Baccalaureate on Saturday

The 2025 Baccalaureate will take place on Saturday, May 24, at 2:30 p.m. in Cordiner Hall.

Hosted by the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, Baccalaureate is an hourlong celebration featuring music from graduating Music majors and brief readings, prayers and reflections from a wide range of religious traditions, including humanist/nonreligious perspectives. It is an opportunity to gather in community around whatever each of us finds meaningful or sacred—for those of all faith traditions, for those of no faith tradition and for everyone in between. 

“In my work, I’ve come to think of interfaith gatherings like this to be particularly generous spaces,” says Interfaith Chaplain Adam Kirtley. “Some of what is experienced at Baccalaureate might feel deeply resonant with your own story. Other things will undoubtedly feel less familiar. That’s OK. Folks are invited to engage the various elements of this ceremony in whatever ways feel most comfortable to them. This is an invitational time. Nothing is required or expected. Everyone is invited to breathe deeply, feel grounded here and open their hearts to what they might learn about others—and themselves.” 

The keynote address at Baccalaureate will be delivered by Elizabeth Knapp (pictured), Professor of Earth and Environmental Geoscience at Washington and Lee University, where she also serves as Director of the Johnson Program in Leadership and Integrity. She is the mother of Jenner Smith ’22 and graduating senior Charlie Smith ’25, both Geology-Environmental Studies majors.

Student reflections will be offered by: Brennan Ibrahim Franz ’25 and Hamze Haashi ’25; Emmanual Sakala ’25; Eyleen Menchú Tuy ’25; Eva Hauksdottir-Neill ’25 and Meera Jain ’25; Nadja Goldberg ’25; and Morgan Sherwood ’25.

Keziah Eckert ’25 and Miles Wilderman ’25 will perform the second movement of Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Cellos. Jeffrey Wu ’25 (jazz guitar) and Philip Ratner ’25 (jazz piano) will perform “Believe, Beleft, Below” by Esbjorn Svenssön, Dan Berglund and Magnus Öström (2003).

The ceremony’s opening blessing will be delivered by Jesse 峰 風 (Hofu) Burgess ’92, speaking from a Rinzai Zen Buddhist perspective. The event will close with a blessing from Jeanine Gordon, enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and Special Assistant to the President for Native American Outreach.