Author, cultural critic, and screenwriter Lindy West will be the featured speaker at Occidental College’s 142nd Commencement ceremony on May 19.
A 2004 graduate of Occidental, West is the author of the New York Times-bestselling memoir Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman and the essay collections Shit, Actually and The Witches Are Coming. She is co-host of the NPR podcast Text Me Back. Her work also has appeared in This American Life, The New York Times, The Guardian, Cosmopolitan, GQ, Vulture, Jezebel, and others. West was a writer and executive producer on Shrill, the Hulu series adapted from her memoir, and co-wrote the independent feature film Thin Skin. She is the co-founder of the reproductive rights destigmatization campaign #ShoutYourAbortion.
West will be one of three honorary degree recipients at this year’s ceremony. Renowned visual artist Ed Ruscha and Occidental alumnus and prominent civil rights attorney Joseph Duff ’68 will also receive honorary degrees.
The College’s 2024 Commencement ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. on Sunday, May 19, in Remsen Bird Hillside Theater on the Occidental campus.
This article was updated on April 25, 2024, to reflect changes in Commencement programming.
