As the 2013-2014 school year winds down, graduation is certainly a hot topic. The typically most exciting part of a graduation, aside from getting that whole diploma thing, is the commencement speakers. Amherst, like many other smaller institutions, has big to shoes to fill because some larger universities attract major celebrities, and the causal president, to their graduations. This year’s Commencement Speakers should deliver terrific addresses and they are a diverse group who will be able to shed light on several topics. Some seniors may be a bit too nervous to listen, graduation is scary, but those who do are sure to gain some useful knowledge.
There will be six speakers followed by a speech given by Amherst College President Biddy Martin. The speakers include David Brooks, Cullen Jones, Thai-Hi Lee, Nate Silver, Sarah Sze, and Jide Zeitlin ’85. While to most these names might jump off the page, they are all lead incredibly compelling lives and each student is sure to find an emotional connection with at least one of them.
David Brooks is a cultural and political commentator. Mr. Brooks has worked for publications including The New York Times, Newsweek, The Weekly Standard, and the Atlantic Monthly. He is also the author of several texts that range in topics including the American political and economic systems.
Cullen Jones is an Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer who has broken several swimming records including the American record for the 50-m freestyle in the 2008 Olympic Trials. Cullen Jones is from the Bronx, New York and was educated at North Carolina State University where he graduated in 2006. Mr. Jones is not new to public speaking and his speeches usually discuss diversity, overcoming adversity, and motivation.
Thai-Hi Lee graduated from Amherst College in 1980 and went on to receive an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1985. Ms. Lee now serves on the Amherst College board of trustees. By 1989 she was already the CEO of her company and turned Software House into SHI International and the company earned 1 million dollars in revenue. Since then she has won several awards for her entrepreneurial and business achievements including being named the 2012 Entrepreneur of the Year for technology by Ernst & Young New Jersey.
Nate Silver is a statistician and a writer who researches baseball and election results. Currently, he is the editor-in-chief for ESPN’s FiveThirtyEight blog. He is also a special correspondent for ABC News. Silver first came onto the stage when he accurately predicted the winner of 49 out of the 50 states in the 2008 presidential election. He also accurately predicted the winner of all 35 senatorial races that year. Mr. Silver has also won several awards and in 2009 Time Magazine named him one of The World’s 100 Most Influential People.
Sarah Sze is a cotemporary artist and professor at Columbia University. Sarah uses several mediums including painting and sculpture. Through her art, Sze examines how people are connected to the material objects around them. The goal of her work is often to alter a certain space and try and change the way it is viewed.Ms. Sze was born in Massachusetts and graduated from Yale in 1991. She then went on to receive a master of fine arts from New York City’s School of Visual Arts.
Jide Zeitlin graduated from Amherst College in 1985 and now serves on the Board of Trustees for the college. Mr. Zeitlin worked closely with other alumni and board members to raise over 425 million dollars for the Amherst Lives of Consequence campaign. Zeitlin worked as an investor with Goldman Sachs after receiving his MBA from Harvard. He now works as a private investor.