The 104th WHITTIER COLLEGE COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY took place at Memorial Stadium on a typically warm Southern California day against the backdrop of hills. The haze of the morning quickly gave way to uplifting words of  encouragement from supporters like keynote speaker Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and other optimists looking forward to a brightly lit future.
In her Charge to the Class of 2007, President Sharon Herzberger implored the students to “fully enjoy this day and savor your accomplishments.”

Indeed, the graduating class consists of scholarship winners, fellowship awardees, athletes, musicians, artists and of course poets – an accomplished lot any school would be proud of.

The diversity of the student body was praised by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who received an honorary doctorate of humane letters. In the Mayor's Commencement Address, he admired Whittier College’s enviable position as one of the nation’s most diverse, selective, liberal arts colleges where one in four graduates is Hispanic.

Above all, Villaraigosa was impressed with the College’s choice of mascot: the Poets.

“Poets know there is more to life than clothes and a checkbook balance,” said Villaraigosa, noting that the school was founded by John Greenleaf Whittier, a renowned poet and abolitionist. “Eyes of the poet reveal whether we will continue to put our stock in e pluribus unum" (out of many one).

Not only was Villaraigosa intrigued by the history and legacy of Whittier College, he was also inspired by two graduating Poets who reminisced about their experiences.

“We learned that liberal minds think outside the box,” said Sudeshna Majumdar, who in true Poet fashion delivered her speech in verse.

Roberta Roy, who is from the city of Whittier, said, “The bottom line is Whittier College cares about each of us as individuals. Whittier College has provided us with the skills and knowledge for success.”

President Herzberger summed the ceremony up by telling the graduates: "Learn from indirection, wrong directions, wrong turns, u-turns, dead-ends, and loops in the road. I charge you to trust that the foundation you have gained here at Whittier will help to light your path. Live the full, complicated, adventurous life that your faculty has prepared you to live and be confident as you take those leaps."

BACCALAUREATE PICTURE GALLERY
Photographer: Steven Burns

COMMENCEMENT PICTURE GALLERY
Photographer: Steven Burns

COMMENCEMENT PICTURE GALLERY
Photographer: Tatiana Shabelnik