It may not have gone as planned, with rain and cold sending the 2023 Beloit College graduates inside to receive their diplomas at Flood Arena in the Sports Center instead of a picture-perfect day in front of Middle College. However, the seniors who earned their degrees have persevered through the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, so cloudy, rainy skies were doable.
Faculty proudly cheer on these incredible grads.
Beloiters don their decorated mortar boards.
Karen Soto’23 glows as she receives her diploma.
The Class of 2023 overcame multiple obstacles, starting with COVID-19 in 2020, cementing their bond and building their resilience.
Even the rain couldn’t keep families from celebrating their Beloit graduates.
The seniors of the Beloit Ultimate Frisbee Team throw their caps together on the stairs of Eaton Chapel.
Beloit College senior and Chicago native Nichole Espineli’s family gathered around her on Commencement day, adjusting her cap and gown.
It was a family affair, with six coming from Chicago to see Nichole become the first to earn a college degree in their Filipino and Pacific Asian family. Sister Gephany was awed by Nichole, who is going into public health to help people, especially immigrants, and refugees.
“We are really, really, really proud of her, being the first in our family to graduate from college,” Gephany said proudly. And she’s going into public health, so when she goes up, we all go up.”
Maddison Moser plans to be a physician assistant; a dozen of her family members arrived from Alaska at 1:30 a.m. Sunday to see her receive her diploma.
“It is hard to make the trip, so it’s great that they could make it for this big moment,” Moser said.
A day and a class of resilience
It may not have gone as planned, with rain and cold sending the 2023 Beloit College graduates inside to receive their diplomas at Flood Arena in the Sports Center instead of a picture-perfect day in front of Middle College. However, the seniors who earned their degrees have persevered through the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, so cloudy, rainy skies were doable.
Student speaker Jada Daniel, with purple flowers on her mortar board, told her fellow seniors that the Wisconsin seasons were like the transformation of their lives as undergraduates.
Credit: Andy Manis
The triple major in critical identity studies, political science, and sociology told the graduates they found a community where they could be themselves unapologetically and boldly. And when things got tough — classes got intense, the pandemic shattered their plans and pulled them miles apart — they became hopeful, learned new skills, and became Tik Tok connoisseurs.
“So we waited together for the sun to finally come out because we all knew that this, too, shall pass,” Daniel said.
Breaking into tears, Daniel then reminded her fellow seniors that Beloit College prepared students to weather the storms and use the rain to bloom.
“Wherever life plants us, whether it’s the season of harvest and abundance or a season of unforgiving storms of heartbreak and loss, Beloit has taught us that we are planted firmly and will always bloom with grace,” Daniel said. “So, as we look forward to the future, may we continue to accept every storm with grace and let it water us and the seeds we plant for our futures.”
Award-winning students
Credit: Andy ManisA loud cheer went up from the crowd as Devin Pittman received the 2023 Warren Miller Blue Skies Award. Student Life staff selects a senior who fosters good cheer and humor and brings a light touch to Beloiters’ everyday lives. Pittman’s huge smile and contagious laugh brought joy across campus as he helped others with energy to spare and shone through as he guided his fellow students through the ceremony.
Pittman supported students as the Phi Kappa Psi philanthropy chair, Black Students United’s vice president, and the Sexuality and Gender Alliance (SAGA) president.
Credit: Andy ManisThe day’s second big honor went to Espineli, who received the Martha Peterson Prize. The prize honors a graduate who exemplifies the college’s liberal arts traditions of stellar academic achievements and active contributions to the campus community.
Espineli inspired the campus community by working hard in the classroom, volunteering at a local food pantry, and speaking up for the vulnerable.
Words of wisdom and encouragement
Beloit College bestowed an honorary degree on Dr. Atiera Coleman’10, Rock County Equity Manager, in celebration of her leadership in advocating for social change. At the last moment, Coleman was unable to attend the ceremony and deliver the Commencement address.
Professor Sonya Maria Johnson summarized Coleman’s prepared remarks, saying that ”resilience is not a destination; it is a journey. It is something that you will continue to develop and refine throughout your life.
“So, as you go forth from this place, remember to be resilient. Embrace the challenges that come your way, learn from your experiences, and never give up on being your true unapologetic self…you, as you are right now, are the key to all of your future successes. Keep doing you.”
Credit: Andy ManisAfter a 14-year legacy, President Scott Bierman pulled out a flamingo cotton shirt, joking that, along with matching shorts, his retirement outfit was set.
“I look out at so many friends right in front of me whose futures are so bright and whose last four years have made a difference at this college, who have changed this college, changed the people to your left and right, changed the people your front and back, changed me,” Bierman said. “It takes my breath away.”
But he soon became serious as he said, for the last time to the fully assembled group, “Turtles all the way down.”
May 14, 2023
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