St. Olaf commencement ceremony celebrates the Class of 2026
St. Olaf College celebrated the Class of 2026 with a commencement ceremony on the picturesque lawn in front of Mellby Hall on Saturday, May 23.
President Susan Rundell Singer welcomed the graduates and their families to the ceremony, noting that it was a moment for celebration and reflection.
“Class of 2026, you are graduating at a moment in higher education that is anything but ordinary. I have great confidence in the future as I look out at all of you stepping into the next chapter of your lives,” she said. “On the Hill, we talk about vocation, using Martin Luther’s definition: living life on purpose for the common good. You embody living your life on purpose for the common good every day in the way you envision your futures and through your engaged work across campus, in our local community, and globally. Oles consistently seek to make a positive difference.”
“I have great confidence in the future as I look out at all of you stepping into the next chapter of your lives.”
— St. Olaf President Susan Rundell Singer
One such example, she noted, could be found in commencement speaker Esi Amoah ’26. A biology and chemistry major with a concentration in public health, Esi Amoah has worked as an Emergency Medical Technician on campus, completed internships at hospitals around the world, and plans to pursue a career in medicine that, in her words, “centers empathy, culture, and trust alongside clinical care.”
As Esi Amoah took the podium to address the fellow members of her class, she began by noting that she wasn’t sure at first that she had made the right choice in choosing St. Olaf. She wondered if she should have chosen a larger school, in a larger city. But then, she says, she saw the true power of the community at St. Olaf.
“The amount of support we got here — as students, as people — is rare,” she told her classmates, sharing examples of ways that campus community members ranging from professors to food service workers to other Oles provided care and opportunities in ways big and small. “We were held here in a way I am not sure we will ever be held again. Four years ago, I thought I had made a mistake. Now I am trying to figure out how to leave, and I do not want to.”
The reason the support found at St. Olaf is so impactful, she added, is because it encourages students to discover and explore a wide range of interests.
“I came to St. Olaf to study science. I am leaving with two STEM degrees and a brain that will not stop thinking about the religion and philosophy I studied in the Enduring Questions program. I cannot believe I am admitting this out loud, but I am also leaving with every song the St. Olaf Choir performs at Christmas Fest downloaded onto my gym playlist. That is what this place does to you. You show up for one thing and you leave carrying 10,” she said.
“I came to St. Olaf to study science. I am leaving with two STEM degrees and a brain that will not stop thinking about the religion and philosophy I studied in the Enduring Questions program. I cannot believe I am admitting this out loud, but I am also leaving with every song the St. Olaf Choir performs at Christmas Fest downloaded onto my gym playlist. That is what this place does to you. You show up for one thing and you leave carrying 10.”
— Commencement Speaker Esi Amoah ’26
“Nobody here had to be just one thing,” she told the Class of 2026. “And I think that is the part of this place we are going to carry the longest — that we never had to be just one thing to belong here.”
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 and Lighting, the Commencement Weekend Concert featuring the musical talents of the St. Olaf Band, St. Olaf Choir, and St. Olaf Orchestra, and the Last Lecture and Parting Words featuring remarks by Assistant Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies Jake Grossman and Director of Student Activities Brandon Cash ’16.
Additional information about each of these events — and more — can be found on the Commencement web page.