Baccalaureate
(pronounced “bak-uh-lawr-ee-it”)
Baccalaureate at Stanford is a celebratory gathering for graduating seniors, graduate students, and professional students, as well as their families and friends. It is a time to acknowledge the spiritual contribution to the education of the whole person, and it is organized under the auspices of the Office for Religious Life.
For the current event information regarding Baccalaureate, please visit:
http://commencement.stanford.edu/ceremonies/baccalaureate/
Student Speaker Contest
Since 2005, the Office for Religious Life has hosted a student speaker contest, where a graduating senior offers his/her reflections into their own spiritual journey during their time at Stanford, including hopes and dreams for the future for the entire class.
2015 Winner: Shelby Sinclair (Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity)
This year’s speaker is Shelby Monét Sinclair. She is a Milwaukee native and will be earning a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity with Honors and a minor in History. Shelby is a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow, President of the Stanford Black Student Union, a member of the Stanford Public Service Honors Society and a recipient of the Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence. She has also been distinguished as a recipient of the Coley, Black, Crossfield Award for Exceptional Academic Achievement, The Alumni Association Award of Excellence and the prestigious Director’s Award. On campus Shelby advocates for education access by mentoring high schoolers and serves as a Diversity Outreach Associate in the Office of Undergraduate Admission.
Past winners, and available texts or videos, are listed below.
2005 Jazib Zahir (Electrical Engineering)
Text: http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/zahir-061505.html
2006 Marley Cade Kornreic (Economics, International Relations)
Text: http://news.stanford.edu/news/2006/june21/bacckorntext-062106.html
2007 Nikki Pareno Serapio (Political Science)
Text: http://news.stanford.edu/news/2007/june20/bactwo-062007.html
2008 Barry W. Fischer (Economics, Civil and Engineering (MS))
Text: http://news.stanford.edu/news/2008/june18/bacbarry-061808.html
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuL7qreqHuE
2009 Sohail Razzaq (Economics, Management Science & Engineering (MS))
Text: http://news.stanford.edu/news/2009/june17/razzaq-text-061709.html
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RwmymaeZx0
2010 Zaid Adhami (Philosophy, Religious Studies)
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7cfaG9j26A
2011 Samuel Gould (Biology)
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwtCmfVAcw0
2012 Tara Gu (Public Policy)
Text: http://news.stanford.edu/news/2012/june/baccalaureate-student-text-061612.html
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YsRPpeSt7s
2013 Jonathan York (International Relations)
Text: http://news.stanford.edu/news/2013/june/york-baccalaureate-speech-061513.html
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qnfm1Eb5BHQ
2014 Konstantine Buhler (Management Science and Engineering)
Text: http://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/june/student-baccalaureate-text-061414.html
Video: http://youtu.be/hN9p__BHHDs
