Saturday, March, 10th, 2018 Past Programs 2017-2018
Saturday, May 19, 2018, 3-4 pm, Gantcher Family Sports and Convocation Center
The President and Chaplains of Tufts University invite members of the Class of 2018 and their families and friends to join in celebrating the Baccalaureate Service on Saturday, May 19, 2018 from 3:00 to 4:00 pm at the Gantcher Family Sports and Convocation Center. All are welcome.
The Baccalaureate Service for the senior class at Tufts is a tradition that began in 1864.
Baccalaureate is a cherished moment during Commencement Weekend, and the last time for the senior class to be alone together as a class. One senior is selected to give the class speech, called the Wendell Phillips Address, and the president offers his parting words to the class.
The context is a multifaith and multicultural celebration honoring a diversity of spiritualities, philosophies, and cultures at Tufts in the form of music, readings, and benedictions. All are welcome, and generally all members of the senior class and their families attend.
The Senior Baccalaureate Speaker is the recipient of the Wendell Phillips Award, which was established in 1896 to honor Boston’s great orator and advocate for abolition and women’s and Native People’s rights, Wendell Phillips. The award is given annually to a senior who demonstrates both marked ability as a speaker and a high sense of public responsibility. Selected by the Committee on Student Life, the winner is the one graduating senior invited to offer a speech as part of Commencement, and the speech takes place during the Baccalaureate Service. It is intended to deliver a social justice message for our time. The Wendell Phillips Speaker for the Class of 2018 will be selected in March 2018.
The Wendell Phillips Speaker for the Class of 2018 is Anna Del Castillo
Anna Del Castillo A18 is a Peruvian-Bolivian-American student from the warm state of Mississippi. She enjoys southern food, live music, and spontaneous adventures with friends. Anna is an International Relations major with a minor in Colonialism studies. She is a member of the Sigma Iota Rho International Relations Honor Society, an Institute for Global Leadership Synaptic Scholar, and a BLAST Scholar. During her time at Tufts, she served as a class senator for four years and during her senior year served as the Tufts Community Union Vice President. She organized for the Tufts Indigenous Peoples Day movement and served as a Career Fellow and Interfaith Student Council member. Anna led the Tufts Andrew Goodman Vote Everywhere team and represented Tufts as a Boston Interfaith Leadership Initiative Fellow. Anna will attend Harvard Divinity School in the Fall to pursue a Masters in Theological Studies as a Dean’s Fellow where she will continue to cultivate herself and explore the intersection of spirituality and social justice.
Other spiritual gatherings during Commencement Weekend include:
Friday, May 18, 2018
Saturday, May 19, 2018
Sunday, May 20, 2018
Monday, May 21, 2018
For families observing Ramadan during Commencement and Alumni Weekend 2018, please click here.
For families observing Shavuot during Commencement and Alumni Weekend 2018, please click here.