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During Bowdoin College’s 208th Commencement ceremony, bachelor of arts degrees were awarded to students from 42 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and 14 foreign countries and territories. For the first time since 1986, weather conditions drove the ceremony indoors — to the Sidney J. Watson Arena. Though the venue was new, President Barry Mills continued his Commencement tradition of speaking about leadership. “At Bowdoin we understand that leadership requires empathy — at its best it requires a person who understands in their heart and head the issues and problems they seek to solve, and the situations they aim to improve. A Bowdoin leader leaves their ego at the door — it is not the volume of your voice, but the power of your ideas,” Mills said. Read more about Commencement 2013 and find links to the speeches here. Photos after the jump. Continue reading Multimedia: 457 Seniors Awarded Degrees at Bowdoin’s 208th Commencement  The Undiscussed Leaders, left to right, Maria Montes ’13, Monica Das ’14, Kate Kearns ’14, Phoebe Joaquin ’15 and Veronica Verdin ’15. Absent members: Nasra Hassan ’13 and Tyler Silver ’13 Every year for the past six years, a large number of students have joined a special campus club called The Undiscussed to talk about challenging topics that can get buried under the debris of our daily duties and burdens. Each spring, when The Undiscussed becomes active, participants focus on one subject to tackle. In the past, they’ve looked at identity, choice, image and space. This year, members took on the topic of (un)happiness to examine both happiness and its opposite. Read the full story here. 
Chaos Theory, Bowdoin women’s ultimate frisbee team, recently placed first in the New England regional championships, beating out seven other teams. Over the course of the tournament, held the first weekend in May, the team went 7-0, beating Williams College, Amherst College, Wellesley College, Smith College, Bentley University and Brandeis University by a total point differential of 103-29. “This raises our season record to a ridiculous 33-0,” co-captain Julie Bender ’13 said. The win secured Chaos Theory’s spot in the Division III National Tournament in Milwaukee, Wis., May 18-19. “It’s been an absolutely incredible season, and we’re thrilled that it’ll be continuing for as long as possible,” Bender said. Read the full story here.  President Barry Mills in early May presented awards to a group of students who stand out for their leadership gifts. He also recognized the three students who have been selected to speak at Commencement based on their submitted speeches.
Students who received leadership awards were Danica Loucks ’13, Daniel Ertis ’13, Alex Tougas ’14, RaiNesha Miller ’13, Dani Chediak ’13 and Linda Kinstler ’13. The three seniors speaking at commencement will be Miller, Hannah Glover ’13 and Daisy Alioto ’13. Read short bios of the students here.  Howell House, one of eight houses in Bowdoin College’s residential system, recently held a silent auction to benefit a program run by the McKeen Center for the Common Good. By the end of the evening, Howell had raised over $650 for the Common Good Grant program.
The Common Good Grant is both a program designed to give students philanthropic experience as well as a way for the College to give back to the community. “The Common Good Grant is a pool of resources that a student committee parcels out among projects benefiting the greater Brunswick community,” explained Micah Ludwig ’13, co-leader of the Common Good program. The idea for the auction originated with Howell House Vice President Amy Spens ’15, who organized fundraisers in high school and wanted to bring that experience to Howell. Read the full story here. Bowdoin’s annual Scholarship Appreciation Luncheon — an event President Barry Mills calls “the most emotional gathering of the year” — was held Thursday, May 9, in Thorne Hall. Hundreds of students shared a meal with the donors — alumni, parents and friends of the College — who have provided the financial support that makes a Bowdoin education possible for them. Following a performance by jazz trio Samuel Eley ’15, Simon Moushabeck ’16 and Benjamin Pallant ’16, President Mills spoke of the importance of ensuring that an education of the caliber of Bowdoin’s be available for every student, no matter their financial circumstances. Donors Dennis Sgroi ’83 and Susan Sgroi ’86 shared the podium, explaining the origins of their love for Bowdoin and why it is a priority for them to help students. Student speaker Adrian Rodriguez ’14 shared his family’s story of leaving the Dominican Republic for a better life, and his promise to his mother when he was a young boy that he would help her financially one day. He decided the best way he could do this was by becoming educated. Read President Mills’ introductions about the speakers and musicians. See more photos.  Bowdoin College held its 17th annual Honors Day ceremony yesterday evening to recognize the academic achievements of Bowdoin students and faculty. The ceremony was held at Kanbar Auditorium, Studzinski Recital Hall.
Lecturer in Chemistry Michael Danahy, recipient of the 2012 Sydney B. Karofsky Prize for Junior Faculty, delivered the Honors Day address, “Better Living Through Chemistry?” in which he described the often serendipitous nature of discoveries in chemistry, and both the good (new medicine) and the bad (drug addiction) these discoveries can bring into the world. “As you continue through Bowdoin and one-day leave us, remember that what you do with your intellectual discoveries is in your hands,” Danahy said. “Please strive to apply your knowledge in a positive way and help further the “common good.” Read the full story here.  Gelato Fiasco on Maine Street in Brunswick raised $5,336 for the Brunswick Teen Center at its annual Scoop-a-thon.
The fifth-annual Scoop-a-thon was successful in large part because of Bowdoin students, according to Bobby Guerette ’07, Gelato Fiasco’s marketing director. “I’m estimating that more than 350 students participated,” Guerette said, thanks to organizers Michelle Johnson ’15 and Jesse Everett ’12, who works at the Teen Center. The event was held April 24. “Celebrity scoopers” included the men and women’s swim teams, proctors and residential advisors from Residential Life, the men and women’s track teams, men’s rugby and the women’s ultimate Frisbee team. Student musicians and a cappella groups sang, and “the most enthusiastic Polar Bear mascot I’ve ever seen” also made an appearance, Guerette said. 
This story is a follow-up to an earlier preview about the trip. The students in Nadia Celis’ Spanish class who traveled to Colombia over spring break came back with more than just a deeper academic understanding of Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez. Although the focus of the trip was to explore the historical and cultural context of García Márquez’s work, Celis said students gained another lesson. They also developed a new perspective on their identities as foreigners and Americans. Read the full story here.  Cambodia exchange students Rada Chhorn and Kimsrung Lov As young girls growing up in Cambodia’s countryside, both Kimsrung Lov and Rada Chhorn faced steep odds in obtaining a college education. Lov’s father, a small business owner in a town 57 miles outside of Phnom Penh, believed that because girls were only destined to become housewives, it was a waste for them to receive an education. Chhorn was raised on a small farm in a village with no electricity or plumbing, and her family could not afford to pay for college. Despite these obstacles, Lov and Chhorn not only earned undergraduate degrees, but they became two of just a handful of Cambodian students to study abroad in the United States. Read the full story here. |
