“Aim for building bridges instead of creating chasms,” said painter and poet Raja Changez Sultan ’72 to the graduates of the Trinity College Class of 2022 during his Commencement address on Sunday, May 22. “The diversity that you find around the globe is our collective strength.”
A crowd gathered on the Main Quadrangle witnessed more than 520 students receive their degrees. Among the undergraduates, 320 received B.A. degrees, and 188 were awarded B.S. degrees. Six of the undergraduate degree recipients were Individualized Degree Program (IDP) students. In addition, 14 graduate students received M.A. degrees.
Sultan, an internationally renowned artist from Pakistan, received an honorary doctor of fine arts degree in recognition of his distinguished career and his devotion to a more just society for his home country and for the world. Speaking remotely, he offered advice to the graduates before reading an excerpt from one of his poems.
Sultan implored the Class of 2022 to strive for a balance between power and wisdom and to shun shortcuts. “Success has always come through dedication, hard work, and commitment,” he added. “May your journey be long and purposeful, and may each of you leave an indelible mark on the sands of time.”
Honorary degrees also were presented to Lloyd Alexander Lewis Jr. ’69, the first African American from Alexandria, Virginia, to be ordained to the priesthood of the Episcopal Church, and Cornelia Parsons Thornburgh ’80, the first female chair of the Trinity College Board of Trustees.
Renita Washington ’22, selected as the student speaker, noted the ways in which she and her classmates persevered during challenging times. “In the spring of our sophomore year, we were all hit hard by a global pandemic and conversations about racial inequity,” she said. “We were all affected. But if I do say so myself, we persisted.”
In her charge to the graduates, Trinity President Joanne Berger-Sweeney encouraged the members of the Class of 2022 to use their voices and their education to empower others. “That is the essence of education,” she said. “It’s not just how you use education to make life better for yourself but how you will use it to make life better for others. This idea explains why we say that education is a public good: it’s not simply what job you get; it’s how society will be better because you got your education.”
Daniel Jacob Nesbitt, of Ohio, who earned a B.S., summa cum laude, in public policy and law and with honors in chemistry, was named valedictorian; Nayantara Ghosh, of India, who earned a B.A., summa cum laude, in political science and urban studies, in addition to a minor in religious studies, was named salutatorian.
Following the awarding of degrees, then-Trinity College Alumni Association President Jamie Tracey Szal ’06 welcomed the graduates into the community of Trinity alumni. “You may be departing campus, but you always will be among family,” Szal said. “Wherever you land, the alumni—30,000 strong—are there: ready, waiting, and eager to support you as you go out into the world.”
For videos, photos, and more, visit https://www.trincoll.edu/commencement/
ACCOLADES
Trustee Award for Faculty Excellence: Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of American Studies Davarian Baldwin, Associate Professor of Legal and Policy Studies Adrienne Fulco
Trustee Award for Staff Excellence: Athletics Equipment Manager Sonia E. “Penny” Lawrence, Hillel Director Lisa P. Kassow
Trustee Award for Student Excellence: Alicia Maria Camuy ’22, John D. Hayes Jr. ’22
The Thomas Church Brownell Prize for Teaching Excellence: Brownell Professor of Philosophy Dan E. Lloyd
The Dean Arthur H. Hughes Award for Achievement in Teaching: Assistant Professor of Religious Studies Gabriel F. Hornung, Assistant Professor of Computer Science Ewa Syta
PHOTOS: NICK CAITO, GINNY KEMP