Time to Celebrate

The Princeton Hidden Minority Council presented green graduation cords to 33 seniors during a ceremony May 15 for first-generation and low-income students. About 55 people attended the event in the Carl A. Fields Center. Speakers included council co-founders Brittney Watkins ’16 and Dallas Nan ’16 and management consultant Jeremy White ’96, who gave the keynote address. 

About 600 people attended the Pan-African Graduation May 29 in Richardson Auditorium. Tennille Haynes, director of the Fields Center, said the event recognized students’ “hardships and their struggles. With sit-ins and protests, our students have been creative in finding ways to be heard.” Seniors Aisha Oxley and Kujegi Camara performed a spoken-word poem about learning to stand up for their identities as students of color.

Latino and Latina students celebrated May 29, when about 200 people gathered for a graduation event at the Fields Center. Seniors described their efforts to celebrate Latino culture and build “a family within Princeton.” Keynote speaker Christine Batty ’09, an associate at BlackRock, urged students to keep close ties to family — both the heritage they were born into and the community they chose to join.

Princeton admission officer Estela Diaz ’14 was the speaker at the LGBT Center’s Lavender graduation May 7 in Chancellor Green. More than 75 people attended to honor 48 graduates.