Harvard Class of 2015 Senior Week and Commencement Activities May 2015 Presented by the 2015 Senior Class Committee and the Harvard Alumni Association Contents 2015 SENIOR CLASS COMMITTEE A Note from Your Class Leaders 1 Marshals House Representatives Sietse Goffard, Adams House Senior Desk and First Marshal Emily Kraemer Commencement Week Ticketing 2 Chisom Okpala, Cabot House Senior Week Events 3 Second Marshal Caroline Breinin Alejandro “Aleja” Currier House Commencement Week Schedule 5 Jimenez Jaramillo Annie Garofalo Dunster House Chika-Dike Nwokike FAQs About Senior Spring 8 Jackie Schechter and Commencement Week Sudheer Poluru Eliot House Megan Prasad Life After Harvard 9 Kj Stime Joshua “Josh” Scott Kirkland House Senior Week Events at a Glance 12 Bob Wu Bridgette Slater Leverett House Commencement Week Events 13 Secretary Casey Fleeter at a Glance Mandi Nyambi Lowell House Amira Abedallah Treasurer Mather House Brian Mwarania Megan Walcek Tech & Media Team Pforzheimer House Leah Goldman Tommy Chen Quincy House Jane Chung Christina Nguyen Senior Gift Co-Chairs Winthrop House Cynthia “Cindy” Shih Katie Gamble Cindy Guan Tianhao He Alissa Song Sharon Stovezky THE INFORMATION IN THIS BOOKLET CAN ALSO BE FOUND ONLINE AT: harvard2015.com/seniorweek alumni.harvard.edu/collegegrad Any changes or updates to this guide will be featured in the Class of 2015 email newsletter: Dear Class of 2015, We have just overcome one of the most tremendous hurdles of our lives––four years of HUDS dining. Kidding! College was a wild ride, to say the least. It was full of psets, papers, mentors, friends, parties, and late nights at the Kong. From freshman seminars to senior theses, intro meetings to leadership roles, and life on the Yard to our Houses, we have been challenged—challenged to think deeper, ask questions, and enhance our understanding of others. As a Class, we have traveled across campus and around the globe, broadening our own horizons and putting lessons into practice. Inspiring, talented, intelligent, traveled, thoughtful, kind, friendly: these are just a few words that pop into our heads when we think about the phenomenal individuals who make up our Class. We laughed together; we cried together; we have become a cohesive unit, a family––and now it’s time for our paths to diverge. The idea that this is the end is frightening, and we may not know what to expect, but here’s our big bang theory. In a few weeks our unit will spread to cover nearly every section of the globe. We’ll have friends in New York, Taiwan, Georgia, and Brazil. Classmates will be taking on a variety of challenges like doing field research, running their own businesses, continuing their education, or traveling the world. Harvard, as we know it, will no longer be confined to the five-mile radius in Cambridge, but instead it will lie in the long-distance phone conversation with your freshman year roommate or a quick coffee date with your former teammate. Harvard is all of us, and we take a little bit of it with us wherever we go. But for now, before our big bang on Commencement, before we shoot off and expand like stars in the Milky Way, let’s go out with a bang. With this in mind, your Senior Class Committee and the Harvard Alumni Association have organized the events outlined in this booklet as a capstone to four years of hard work, perseverance, and excitement. From roller coasters and soirées to talent shows and athletic competitions, these events will surely be some of the most fun and memorable of our time here. Take advantage of these opportunities to bond with friends and classmates and create memories that you’ll talk about not just the morning after but also at our 5th, 25th, and 50th Reunions. And no matter where you find yourself after Commencement, always remember that Harvard— especially the Class of 2015—will be there for you as a source of support and community. Stay connected with one another and with our Class, and remember that our website (harvard2015.com), class newsletters, regional Facebook groups and mailing lists, and local Harvard Clubs and Shared Interest Groups will be great sources of news, events, and connections in your new homes. If you have any questions about Senior Week, please don’t hesitate to contact any of us on the Senior Class Committee. We’re here to help make this week as exciting and enjoyable as possible. Make it a memorable week. This is our time. It’s Senior Week—do it right! Onwards, Mandi Nyambi, 2015 Class Secretary Sietse Goffard, 2015 First Marshal [email protected] [email protected] Chisom Okpala, 2015 Second Marshal [email protected] 1 SENIOR DESK CLASS DAY PICNIC Senior Desk is located at the Harvard Alumni Wednesday, May 27, noon–2:00 PM Association (HAA) offices at 124 Mount Old Yard Auburn Street, 6th Floor. Senior Desk will Each senior is entitled to three complimentary be open weekdays between 11:00 a.m. and tickets. Graduating seniors will require one of 3:00 p.m. from Wednesday, May 6, through these tickets for entry. Additional tickets may Wednesday, May 27 (Class Day). Please make be purchased in advance at Senior Desk for an effort to pick up your tickets earlier in $10 per ticket. May rather than later. If you arrive on one CLASS DAY EXERCISES of the last days Senior Desk is open, you can expect a considerable wait for your tickets. Wednesday, May 27, 2:00–4:00 PM Get there early! Tercentenary Theatre Before you pick up your Commencement Each senior is entitled to five complimentary Week tickets, you must complete the online tickets. Graduating seniors will require one of senior exit survey, titled “Enrolled Student these tickets for entry. Additional tickets will Survey.” If you are set to graduate and it has be available at Senior Desk. been acknowledged by your House administrator COMMENCEMENT DAY or resident dean, you will receive an email Thursday, May 28, 8:00 AM–4:15 PM containing a unique URL that will give you Tercentenary Theatre access to the survey, starting May 5. The survey takes 24 hours to process, so please wait one Family members and guests of graduating business day before picking up your tickets seniors will require tickets for admission to at Senior Desk. the Morning Exercises and the Annual Meeting of the Harvard Alumni Association Please bring your HUID, as only you can pick up (the Afternoon Program). your Commencement Week tickets—no exceptions. Your family members were invited Graduating seniors in academic regalia do not to all the Commencement Week events in a need tickets for the Morning Exercises. Family mailing sent out in March, with the option of members and guests will require tickets. The ordering additional tickets to the Class Day Morning Exercises are extremely crowded; Picnic; these tickets will be available for consequently, tickets are limited to a maximum pickup at Senior Desk. Additional tickets for of four per graduating senior, and additional this event and for the Commencement Day tickets will not be made available. luncheons may also be purchased at Senior Desk Tickets for the Afternoon Program are limited with cash or credit card. There is no limit to to five tickets per senior. Graduating seniors the number of additional tickets you can will require one of these tickets for entry. purchase for these events. Additional tickets may be available at Senior Desk as Commencement approaches. COMMENCEMENT WEEK All tickets will be available at Senior Desk. TICKETING note: Tickets to the Class Day Exercises, SENIOR CLASS FAMILY RECEPTION Morning Exercises, and Afternoon Program allow admission into Tercentenary Theatre but Tuesday, May 26, 5:30–7:30 PM do not guarantee seats. Seats cannot be reserved Science Center Plaza and are available on a first-come, first-served Each senior is entitled to three complimentary basis. The sale of tickets for the Class Day Exercises tickets. Graduating seniors will require one of and Commencement Exercises is prohibited. these tickets for entry. Additional tickets will be available at Senior Desk. 2 DIPLOMA PRESENTATION Sunday, May 17 CEREMONIES AND LUNCHEONS SENIOR SIX FLAGS TRIP Thursday, May 28, noon–2:00 PM 9:00 AM–6:00 PM Undergraduate Houses Six Flags New England, Agawam, MA Between the Morning Exercises and the Departs from Soldiers Field Athletics Area Afternoon Program, each House holds a (next to Harvard Stadium) diploma ceremony and luncheon. Tickets are Rain or shine not required for the ceremony but are Tickets: $40 (includes bus transportation required for the luncheon. Complimentary and entrance) luncheon tickets for the graduate and two guests will be provided; additional tickets are Dress: Casual $15.50 per guest and can be purchased at You may not have many chances left to eat Senior Desk in advance or at the checker’s tons of junk food and scream like a child with desk on Commencement Day (limited and hundreds of friends, so join the Class of 2015 cash only day-of ). For more information at Six Flags New England! Buses will depart about the diploma ceremony or luncheon, from the football stadium lot at 9:00 a.m. and please contact your House administrator. will leave the park at 4:00 p.m. Get ready for the rides of your life! HARVARD CLASS OF 2015 Monday, May 18 SENIOR WEEK EVENTS SENIOR OLYMPICS Senior Week Tickets 3:00–5:30 PM All Senior Week tickets and bundles are Cumnock Turf Fields, Soldiers Field available at the Harvard Box Office, located in Athletics Area the Smith Campus Center (or online through Rain or shine ofa.fas.harvard.edu/cal) and are SEF eligible.