Commencement

This year’s Commencement exercises will take place on Sunday, May 21, in Hillside Theater. The processional begins at 8:45 a.m. followed by Commencement at 9:00 a.m.

Please advance to 19:20 to view the proceedings

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  • Professor of History and Black Studies Erica Ball, Commencement speaker and author Isabel Wilkerson, and President Harry J. Elam, Jr. pose for a photo prior to the ceremony.

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  • Tzu Kit Chan '23, a philosophy major from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, excitedly marches into Hillside Theater.

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  • Members of the Occidental Glee Club perform “Godspeed” by Frank Ocean.

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  • Dean of the College Wendy Sternberg, right, presents a posthumous master's in urban studies degree to Misti Alvarez Cohen, daughter of Herbert Alvarez. Herbert completed his studies in 1972.

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  • Lee Anthony Chico '23, a cognitive science major from Los Angeles, receives his diploma from his parents, Oxy employees Victor and Sylvia Chico.

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  • Veteran Lisa Cronican ’23, a politics major from Atlanta.

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  • Maylene Hughes '23, a critical theory and social justice major from Sacramento, snaps a selfie with her sheepskin.

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  • Neython Streitz '23, a computer science major from Bloomington, Minn.

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  • Confetti rains down on members of the Class of 2023.

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  • Professor of Kinesiology Stuart Rugg congratulates a new graduate.

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  • Newly minted graduates (including Lillian Lin '23, far left, and Neha D'Souza '23, second from right) pose in Lucille Gilman Fountain.

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  • The family of Eric Dacosta '23, a religious studies major from Topsfield, Mass., celebrate his graduation with commemorative jerseys.

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Members of the Occidental College community celebrated the Class of 2023 during Oxy’s 141th Commencement ceremony on May 21, 2023, in Remsen Bird Hillside Theater. Photos by Marc Campos and Sarahi Apaez

Isabel Wilkerson speaks at Occidental College's 2023 Commencement.

News: Isabel Wilkerson Addresses Class of 2023 at Commencement

While the problems facing American can seem overwhelming, history shows us that we each have more power than we know—power that can change the course of history, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian Isabel Wilkerson told the Class of 2023.

Read article

Class of 2023 Highlights

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