Celebrating the St. Olaf College Class of 2023
St. Olaf College celebrated the Class of 2023 with a commencement ceremony on the picturesque lawn in front of Mellby Hall on Sunday, May 28.
President David R. Anderson ’74, who is retiring this spring after leading the college for 17 years, delivered the charge to the graduating class.
Jordan Wright ’23, a dance and Asian studies major from Edmonds, Washington, delivered the Class of 2023 senior commencement address.
In addition to the commencement ceremony, the graduating class celebrated with several other events throughout the weekend, including the Baccalaureate Service, the Campus Illumination Ceremony, the Commencement Weekend Concert featuring the St. Olaf Band, St. Olaf Choir, and St. Olaf Orchestra, and the Last Lecture and Parting Words featuring remarks by Associate Professor of Biology Jean Porterfield and Assistant Director of Student Activities Jen Halko.
Additional information about each of these events — and more — can be found on the Commencement web page.
As St. Olaf seniors enjoyed their last weeks on campus, they shared some of their favorite memories from their time on the Hill. Read a few reflections from the Class of 2023 below, and check out the Class of 2023 Memories page for more #SeniorSpotlights and highlights from throughout Commencement Weekend.
“One of my favorite memories at St. Olaf is performing on the Boe Chapel steps during Spring Fest. The weather was perfect and all of my friends were dancing as I sang!” — Ingrid Streitz ’23 | Psychology
“My most cherished memories are those late-night tech rehearsals in CAD leading up to the Veselica International Dance Ensemble Spring Showcase: the smell of hairspray and makeup, the bobby pins and safety pins all around us, the warm stage lights of Studio 1, the variety of snacks (or survival carbs), the kind and encouraging words of Professor von Bibra, and the community feeling of the cast members when celebrating dances from around the world.” — Raveena-Flor Lalwani ’23 | Political Science concentrating in International Relations, Education Studies– TEFL Certificate, and Women and Gender Studies
“The memory collage created of four years worth of small daily moments: walking to class and admiring the way the light hangs, the first time seeing robins in the spring, the quiet that falls over campus in the early morning as the sun is still rising and I’m walking to work, passing familiar strangers on the Quad, daily chapel, going to choir rehearsal, helping patrons at my library job, talking to the Bon App staff, the ease of seeing friends for dinner. These are all small moments that I’ve loved, finding beauty in the sacred, daily ordinary of the unique St. Olaf community, and I’ll miss them.” — Micah Land ’23 | Religion with Concentrations in Gender and Sexuality Studies and Race and Ethnic Studies
“Road trips for water polo tournaments, co-leading an Oles Under the Sun (OUTS) spring break backpacking trip to Colorado, and helping students at Prairie Creek Elementary design a school garden.” — Kathleen Murphy ’23 | Spanish major, Environmental Studies concentration