2024 MIT Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony
[MUSIC PLAYING] ANNOUNCER: Please rise and welcome the academic procession. ["POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE"] And now, please welcome the guests of honor, the graduates of 2024. [MUSIC PLAYING] Good morning, everyone. Please be seated, and welcome MIT President, Sally Kornbluth. [APPLAUSE] SALLY KORNBLUTH: Good morning and welcome to the most beautiful day of the year at MIT. I have a feeling that none of you are in the mood this morning for half a dozen long, detailed speeches.
So you're in luck. We have only one, not long speech from Chancellor Nobles, and some music from two of your very talented classmates, and a whole lot of hard earned diplomas. I'm absolutely thrilled to be here with all of you, and your families, and your friends. From where I'm standing, they look excited, proud, and maybe a little bit relieved.
They can't wait to see you transform from MIT students to MIT graduates. So let's get started. [APPLAUSE] PENNY BRANT: Good morning, everyone. I'm Penny Brant, President of the senior class of 2024.
[APPLAUSE] And today it is my privilege to introduce two of our classmates who will honor us with musical performances. The recipient of this year's Lewis Sutler prize in the arts, Phoebe Lin, is a California native, graduating with a degree in earth, atmospheric, and planetary Sciences. At MIT she has had the opportunity to blend her interests in music and atmospheric sciences. As an Emerson Harris fellow, she performed two solo recitals that featured music related to the environment.
And as a member of the MIT wind ensemble, she traveled to the Brazilian Amazon to perform and learn about cultural and environmental sustainability. Today, Phoebe will be joined on stage by pianist, William Wang, who is pursuing a PhD in computer science at MIT. And together, they will perform a movement from Carl Reinecke Undine Sonata, named for the mythological water nymph. Following the address by Chancellor Nobles, Adanna Abraham-Igwe will take the stage to sing lead vocals in a performance of Lean On Me, written and recorded by Bill Withers and arranged by Laura Grill Jaye. Adanna, a veteran of the MIT vocal jazz ensemble, is from the San Francisco Bay area, where her interest in singing started at home with her family listening and playing music together.
She studied both computer science and music at MIT, and after graduation, will be working as a software engineer. Now, please welcome flutist Phoebe Lynn and pianist William Wang. [APPLAUSE] [MUSIC PLAYING] MELISSA NOBLES: Thank you, Phoebe and William.
OK, everyone, it's happening. It's graduation day. Congratulations to you, you soon to be graduates. And congratulations to your loved ones. What a day. To the class of 2024, you're here today graduating from MIT on beautiful Killian Court, thanks in part to the many people who believed in you, who championed you, who boosted you when you needed it.
Many of your loved ones are here today. And others around the globe are beaming with happiness as they watch the ceremony online. So soak up all of the love and pride of your families, and friends, and champions here and afar. It's a very special day for them, too.
Thank you, parents. Thank you, families. Thank you, friends. Thank you to the professors and staff here at MIT. And thank you to everyone who has helped shape our graduates' journey to this day.
And now let's talk about you, the graduates of 2024. Yes, you started at MIT-- [APPLAUSE] You started at MIT during COVID. But don't worry, we won't dwell on that. But what I do want to highlight is because the world turned upside down, because you didn't know the typical rhythms of MIT and the upper classes couldn't show you all of the ropes, you did what MIT students do best. You made stuff up. You figured things out.
You experimented. You iterated. You engineered. You stretched. You created new traditions.
You bonded. You used your heart. And you built your communities first online, and then on campus because connections to people never felt more important. And I'm not trying to glamorize this. Surely, starting from scratch can be daunting, rocky, inefficient, exhausting, and filled with dead ends.
But it also creates possibility, which you filled with creativity, strength, persistence, and resilience. And as a consequence, you built a complete and fulfilling college experience. So as you wrap things up, take a moment to pause and to be present. Look around at your classmates, strangers who you met on Zoom and became tight friends under tough circumstances.
Think back to the fall of your sophomore year, when things literally opened up on campus, and you too opened yourselves up wholeheartedly to your fellow students. What wild adventures you had as sophomores getting to know each other and drinking from MIT's famed fire hose together IRL. And feel the pride, the pride of your care that you've shown to classes who will follow in your footsteps by passing along the institutional knowledge that you painstakingly unearthed, that you created and refined so that future students don't need to start from scratch as you did. Think about your houses, your clubs, your mentors inside and outside of the classroom, your teams, your performances, your research, your coursework, and your creations. Think about the intellectual curiosity that you arrive with, plus all that you've learned since, and how your passions and ambitions led you to even more complex discoveries.
And remember, all of the P sets that you completed, it will never need to do again. [APPLAUSE AND CHEERING] Well, you'll soon leave behind your beloved maker spaces and favorite hangout spots in the practice fields where you gave things your all. You'll bring your problem solving skills, your ingenuity, your passions and drive to new spaces, new spots, and new fields. You'll forge new friendships while staying in touch with your MIT besties. You'll buy bananas at the grocery store and reminisce when you get them 24/7 at the Banana Lounge back in the day.
You'll trek through the unknown with an adventurous and generous spirit. You'll ask for help when you need it. And you'll continue to inspire others and give to others that follow. Above all, you'll be confident about what's possible, what you can achieve, how you can apply your talents and skills in this complex world because you have a hard-earned MIT degree.
Your degree is an extra special accomplishment because you faced so many adversities along the way individually and together as a class. But you did it. And you are all here today. And we're celebrating with you here and around the globe.
And we are all so very proud of you. So now let's take time to listen to some soulful music, and then get those diplomas to you. And then we're going to make things official.
Congratulations, MIT class of 2024. [APPLAUSE] Adanna, take it away. [CHEERING AND APPLAUSE] ["LEAN ON ME"] Lean on me. Lean on me.
Lean on me. Some times in my life we all have pain. We all have sorrow. But if we are wise, we know that there's always tomorrow.
Lean on me. Lean on me. Lean on me. When you're not strong. I'll be your friend.
I'll help you carry on. For it won't be long til I'm gonna need somebody to lean on. Please swallow your pride if I have things you need to borrow. For no one can fill those of your needs that you won't let show. So just call on me, brother, when you need a hand.
We all need somebody to lean on. I just might have a problem that you understand. We all need somebody to lean on. If there is a load you have to bear that you can't carry, I'm right, right up the road.
I'll share your load if you just call me. Just call on me, brother, when you need a hand. We all need somebody to lean on. I just might have a problem that you understand.
We all need somebody to lean on. Lean on me. Lean on me.
When you're not strong. I'll be your friend. Wanna be your friend. I'll help you carry on. Lean on me. It won't be long till I'm gonna need somebody to lean on.
I'm going to need somebody to lean on. I'm gonna need somebody to lean on. I'm going to need somebody to lean on. I'm gonna need somebody to lean on me. Somebody to lean on me.
Thank you. [APPLAUSE AND CHEERING] CYNTHIA BARNHART: On the recommendation of the faculty and pursuant to the vote of the corporation, diplomas for the achievement of Bachelor of Science will now be presented. President Kornbluth will open the graduate recognition by presenting diplomas to the class marshals and senior soloists.
SALLY KORNBLUTH: Recognition will now be given to the graduates on the stage. [READING NAMES] CYNTHIA BARNHART: Diplomas for the class of 2024 will be presented by school deans. For the School of Architecture and Planning, Dean Hashim Sarkis.
For the School of Engineering, Dean Anantha Chandrakasan and Dean Dan Huttenlocker. For the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, Dean Augustine Rayo. For the School of Science, Dean Nergis Mavalvala. And for the Sloan School of Management, Professor Rodrigo Verdi, Deputy Dean for Degree Programs, Teaching, and Learning. SALLY KORNBLUTH: Bachelor of science diplomas will now be presented to students in the School of Architecture and Planning who have completed the specified degree requirements. [READING NAMES] - Bachelor of Science diplomas will now be presented to students in the School of Engineering who have completed the specified degree requirements [READING NAMES] SALLY KORNBLUTH: Bachelor of Science diplomas will now be presented to students in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences who have completed the specified degree requirements.
[READING NAMES] SALLY KORNBLUTH: Bachelor of Science diplomas will now be presented to students in the Sloan School of Management who have completed the specified degree requirements. [READING NAMES] SALLY KORNBLUTH: Bachelor of Science diplomas will now be presented to students in the School of science who have completed the specified degree requirements. [READING NAMES] SALLY KORNBLUTH: The presentation of bachelor's degrees to the 2024 graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is now concluded.
Congratulations! [APPLAUSE] [MUSIC PLAYING] Congratulations, class of 2024 family and friends, please exit the court at Memorial Drive. Thank you.
2024-06-10 08:11
