things, you will see the world differently, with all of its beauty and perhaps with more compassion and understanding, humility and humanity that will make you better at whatever you choose to do.”

The college awarded 687 undergraduate degrees Sunday and 53 graduate degrees. Members of the class of 2025 came to Smith from 44 states and 17 countries.

Commencement weekend featured much-loved college traditions including dance and music concerts, teas, candle lighting, and the rose-and-garland lined Ivy Day parade on May 17. Nearly 1,000 alums from the classes of 1975, 1985, 1990, 2005, and 2015 were on campus celebrating their reunions.

On Sunday, each of four honorary degree recipients offered tributes and words of wisdom to the class of 2025—including in song.

Danielle Allen, scholar, author, and democracy advocate, urged graduating Smithies to become active citizens of their communities.

“Our democracy is ailing,” said Allen, who is professor of political philosophy, public policy, and ethics at Harvard University and founder and chairperson of Partners In Democracy. “Some influential figures even argue it should be replaced with a monarchy. But instead of that, we should renovate it. Each of us needs to claim our civic role—by joining a civic group—so that working with others we can direct our energies to reform.”

Evelyn M. Harris, singer, composer, and former member of the a cappella group Sweet Honey in the Rock, stressed the importance of upholding the values of justice and peace.

“We were all created for the truth, for the beautiful, for the good,” she said.

“Shake your feathers…. Spread your wings,” Harris urged graduates, before singing a few refrains of the gospel song “I’ve Got a Feeling (Everything’s Going to be Alright).”

The crowd clapped along.

Two days later, Harris relinquished her degree after it was discovered that portions of her remarks were borrowed from other commencement addresses without attribution. Read a letter from President Sarah Willie-LeBreton to the campus community.

Admiral Rachel L. Levine, 17th assistant secretary for health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said graduates should be “ready to stay surprised” as they move into careers, further education, or other pursuits.

“We often don’t really know the exact path our career or our life will take us and what history we will make,” noted Levine, who practiced medicine for decades before becoming a government health leader and the nation’s first openly transgender presidential appointee.

When making decisions about the future, “think back to this moment, right here, on the cusp of graduation,” Levine advised. “Think for a moment about the kind of society that you want to live in and the kind of society that you want to build. Think about how history will remember it and remember you. This will help guide you.”

For journalist and educator Preeti Simran Sethi ’92, being part of this year’s Commencement ceremony brought back memories of the “mix of excitement and uncertainty that arises when endings meet beginnings.”

Sethi cited the importance of critical thinking, of connecting to nature, and of the knowledge “embedded in community and in your very bodies.”

“When uncertain, get still,” she said. “Listen to the answers your heart and bones hold. Learn to trust their quiet wisdom.”

“And remember you’re never alone,” Sethi added. “As you cross into a world that needs your shining presence, class of 2025, remember we belong to each other. Be magnitude, my siblings. Be harvest—be joy, be compassion, bring all that you are to all the world needs. You are amazing, the best-ever, Smithies. You are shining and I know—in my heart and in my bones—you will shine.”