Undergraduate Diploma Ceremonies Filled with Excitement and Hope

Undergraduate Diploma Ceremonies Filled with Excitement and Hope

For Journalism major Alex Lott ’26, Commencement meant more than receiving a diploma magna cum laude.

“I was diagnosed with autism when I was two years old. I was told I wouldn’t graduate high school,” said Lott. “It’s mindboggling to me that I’m graduating from Emerson.”

On Saturday, May 9, Lott was one of approximately 1,000 undergraduate students to receive their diplomas at individual school ceremonies, held at the Wang Theatre.

For first-generation college graduate Charly Peña, a Health and Social Change major, the moment was deeply emotional. As she reflected on earning her degree, she began to cry.

“It’s a true honor to my family,” she said.

Political Communication major Georgia Winn ’26 delivered the student address for the School of Communication diploma ceremony, speaking about the importance—and difficulty—of caring.

“The truth is, it can be a lot harder to care. It’s exhausting. To care is to open yourself up to seemingly endless opportunities for disappointment—jobs you don’t book, projects that don’t land, campaigns you lose,” said Winn.

Winn encouraged her fellow graduates to continue caring, emphasizing how deeply that spirit defines Emersonians.

“So, if the last four years, if all of you have taught me anything, it’s this: care anyway. Even when it’s embarrassing. Even when it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard. I don’t think the world needs more people who are above it all. It needs people who are all in. People like you.”

The night before graduation, Shadrach Akoi ’26 screened his film Tale of a Sundown Town at a BFA showcase, proudly using an ARRI ALEXA camera—a piece of equipment he had never even heard of before coming to Emerson.

The next day, at the School of Film, Television, and Media Arts diploma ceremony on Saturday afternoon, Akoi reflected on his time at the College, saying that gaining the technical knowledge to make films and graduating were the first steps toward achieving his larger goal: telling stories about his homeland, Liberia, where he lived before his family immigrated to the U.S. as asylum seekers when he was 10 years old.

“I really want to tell stories about my country. I was born during the Civil War. I want to tell stories about what my parents went through,” Akoi said.

Learning new skills and gaining confidence were also central to the journey of SOF student Joseph de Grandpre ’26. He began his undergraduate education in 2020 at a different institution before leaving that school, persevering through challenges, and eventually finding his way to Emerson.

“I’m proud that I didn’t let doubts get the best of me,” said de Grandpre.

Sharing Life Lessons

For Media Arts Production major Charlotte Trafalgar Harteveld ’26, one person was notably absent from her graduation ceremony: her father, who passed away in 2025.

“The single most important lesson he taught me is that the greatest gift you can give is your participation,” said Harteveld, who addressed her peers at the SOF diploma ceremony.

That advice, she said, also reflected the spirit of her classmates. Harteveld noted that one of the hallmarks of being an Emerson student is getting involved as much as possible, and she encouraged her peers not only to participate, but to do so with purpose and integrity.

“Your participation matters. You commit to a production, have a dance show, a group project, and a midterm all in the same week,” said Harteveld. “In these dizzying moments my father would always say this to me—don’t stare into the void—just do the next right thing.”

At the undergraduate diploma ceremony for the School of Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies on Saturday afternoon, Creative Writing major Anytza Delgado ’26 spoke about her non-traditional, non-linear path to Emerson. Graduating from high school in Lawrence, MA, 2008, amid an economic collapse, Delgado said she went to work when her peers went to college. 

Despite being 14 years older than most of her classmates, Delgado said they “are far more alike than we are different.”

“We both came of age during instability. We both inherited economic uncertainty. We both learned how to pivot when the plan collapsed,” said Delgado, a first-generation college student. “That is not distraction. That is focus. That is talent. That is the Emerson spirit.”

Delgado, who after graduation will intern at El Mundo Boston as a producer and talent booker for its morning show, reminded her classmates that they are ready to lead in an uncertain world. 

“You are prepared. You are thoughtful. You are capable of building the world you want to inhabit,” she told her peers. “The world will have opinions. Let your work answer them.”