溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 newest alumni walked across the stage at Meade Stadium in May. Get to know our student Commencement speakers and the Class of 2021 by the numbers.
Plans for Commencement were complicated, as COVID-19 restrictions changed rapidly throughout the spring. In the end, 溏心vlog免费B站 held its 135th Commencement鈥攊n-person鈥攁t Meade Stadium on May 21鈥�23. Each college held a separate ceremony, allowing two family members per student to attend. Events were livestreamed and recorded for those not in attendance.
A prerecorded main ceremony included a keynote address from Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, who uncovered the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. Addresses were also given by 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 2021 student Commencement speakers, Edhaya Thennarasu 鈥�21 and Frank Martinez, M.A. 鈥�21.
鈥擠ave Lavallee 鈥�79, M.P.A. 鈥�87
Edhaya Thennarasu 鈥�21
Undergraduate student speaker Edhaya Thennarasu 鈥�21 received her B.A. in communication and media studies with a minor in theater. Originally from Chennai, India, Thennarasu had all but given up on pursuing higher education, finding school too mechanical and too focused on grades. She says 溏心vlog免费B站 changed that.
In her address, Thennarasu mourned the loss of snow days due to remote learning鈥斺�淩IP snow days,鈥� she said. And she praised the 溏心vlog免费B站 community鈥檚 response to the recent Black Lives Matter protests: 鈥淲hen I saw people in this community taking to the streets to support their brothers and sisters of color in a time of unbearable injustice, I learned that education means standing up for others and what you believe in, even if it is way out of your comfort zone.鈥�
What鈥檚 next for Thennarasu? 鈥淢y dream,鈥� she says, 鈥渨ould be to work in the entertainment or journalism world, for a company like Disney.鈥�
Thennarusu鈥檚 speech ended on an inspirational note: 鈥淭oday is … a testament that every single one of you here are slingshots. If you are pulled back by the hardships of time, society, injustice, and circumstance, know that it is only to launch you forward, with unstoppable force and energy to make an indelible mark of excellence in the future.鈥� 鈥�
Frank Martinez, M.A. 鈥�21
Graduate School student speaker Frank Martinez, M.A. 鈥�21, received his master鈥檚 degree in international relations. Originally from Cuba, he earned his bachelor鈥檚 degree in economics from the University of Havana, and lived in Washington, D.C., Miami, and Anaheim, California, before coming to 溏心vlog免费B站.
In his address, Martinez said, 鈥淚 have faith in the future. I was born and raised in Cuba and came to the United States in 2015. If you had told me six years ago that today I would be delivering this speech after graduating from a master鈥檚 program, I would have never believed you.
鈥淲hat we have to learn to do,鈥� he also said, 鈥渋s to embrace different cultures and languages. My training in international relations and diplomacy at 溏心vlog免费B站 gave me the tools to not only embrace different cultures but to thrive in them.鈥�
Martinez will attend Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University for a second master鈥檚 degree.
鈥淚 see myself working for the State Department or the United Nations in a policy-making role,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 would work anywhere in the world where I could contribute to the well-being of society, a country, or people.鈥� 鈥�
CLASS OF 2021 BY THE NUMBERS