Hundreds of friends and family members attended in order to applaud the latest Carleton graduates, with cheers from the crowd echoing across campus after each diploma was presented.

Michelle Mattson, professor of German and provost and vice president for academic affairs, read the names of the students as President Alison Byerly awarded the diplomas — and a handshake — to every member of the Class of 2025 in attendance.

An honorary doctoral degree was conferred during the ceremony to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson, who also gave the Commencement address.

Wilkerson’s address was impassioned and inspiring. She spoke of Carleton’s history of being at the forefront of change, and encouraged the Class of 2025 to use their experience to better the world.

“We have the power to act with honor and stand up when we see wrongdoing and injustice, anywhere in the world, both here and abroad,” she said. “To stand up and advocate on behalf of people who are oppressed and under attack. To extend help and benefit of the doubt to those who are marginalized and those who have been historically denied, as has this College, not just for those in need, but for the collective well-being of all of us.”

Wilkerson reflected on the Great Migration, a period of American history that she has researched extensively, as an example of the power people have when they work together.

“The people of the Great Migration had to seek political asylum within the borders of their own country. They were proxies for someone in almost all of our families who had to have done what they did just for us to be here in this moment, on this soil, at this time,” she said. “They couldn’t have seen the magnitude of their private decisions and had no grand title for it. Because they were right in the middle of it, they could not have seen how one person added to another, multiplied by millions, could be a liberation movement all its own. We each have the power to make history. You have the power to make history. If enough people are principled and purposed, and do the same thing at the same thing at the same time, they can change a region — they can change the world.”

“In a few minutes, you’ll walk across the stage to your future, celebrating in the same spot where you began in 2021,” Wilkerson said in the conclusion of her address. “As you all know, underneath this grass and soil on which we stand are the geothermal wells that generate renewable energy from deep within the earth to help warm and cool and sustain this campus. At this moment of celebration, those wells of life are sloshing deep beneath us. You started your journey right here in this verdant clearing, atop this underground source of energy, and are the only class in Carleton history to begin and to conclude your time on this campus in this sacred spot. You, the Class of 2025, were not meant to skim the surface; you are meant to go deep and reach far. Now you must carry that power and spread your life to the rest of the world.”

Wilkerson followed graduation reflections from Julia Dunn ’25, political science and international relations major with an Africana studies minor, and Annanya Sinha ’25, double major in psychology and gender, women’s, and sexuality studies.

Dunn focused her speech on unexpected journeys, speaking from her perspective as an international student from Portmore, Jamaica who knew very little about Carleton or the College’s Midwest landscape before she arrived on campus.

“The beauty of unexpected journeys is that in this life, we don’t have to travel them alone,” Dunn said. “There is always something new to discover, something different to learn, someone new to meet. As I’m sure you’ve all heard numerous times, Carls help Carls, and the community support that we provide one another makes all the difference as we embrace the uncertain… I hope that as we step beyond the Carleton bubble we’ve cultivated and enter the world, you will also think about the moments where a helping hand or kind gesture made this journey easier.”

Sinha followed Dunn and emphasized during their speech — which they titled, “A Love Letter to My Professors” — how Carleton courses have challenged their ego, pride, and existing knowledge, with talented professors teaching them the most valuable skill of all: how to think critically.

“It is not comfortable learning about the hard parts of history, or about a group of people or a theory that may not align with your existing ideological, moral, or religious framework. I didn’t like it at first… [but] I realized that my learning, and our learning, does not have to be comfortable,” Sinha said. “I want to leave you with what incredible professors at Carleton have instilled in me: Choose a narrative that isn’t about prioritizing your comfort. Shift your perspective — your way of thinking. And I say this because I know, as Carls, we will listen and engage. We will use our voice with nuance to respond to inflammatory rhetoric. We will be precise with the terminology we use. We’re trained for it. To think better… I hope you never stop learning.”

Dunn and Sinha’s focus on taking with them important life lessons from their time at Carleton is a theme of Commencement every year, as graduation marks a beginning as well as an end for each member of the Class of 2025. The newly-recognized alumni will soon head off to graduate schools, fellowships, and professional positions across the country and the globe, representing Carleton excellence everywhere they go.

President Byerly relayed in her welcoming remarks that although she doesn’t like to play favorites among class years, she does have a special bond with the Class of 2025, as she also began at Carleton in the fall of 2021.

“I have vivid memories of meeting many of you during move-in and orientation, when you and your families arrived, wearing masks, looking a bit nervous, but clearly eager to meet new people and learn about a place many of you were seeing for the very first time,” Byerly said. “I, too, was looking for clues about what Carleton would be like, and those early conversations with many of you were my first indicators of how much I would love Carleton students.”

Byerly emphasized how important it was to celebrate the diversity and breadth of the Class of 2025, as well as the entire Carleton student body, and all their different interests, talents, skills, backgrounds, experiences, and beliefs.

“Much of the current rhetoric about diversity asserts that when a college recruits students from historically underrepresented groups, it is offering them some unusual benefit,” Byerly said. “On the contrary, when we are successful in creating a diverse student body, we are offering an enormous benefit to all students, by creating the opportunity for everyone to learn alongside peers whose experiences may be very different from their own. At the same time, the primary reason for admitting any student to Carleton College is to give them the opportunity that they have earned to receive an outstanding liberal arts education.”

That outstanding education, Byerly added, as well as the irreplaceable faculty and student research that is such an integral part of it, cannot be taken for granted.

“Our nation and our world are in desperate need of citizens and leaders who can listen deeply to other voices, distinguish information from misinformation, connect complex ideas across disparate fields, grapple with nuance and ambiguity, cultivate understanding through creativity and art, and demonstrate leadership through their own ability to express, to inform, and to persuade,” Byerly said. “To those who would deny or undermine the importance of research to our nation and to the world, your experience at Carleton offers a compelling rebuttal. You know the difference between ideas that have been rigorously tested and debated, and ideas that are hastily promulgated and accepted without question. You understand the need to invest time, effort, and resources into finding long term solutions to problems, rather than settling for a popular or expedient approach. You recognize that respecting and collaborating with others will always lead to better outcomes than imposing a singular perspective. For this, you have your education to thank. And for your future contributions as citizens and leaders, the world will have both you, and your liberal arts education, to thank.”

After this year’s Commencement drew to a close with the valedictory from College Chaplain Schuyler Vogel ’07 and a rousing chorus of “Carleton, Our Alma Mater,” the members of the Class of 2025 filed out of their seats to congregate with their families, professors, friends, and others on the Bald Spot, happy to spend one last afternoon lounging with a picnic lunch before leaving campus for the first time as Carleton alumni.

The 2025 Commencement ceremony was live streamed and recorded. The full video will be posted on the Commencement website.

Erica Helgerud ’20 is the news and social media manager and Rachel Everett ’18 is the internal communications manager for Carleton College.

Fred Ohles ’75 set out to put the name of everyone who started at Carleton in the fall of 1971 into one enormous crossword — though he soon realized that he would have to limit his opus to last names, and he would have to divide his puzzle into a number of separate grids. 

Ohles is an accomplished cruciverbalist (aka maker of crosswords), with puzzles published in the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and dozens of newspapers that use the syndicated Universal Crossword, including The Minnesota Star Tribune. His weekly, Nebraska-themed puzzle has appeared in the Lincoln Journal Star since 2021.

Ohles needed to go big — really big — to fit into his puzzle all of the 496 last names that appeared in the 1971 collection of first-year student names, photos, hometowns, and high schools (called the “Zoo Book” because it was how Carls got their first look at the crop of new “animals” arriving on campus every fall).

For his Reunion “Zoo Book” puzzle, Ohles built seven grids, each grid with 47 squares across and 47 squares down. That’s 11 times the size of a daily newspaper crossword, done seven times over. Everything about the puzzle is supersized. Of the seven grids, the one with the smallest number of classmates has a mere 50, while the one with the most has a whopping 90. To those nearly 500 names, Ohles added more than 4,500 words of “fill,” which is what crossword constructors call the “non-theme” portion of a puzzle.

Why not just skip the fill and cross all the names in a much more condensed puzzle? Well, Ohles says, you try to fit into a neat and symmetrical pattern hundreds of names that include Alquist, Basquin, Benziger, Bozivich, Calvo, Charyulu, and the crowning glory of them all, Czyzewski. That’s without even getting past the ABCs. Further down the alphabet, Ohles needed to fit in Elizondo, Jeronimus, Krafft, Laverdure twice (twin brother and sister), Luetzow, Marantz, Okawa, Pizzuto, Saxhaug, Slenz, Suihkonen, Vandertuin, and Zevin (the letter Z was pretty popular that year, actually). Ohles took special delight when he got Czyzewski to cross with Luetzow.

Once all of the names were situated, and Ohles had filled in his grids with those thousands of other words surrounding his classmates, there was the matter of writing 5,156 clues — because that’s how many answers there were, in total, on the seven grids. Ideally, when an answer appeared in more than one grid, it would have a different clue each time.

Three-fifths of the puzzle ended up being three-letter, four-letter, and five-letter words. Only one answer in 100 had 10 or more letters. The longest answers, found on two of the seven grids, had 14 letters each: MAN ON THE STREET, NON-BELLIGERENT, REINCORPORATED, and TERCENTENNIALS. Their clues were: “Ordinary fellow interview,” “Sweden or Switzerland in relation to World War II,” “Took in again,” and “Celebrations such as Harvard’s 1936.”

Ohles points to two distinctive features that solvers can uncover among the puzzle’s 5,156 answers. First, there is a single answer that appears on all seven grids (here’s a hint: it’s a word with a punch). Second, spread across the grid are the names of all 25 books written by one popular American novelist of recent years — there’s even an answer that points to what would have been the 26th book in that series, which never got written. There are enough clues in this much information to solve the mystery of who the novelist was, Ohles says.

Two classmates of Ohles helped out with the puzzle. Mark Jaeger ’75, retired from a high-level computer science career at Oracle and living in Illinois, wrote the clues for one grid; Ohles says his wittiness enhanced the puzzle’s variety and humor. Andy Maverick ’75, a Louisiana State University chemistry professor now retired to Colorado, proofread grids, helping Ohles spot mistakes and improve numerous clues.

After the crossword puzzle was complete, Ohles started arranging for it to be distributed to his classmates. Once every month or two, starting almost a full year before Reunion 2025, everyone in the Class of 1975 received a “Zoo Book” crossword grid in the mail, sent from Carleton’s Milestone Reunions staff. The class responded with enthusiasm.

Bill Hillsman ’75, an advertising executive in Minnesota, called it “super fun!!!!”

Sue Goldmark ’75, who finished her career as a country director at the World Bank, wrote from Florida that it was “absolutely wonderful and clever!”

Dena Southard Berglund ’75, a retired senior officer of the Social Security Administration also now living in Florida, wrote how she “enjoyed working it in bits.” The puzzle had “great clues,” she said, and after completing several grids, Berglund was “amazed at their variety and how it all fits together.”

Mike Hartung ’75, a retired entrepreneur who built medical services companies, wrote from Pennsylvania that it was “a work of maximum inspiration and perspiration!”

Finally, the classmate with that most marvelous last name, Paul Czyzewski ’75, retired software engineer, penned a note from California about how amazed he was at “this huge amount of work for the benefit of the class… I will enjoy seeing them filled in, when I get to Reunion.” Like many other classmates, Czyzewski was counting on other people to put their pencils and erasers to the paper well before June.

When the Class of 1975 arrives at Carleton for their 50th Reunion on June 19, 2025, each of the seven floor lounges in their residence hall will be decked out with a gigantic “Zoo Book” puzzle. There will be Reunion-themed pencils available to fill them out.

Curiously, in the entire puzzle, there ended up being no names or fill words with 13 letters, according to Ohles. Isn’t that lucky?

Erica Helgerud ’20 is the news and social media manager for Carleton College.

In her opening address, President Alison Byerly spoke of Carleton students with immense pride in the face of grave times for higher education.

“What these students share is what makes Carleton special: intellectual curiosity, energetic engagement, and commitment to the hard work of learning at a time when support for higher education, for academic research, and for the kind of diverse and vibrant community we build at Carleton are in jeopardy,” she said. “It is especially valuable to have the opportunity to honor students who have excelled in a wide variety of fields, who have undertaken research or creative projects, and who have made our community stronger through their leadership and service. You represent the true promise of higher education, and the reason it’s worthy of support.”

In his salutatory address, College Chaplain Schuyler Vogel ’07 also celebrated Carls’ actions in the face of challenges.

“Despite all of this, we gather today in joy and hope,” he said. “We cheer on our classmates, whose achievements give hope to the world — what a gift you are. We cheer on the endeavor that we are all committed to at Carleton: celebrating the truth of learning and freedom and curiosity and wisdom and justice that this place represents. The world needs that now more than ever.”

In a further celebration of Carleton talent, this year’s Honors Convo featured two musical performances by senior students — the Carleton String Quartet (Kyle Machalec ’25, violin; Kara Achilles ’25, violin; Finley Sebert ’25, viola; and Rachel Gregg ’25, cello) performed a Shostakovich movement, and Carleton’s concerto competition winner Prompt Eua-anant ’25 performed a Chopin étude. 

Carleton students were the recipients of more than 80 prizes, fellowships, honor society inductions, and awards in 2025. Due to the scale of achievement, this piece will only highlight some awards; the full list of honorees is available on the Honors Convo website. 

This year, three Carleton seniors were awarded Thomas J. Watson Fellowships to engage in a year of independent study abroad. Mitch Porter ’25, Jonah Docter-Loeb ’25, and Victoria Semmelhack ’25 will spend their fellowships, respectively, investigating ecological memory in places of environmental loss, delving into the complexities of beaver–human dynamics, and engaging in maternal healthcare policy and Indigenous childbirth knowledge. 

Narjis Nusaibah ’26 received this year’s Projects for Peace grant, awarded to students who have designed their own grassroots projects for peace around the globe. Nusaibah’s project is dedicated to facilitating breast cancer screenings and awareness programs in Bangladesh.

Anna Ursin ’25 was awarded the Rotary Foundation Global Grant Fellowship to pursue a Master’s of Philosophy in the Population Health Sciences program at the University of Cambridge, continuing her pursuit of public health studies and medicine. 

Due to ongoing circumstances in international affairs and higher education, this year’s Fulbright awards are still waiting for final confirmation; however, Carleton proudly celebrated all 25 Fulbright semi-finalists at Honors Convo. This year’s semi-finalists are: Amelia Asfaw ’25, Jens Bartel ’25, Max Borden ’25, Aurora Davis ’25, Sadie DiCarlo ’25, Loren Friedman ’25, Akash Ganguly ’25, Markus Gunadi ’25, Malachy Guzman ’25, Kaori Hirano ’25, Olivia Ho ’25, Ellis Kondrashov ’25, Oliver Licht ’25, Caroline Loescher ’25, Katie O’Leary ’25, Mitch Porter ’25, Ashley Rosenberg ’25, Melina Sasaki-Uemura ’25, Victoria Semmelhack ’25, Charlie Solomon ’25, Henry Stier ’25, Sammie Ulicny ’25, Kate Ulrich ’25, Anna Ursin ’25, and Aaron Zivsak ’25. This year’s Fulbright Canada-MITACS Globalink internships — prestigious opportunities for students to participate in research at Canadian universities — were awarded to Aroma Chanda ’27 and Arielle Szycher ’26. 

Carleton also celebrated the induction of 46 members into the Mortar Board national honor society, and 87 to the Phi Beta Kappa national honorary scholastic fraternity.

Carleton Student Association (CSA) President Vivian Agugo ’26 celebrated the accomplishments of Carleton students past and present in her remarks on the nature of Carleton students. After highlighting Carleton’s 2010 world record for “the largest group spoon” (check out the time lapse from Nate Ryan ’10), she centered the hard work, ingenuity, and tenacity of Carleton students. 

“You are not just students,” she said, “you are artists, researchers, organizers, dreamers, and doers. You’ve pushed boundaries, redefined excellence, and yes, survived ten weeks that move faster than time itself!”

Learn more about the exhibition.

Lee’s novel Somebody’s Daughter (2005) was an O. Henry Award nominee and is celebrated as an important contribution to Korean American literature. She more recently published her second novel, The Evening Hero (2022), which The New York Times dubbed a “soulful, melodic, rhapsodic novel.” Beyond her writing for adults, Lee has written many beloved young adult (YA) novels under the name Marie G. Lee. Among these, her novel Finding My Voice (1992) is widely considered to be the first contemporary YA novel with an Asian American protagonist written by an Asian American.

Lee’s Korean identity has been thoroughly explored throughout her writing career. She was the first Fulbright Scholar to Korea for creative writing. She is also one of only fifty writers ever granted a visa to North Korea as a journalist since the Korean War. Lee’s journalism — mostly in the form of stories and essays — has been featured in The Atlantic, The New York Times, Slate, Salon, Guernica, and The Guardian, among others. Her work frequently engages with immigration, the effects of partition on Koreans and the Korean diaspora, and the hardship her mother endured to escape her war-torn homeland for a better life in the United States.

Lee earned her BA from Brown University, where she was a writer-in-residence before beginning her current teaching career at Columbia University. She has been a Yaddo and MacDowell Colony fellow, in addition to receiving the Best Book Award from the Friends of American Writers, a Rhode Island State Council on the Arts fiction fellowship, and a New York Foundation for the Arts fiction fellowship. Furthermore, she has served as a judge for the National Book Award and the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award. She is also a founder of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop.

This convocation will also be live streamed — please register in advance to receive information on how to attend via Zoom. Carleton convocations are free and open to the public. Find upcoming events and archived recordings (including in podcast form) on the convocations website. For more information, including disability accommodations, call 507-222-5461 or email nponder@carleton.edu.

After each convocation address, Carleton hosts a luncheon with the speaker. Convocation luncheon is held in the Alumni Guest House Meeting Room (unless otherwise noted) from noon to 1 p.m. and is generally limited to 30 people. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP on the convocations website.

In his more than twenty years living in Northfield, Wopata has worn many hats. His roles include community collaborator, economist, soccer coach, carpenter, youth pastor, trail runner (he is the fastest Minnesotan to run the Superior 100-mile trail race), and parent of four children. With this diverse range of experiences, Wopata now uses his skills at the CAC, a social justice organization serving more than 16,000 residents in Rice County that addresses needs ranging from food insecurity to accessing hygiene products.

As the CAC’s executive director, Wopata emphasizes building community systems through partnership and collaboration with the very individuals who access them. He oversees a variety of programs, including food shelves, emergency shelters, environmental justice efforts, net-zero energy construction, and economic development. The CAC has received several honors, including the 2024 Minnesota Climate Adaptation Award for Climate Justice Leadership.

This convocation will also be live streamed — please register in advance to receive information on how to attend via Zoom. Carleton convocations are free and open to the public. Find upcoming events and archived recordings (including in podcast form) on the convocations website. For more information, including disability accommodations, call 507-222-5461 or email nponder@carleton.edu.

This week’s usual convo luncheon with the speaker will be replaced with Empty Bowls! Head over to the Bald Spot at 11:30 a.m. to claim your bowl and grab some soup.

Since joining GNIP in 2022, McGinn has played a key role in five cases in which individuals secured their freedom after being wrongfully convicted. Collectively, those individuals spent 62 years in prison. McGinn originally joined GNIP as a Bank of America legal fellow, a prestigious honor supporting scholars dedicated to working in social justice. In addition to her legal work, McGinn leads innocence clinics at law schools in Minnesota and South Dakota, helping train the next generation of legal professionals committed to justice.

Founded in 2001, GNIP has dedicated itself to analyzing cases in which newly discovered evidence offers clear and convincing proof of actual innocence. To date, GNIP’s team of legal professionals has helped exonerate 13 individuals who collectively served 173 years in prison for crimes they did not commit.

Originally from Minnesota, McGinn graduated from Carleton in 2018 with a major in religion and minor in philosophy. She also competed on Carleton’s swim team. She went on to earn her JD from Notre Dame Law School.

This convocation will also be live streamed — please register in advance to receive information on how to attend via Zoom. Carleton convocations are free and open to the public. Find upcoming events and archived recordings (including in podcast form) on the convocations website. For more information, including disability accommodations, call 507-222-5461 or email nponder@carleton.edu.

After each convocation address, Carleton hosts a luncheon with the speaker. Convocation luncheon is held in the Alumni Guest House Meeting Room (unless otherwise noted) from noon to 1 p.m. and is generally limited to 30 people. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP on the convocations website.

Ladau is the author of Demystifying Disability (2021), which covers a broad variety of pertinent topics including disability history and identity, ensuring accessibility, recognizing ableism, and speaking respectfully. Her address will coincide with her book’s content, demonstrating her knack for candid instruction combined with her belief that storytelling is crucial to making the disability experience accessible to the world as well as creating a world that is accessible to the disability community.

Beginning her career at the age of 10, Ladau first became a spokesperson for disability rights through her role starring in multiple episodes of Sesame Street, providing education on living with a physical disability. Since then, she has been awarded the prestigious Henry Viscardi Achievement Award, which recognizes international leaders with disabilities (2022); the Frieda Zames Advocacy Award from the New York City Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities (2022); Disability Advocate of the Year from the Jewish Federations of North America and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (2022); and the Paul G. Hearne Emerging Leader Award from the American Association of People with Disabilities (2018). In 2023, she was also selected to receive the Progressive Women’s Voices IMPACT Award from the Women’s Media Center.

Beyond her book, Ladau is also the editor of Able News, a monthly publication of The Viscardi Center that amplifies the perspective of New York’s diverse, vibrant disability community and serves as a statewide resource. She also serves as the digital content manager for the Disability & Philanthropy Forum, an organization dedicated to the expansion of philanthropic commitment to disability inclusion. Her writing has been published in outlets including The New York Times, CNN, Vice, and HuffPost, while she has served as a source for media outlets including MSNBC, PBS NewsHour, NPR, and The Washington Post. Her speaking career has addressed audiences from the United Nations to the U.S. Department of Education to Microsoft and Comcast/NBCUniversal. Her speaking reaches further audiences through The Accessible Stall podcast, which she co-hosts. Central to all of Ladau’s work is harnessing the power of storytelling as a tool to engage people in learning about disability.

Ladau previously served as the editor of The Century Foundation’s Economic Justice project and was the founding editor-in-chief of the Rooted in Rights blog.

A Long Island local, Ladau earned her BA in English from Adelphi University in 2013, where she now is a member of the Board of Trustees. She was named one of Adelphi’s 10 Under 10 Young Alumni in 2017.

In addition to the main viewing in the chapel, this convocation will be presented virtually — please register in advance to receive information on how to attend via Zoom. Carleton convocations are free and open to the public. Find upcoming events and archived recordings (including in podcast form) on the convocations website. For more information, including disability accommodations, call 507-222-5461 or email nponder@carleton.edu.

Welcomed by Carleton’s newly re-chartered chapter of the national Alexander Hamilton Society (AHS), Prikk brought good humor and expert knowledge to address the intricacies of U.S.–Europe foreign policy, while offering a unique Estonian perspective on these issues. Prikk wove his talk through historical and contemporary issues that pertain to Estonia and Europe as a whole, addressing the importance of NATO, the war in Ukraine, and the impacts of Soviet and Nazi occupation on the country.

Prikk dedicated a significant portion of his time to answering student questions, which in classic Carleton style could have lasted more than an hour beyond the end of his talk. He eloquently answered students’ inquiries on a range of topics, from security spending to Estonia’s humanitarian efforts in Sub-Saharan Africa. Prikk only departed from campus when a large blizzard began developing, bringing a truly Minnesotan conclusion to his lecture.

For most present, Prikk’s talk provided one thought-provoking afternoon; for AHS members, however, the event had been long in the works. I had the pleasure of speaking with Jimmy Huang ’28, the club’s vice president, to discuss the AHS, the event, and more.

While Carleton’s chapter of the AHS was originally founded in 2019, it was disbanded in 2022 after a few years of eventful work. In Huang’s opinion, the AHS serves a crucial role in Carleton’s community.

“There isn’t as much foreign policy-oriented discussion at Carleton in the more casual sense,” he said. “You’ll be able to talk in classes with your professors, but it’s a much different space; people don’t always get the time, or feel comfortable sharing. We wanted to open up a forum for that at Carleton. We are hosting round tables and providing speaker events to contextualize [this] conversation we are having.”

Furthermore, the national organizations’ nonprofit and nonpartisan orientations differentiate the society from many of Carleton’s other local organizations, as the national body of the AHS provides funds to participating chapters, which help support hosting events like Prikk’s talk. Huang indicated that the event was multi-dimensional, though, with planning and support from Carleton’s political science department, the German and Russian department, and President Alison Byerly herself. 

As the event proved a smashing success, the AHS continues to look toward their goals as the chapter regains steam. Huang’s hope is that more students will participate in AHS round tables and talks. 

“U.S. policy is a global player, and I think it will continue to be, so being informed and able to create your own opinions based on the information that’s available is, I think, critical,” he said. “We’re opening up that opportunity to Carleton students.” 

To find out more about Carleton’s chapter of the Alexander Hamilton Society, check out their Instagram!

Working at the intersection of science, healthcare, and entrepreneurship, the multidisciplinary team of four Carleton students spent four months tackling a challenging biomedical tech transfer project focused on a novel technology for simple and rapid generation of recombinant adenoviruses for in vivo gene delivery.

Carleton’s 2024–25 Innovation Scholars team is comprised of Theodore Bester ’26, economics major; Selina Chen ’26, biology major with a minor in neuroscience; Benjamin Szeto ’26, economics major with minors in statistics and data science and public policy; and Allison Tran ’26, economics major with a minor in statistics and data science. Campus mentors include Matt Rand, professor of biology; Ethan Struby, assistant professor of economics; Debby Walser-Kuntz, Herman and Gertrude Mosier Stark Professor of Biology and the Natural Sciences; and Bruce Dalgaard, visiting scholar in economics. The team is led by Augsburg University MBA student Amanda Xiong.

Innovation Scholars is a nationally recognized experiential learning program that engages teams of liberal arts students in the complex processes of translational medicine, taking an idea “from the bench to the bedside.” Project partners include Mayo Clinic, early-stage companies affiliated with Medical Alley, and NASA.

Wright Faladé is the author of the novel Black Cloud Rising (2022) and most recently The New Internationals (2025), as well as the co-author of the young adult novel Away Running (2016) and the nonfiction book Fire on the Beach: Recovering the Lost Story of Richard Etheridge and the Pea Island Lifesavers (2000), which was a New Yorker notable selection and a St. Louis-Dispatch Best Book of 2001. Wright Faladé was also a recipient of the Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Award, a prestigious award recognizing Black writers for their achievements. 

He is a professor of English at the University of Illinois and the 2021–22 Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center Fellow at the New York Public Library. He has also written for The New Yorker, Village Voice, Southern Review, Newsday, and more.

Wright Faladé graduated from Carleton in 1986, completed nine months in Brazil as a Fulbright scholar, and later earned his MFA from the University of Massachusetts–Amherst.

This convocation will also be live streamed — please register in advance to receive information on how to attend via Zoom. Carleton convocations are free and open to the public. Find upcoming events and archived recordings (including in podcast form) on the convocations website. For more information, including disability accommodations, call 507-222-5461 or email nponder@carleton.edu.

After each convocation address, Carleton hosts a luncheon with the speaker. Convocation luncheon is held in the Alumni Guest House Meeting Room (unless otherwise noted) from noon to 1 p.m. and is generally limited to 30 people. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP on the convocations website.

Liu is best known for her work as the writer of The New York Times’s iconic word game Connections, and often writes crosswords for The New Yorker. An avid puzzler and creator, Liu began constructing crossword puzzles in 2018 and published her first crossword in 2019 for the American Values Club Crossword, where she now serves as assistant editor. A year after her first publication, she became a games editor with The New York Times. In 2023, she was chosen by The New York Times to produce Connections for the newspaper’s games section. 

When Liu isn’t working on a puzzle to confuse and intrigue the masses, she enjoys her artistic work. She exercises her talents through jewelry-making and creating sculptural, yet wearable clothing in her living room. Liu has taken classes in neon-making and puppetry, and has started experimenting with making wax molds.

Liu earned her bachelor’s degree at Oberlin College and went on to earn her master’s degree from the Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

This convocation will also be live streamed — please register in advance to receive information on how to attend via Zoom. Carleton convocations are free and open to the public. Find upcoming events and archived recordings (including in podcast form) on the convocations website. For more information, including disability accommodations, call 507-222-5461 or email nponder@carleton.edu.

After each convocation address, Carleton hosts a luncheon with the speaker. Convocation luncheon is held in the Alumni Guest House Meeting Room (unless otherwise noted) from noon to 1 p.m. and is generally limited to 30 people. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP on the convocations website.

Now extensively remodeled with new appliances and an expanded kitchen, Dacie’s is still upholding its traditional legacy thanks to dedicated house residents and members of the Dacie Moses House Committee. Skye Sparks ’25 and Elida Coronado ’25, the current house residents, have been baking in the Dacie Moses House since their freshman year. They fondly remember making dinner in the old kitchen every weekend, appreciating the homey environment that offered a welcoming and safe spot to get away from the hustle and bustle of campus life. 

“We both love giving and providing for people. It seemed very natural for us to step into this role,” said Sparks. “Our primary objective is to maintain the warmth of this old house. We still want the homey feeling that we felt when we first entered.”

“We want to uphold the legacy of Dacie Moses by fostering the sense of warmness of a grandmother’s house,” Coronado added. “We want to make sure that the history of the house is still present, even though it’s a [partially] new space.”

Louise Oviedo ’28, a student worker at Dacie’s, applied for the position after hearing many stories about the cookie house while applying to Carleton. Oviedo’s role as a student worker consists of maintaining the house, cleaning dishes, baking, and helping out during weekly Sunday brunches. 

“Seeing everyone eat and enjoy the space is a privilege,” said Oviedo, who enjoys providing for the Carleton community through baking.

Jeff Pipes ’83, a Dacie’s committee member, believes that the importance of the Dacie Moses House for the Carleton community lies in its ability to serve as an “open place for people to come without judgement.” Pipes explained how Dacie Moses stood for hospitality and radical inclusion, and it is the committee’s hope to continue that legacy.

“The Dacie Moses House is unique, there’s nothing else like it,” said Pipes.

Tim Vick, chair of the Dacie’s committee, reflected on the unique space that is the Dacie Moses House, describing it as a center for “hospitality, kindness, generosity, and openness to all people.”

Post-renovation, the Dacie’s community is looking forward to carrying on Dacie Moses’ legacy in a new age. Dacie Moses brunches are held on Sundays throughout every academic term, and all are welcome!

Learn more about the house and its history on the Dacie Moses website.

Wilkerson won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing in 1994, as Chicago bureau chief of The New York Times, making her the first African American woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize in journalism. She is also a winner of the National Humanities Medal, the recipient of which is determined annually by the President of the United States in consultation with the National Endowment for the Humanities. Wilkerson won the medal in 2015 for “championing the stories of an unsung history” in her deeply researched telling of the Great Migration, one of the biggest underreported stories of the twentieth century and one of the largest migrations in American history.

“At a time when higher education and many of our most cherished values are being questioned, it seems especially fitting to have the opportunity to recognize the work of a writer who so beautifully exemplifies the power and impact of thoughtful research and excellent writing in helping us to make sense of our history, culture, and challenges,” Carleton President Alison Byerly said.

Wilkerson will also be awarded an honorary degree during the ceremony in recognition of her groundbreaking work in journalism and history. With its honorary degrees, Carleton seeks to honor those who have achieved eminence in their own profession or who have rendered distinguished service to society.

A native of Washington, D.C., Wilkerson is also a daughter of the Great Migration. She devoted 15 years and interviewed more than 1,200 people to tell the story of the six million people, among them her parents, who defected from the Jim Crow South. She has become a leading figure in narrative nonfiction, an interpreter of the human condition, and an impassioned voice for demonstrating “how history can help us understand ourselves, our country, and our current era of upheaval.”

Wilkerson’s debut work, The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration, won the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Heartland Prize for Nonfiction, the Anisfield-Wolf Award for Nonfiction, the Lynton History Prize from Harvard University and Columbia University, and the Stephen Ambrose Oral History Prize; it was also shortlisted for both the Pen-Galbraith Literary Award and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. Her 2020 book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, links the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany and explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, bloodlines, stigma, and more. The venerable U.K. bookseller, Waterstones, called it an “expansive, lyrical and stirring account of the unspoken system of divisions that govern our world.”

Carleton’s 2025 Commencement ceremony will be live streamed and archived so family and friends of graduates can share in the experience wherever they are in the world. For further information about Commencement, including disability accommodations, contact Noel Ponder at (507) 222-4309 or nponder@carleton.edu.

Erica Helgerud ’20 is the news and social media manager for Carleton College.

When he’s not working in yoga, York has a prolific entertainment career. Beyond playing in two bands, York has had serious success in the Twin Cities arena, and has opened for Chance the Rapper, DRAM, Saba, Chester Watson, and more. Furthermore, York boasts a notable career as an entertainer and on-camera personality. He is the host of the PBS Twin Cities show Outside Chance, which was awarded a regional Academy Award. The series emphasizes a growth mindset and explores activities and communities outdoors.

A student at Brown University, York is a qualified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) instructor and teaches at the University of Minnesota’s Bakken Center for Spirituality and Healing.

This convocation will also be live streamed — please register in advance to receive information on how to attend via Zoom. Carleton convocations are free and open to the public. Find upcoming events and archived recordings (including in podcast form) on the convocations website. For more information, including disability accommodations, call 507-222-5461 or email nponder@carleton.edu.

After each convocation address, Carleton hosts a luncheon with the speaker. Convocation luncheon is held in the Alumni Guest House Meeting Room (unless otherwise noted) from noon to 1 p.m. and is generally limited to 30 people. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP on the convocations website.

Syrian-American violinist Mariela Shaker will deliver Carleton’s convocation address on Friday, February 28 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Her address is titled, “Tragedy and Triumph: My Bow Bends for Peace.” An internationally recognized violinist and motivational speaker, Shaker was named a Champion of Change for World Refugees by U.S. President Barack Obama in 2015. Shaker strongly believes in music as a tool to bring people from different backgrounds together and to foster peace and love in the world. She uses her music to build bridges, promote peace, and raise awareness for the plight of refugees and vulnerable children around the world. She strives to inspire her students to express themselves freely and to find their own unique voice as performing artists.

Shaker discovered her love of violin in 1999 after joining the Arabic Institute of Music in Aleppo, Syria. After graduating with distinction in 2004, Shaker taught violin at the Institute for five years while earning her degree in business administration at Aleppo University. Shaker received a full scholarship to Monmouth College, a nationally ranked American liberal arts college located in central Illinois, in 2013 for music performance, where she graduated with the highest honor of Excellence in Music Performance. She realized while she was studying at Monmouth that she would not be able to return home to Syria due to the country’s ongoing conflict. After completing her degree at Monmouth, Shaker received a full tuition scholarship to acquire a masters in music performance at Chicago’s DePaul University, from which she graduated in 2017. While in the U.S., she taught violin at Knox College as well as Monmouth, where she also served as the concertmaster for the College’s chamber orchestra. In 2020, Shaker founded the Highams Park Music Academy in London, where she serves as director.

Shaker’s musical accolades are extensive. Her debut as a soloist was on June 20, 2015, at the Kennedy Center, to commemorate World Refugee Day, organized by the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR). She has performed as a soloist with Mesopotamian Symphony Orchestra at the California Theatre, and before Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan. In 2016, Shaker was invited by Cate Blanchett to perform in London, and by the first Scottish Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, at the Beyond Borders International Festival in Scotland. In 2017, she was appointed a UNHCR High Profile Supporter and honored with the Anne Frank Promise Keeper Award in New York City. 

Shaker has also performed at various programs for the United Nations, the White House, the Aspen Ideas Festival, Harvard University, MIT, Yale, Northwestern University, King’s College Chapel, and Georgetown University, among other prestigious venues. She has given recitals and masterclasses at more than 200 international venues, including venues in the U.K., the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, the U.A.E., Hong Kong, Malaysia, and the U.S. 

This convocation will also be live streamed — please register in advance to receive information on how to attend via Zoom. Carleton convocations are free and open to the public. Find upcoming events and archived recordings (including in podcast form) on the convocations website. For more information, including disability accommodations, call 507-222-5461 or email nponder@carleton.edu.

After each convocation address, Carleton hosts a luncheon with the speaker. Convocation luncheon is held in the Alumni Guest House Meeting Room (unless otherwise noted) from noon to 1 p.m. and is generally limited to 30 people. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP on the convocations website.

McFadden has performed her improv and sketch comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the world’s largest performance arts festival; San Francisco Sketchfest; Out of Bounds; and Chicago Sketchfest. She has also starred repeatedly in the Mainstage Revue at The Second City in Chicago.

McFadden’s short romantic comedy, Kim’s Big Date, which she wrote, directed, and edited, premiered in 2019 at the Windy City International Film Festival, where it won Best Chicago Comedy. After its premiere, Kim’s Big Date was screened at 12 more film festivals across the U.S. McFadden wrote the film in celebration of friendship, saying, “I wanted to make a movie that celebrates how deeply my friends and I have been involved in each other’s lives, especially when navigating choppy, unknown romantic waters. They psych me up, calm me down, ghostwrite my texts, and lint-roll my pants.” McFadden also created and acted in the improvised web series Framed (2018) based on her year of working as a custom picture framer. Framed gained recognition through its inclusion on the Official Selection of the 2018 New York Television Film Festival.

Previously, McFadden was a managing editor and staff writer for Jackbox Games, where she pitched the games Blather ‘Round and Quixort, and wrote for the popular games Quiplash, Drawful, and Trivia Murder Party.  

McFadden graduated from Carleton in 2013 with a degree in environmental studies. She was a proud member of student organizations Lenny Dee and Cujokra.

This convocation will also be live streamed — please register in advance to receive information on how to attend via Zoom. Carleton convocations are free and open to the public. Find upcoming events and archived recordings (including in podcast form) on the convocations website. For more information, including disability accommodations, call 507-222-5461 or email nponder@carleton.edu.

After each convocation address, Carleton hosts a luncheon with the speaker. Convocation luncheon is held in the Alumni Guest House Meeting Room (unless otherwise noted) from noon to 1 p.m. and is generally limited to 30 people. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP on the convocations website.

Dr. Bryant Simon, an American historian and professor at Temple University, will deliver the convocation address at Carleton on Friday, February 14 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. His speech, “The history of public bathrooms: A story of American inequality,” is based on a book he is currently writing on the topic, which is set to be published by University of Chicago Press. 

Simon has previously published four books — The Hamlet Fire: A Tragic Story of Cheap Food, Cheap Government, Cheap Lives (2017); Everything But the Coffee: Learning about America from Starbucks (2009); Boardwalk of Dreams: Atlantic City and the Fate of Urban America (2004); and A Fabric of Defeat: The Politics of South Carolina Millhands (1998). Simon has also produced three co-edited collections as well as numerous essays that have appeared in media outlets ranging from The Washington Post to the Christian Science Monitor. Beyond writing, he has appeared as a talking head in documentaries about Starbucks, the history of American food, blue jeans, the Jersey Shore, the board game Monopoly, and the Alabama-based rock and roll band Drive-By Truckers. 

The academic chair of the University Honors Program at Temple University in Philadelphia, Simon is also Laura H. Carnell Professor of History and the 2020 recipient of Temple’s Great Teacher Award. Simon founded and runs the Temple history department’s Global U.S. Studies Program, which features graduate exchange with the University of Erfurt, the University of Cologne, and Sorbonne University. Beyond his teaching, Simon’s academic work is widely recognized in his field; he is an Organization of American Historians Distinguished Speaker, an elected member of the Society of American Historians, and the previous president of the Southern Labor Studies Association. 

Simon earned both his BA and PhD from the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill. 

This convocation will also be live streamed — please register in advance to receive information on how to attend via Zoom. Carleton convocations are free and open to the public. Find upcoming events and archived recordings (including in podcast form) on the convocations website. For more information, including disability accommodations, call 507-222-5461 or email nponder@carleton.edu.

After each convocation address, Carleton hosts a luncheon with the speaker. Convocation luncheon is held in the Alumni Guest House Meeting Room (unless otherwise noted) from noon to 1 p.m. and is generally limited to 30 people. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP on the convocations website.

Printmaker Amos Paul Kennedy Jr. will deliver the Carleton convocation on Friday, February 7, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. His address is titled, “A Tirade Against Boomers.” Visit the convo website for an introductory poem from Kennedy before his address.

As a self-described “humble negro printer,”  Kennedy harnesses his printmaking abilities to produce social and political commentaries, often through posters. Kennedy’s passion for books and letters began at the age of four, yet it wasn’t until the age of 40, when Kennedy visited the living history museum of Colonial Williamsburg, that he was captivated by an eighteenth-century bookbinding and printmaking demonstration. This was the spark that inspired Kennedy to learn printmaking at a community-based letterpress shop in Chicago. Within a year, Kennedy made the leap and quit his job of nearly two decades as an AT&T systems analyst to further his education, and continued with the master book designer Walter Hamady at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, graduating with an MFA in 1997. Today, Kennedy owns a letterpress print shop in Detroit, Michigan. 

Kennedy’s work is motivated by his understanding of Black identity formed through his upbringing during the Civil Rights Era, witnessing the rise of Black Nationalism in the 1970s, and living in the current Post-Civil Rights Era. Using a blend of social commentary, folk art, and graphic design, Kennedy embraces his unique style to address violence, oppression, and dehumanizing stereotypes that the Black community faces, among many other issues. He is recognized as a Glasgow Fellow in Crafts (2015) and an Individual Laureate of the American Printing History Association (2021), and he received the Outstanding Printmaker Award from the Mid Atlantic Print Council (2022), among other honors. 

This convocation will also be live streamed — please register in advance to receive information on how to attend via Zoom. Carleton convocations are free and open to the public. Find upcoming events and archived recordings (including in podcast form) on the convocations website. For more information, including disability accommodations, call 507-222-5461 or email nponder@carleton.edu.

After each convocation address, Carleton hosts a luncheon with the speaker. Convocation luncheon is held in the Alumni Guest House Meeting Room (unless otherwise noted) from noon to 1 p.m. and is generally limited to 30 people. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP on the convocations website.

Screenwriter and producer Bob Daily ’82 will deliver convocation at Carleton College on Friday, January 31 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Through his address — “On Creativity: Nine lessons I’ve learned, stolen and ignored” — Daily will highlight his path from Carleton to the entertainment industry. 

Daily began his television career as a writer and producer on the famed NBC series Frasier, for which he was awarded back-to-back Writers Guild Awards for Outstanding Script in Television Comedy in 2003 and 2004. Daily wrote 15 episodes of Frasier — one of which was included in the book, Very Best of Frasier — over the course of five seasons. During his time on the show, he also received an Emmy nomination, and is currently working as a consulting producer on the latest Frasier series for Paramount Plus. 

Beyond his work on Frasier, Daily served as an executive producer and eventual showrunner for Desperate Housewives from 2006 to 2012, earning him a Golden Globe nomination. Daily is also the co-creator of Superior Donuts and served as its executive producer and showrunner for two seasons. He served as executive producer on the ABC/Hulu series The Wonder Years, which won the Peabody Award in 2021 and was nominated for a 2023 NAACP Image Award.  His other executive producer credits include B Positive, Perfect Harmony, and The Odd Couple. Daily is currently working as an executive producer on the new hit ABC/Hulu series Shifting Gears while working as a consulting producer on the reboot of King of the Hill for Hulu. 

Daily graduated from Carleton with a BA in English, and later earned an MA in English from University of Chicago. Before working in entertainment, Daily worked as a journalist, writing for a variety of publications including Chicago Magazine, Spy, Men’s Journal, the Chicago Tribune, and The Boston Globe. He has also published six children’s books. He is married to Janet Kerrigan Daily and has two children, Emma and Owen. 

This convocation will also be live streamed — please register in advance to receive information on how to attend via Zoom. Carleton convocations are free and open to the public. Find upcoming events and archived recordings (including in podcast form) on the convocations website. For more information, including disability accommodations, call 507-222-5461 or email nponder@carleton.edu.

After each convocation address, Carleton hosts a luncheon with the speaker. Convocation luncheon is held in the Alumni Guest House Meeting Room (unless otherwise noted) from noon to 1 p.m. and is generally limited to 30 people. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP on the convocations website.

Chérif Keïta, William H. Laird Professor of French and the Liberal Arts, presented gifts on behalf of Carleton to Thembi Ndlovu, the principal of the historic Inanda Seminary, a girls’ high school near Durban, South Africa. The gifts consisted of a microscope and dozens of copies of A Zulu in New York, the new graphic novel authored by Keïta and Stephanie Cox, senior lecturer in French. The gifts were presented after a community screening of Keïta’s 2014 documentary, uKukhumbula uNokutela/Remembering Nokutela, which was covered in a piece published by Independent Online (IOL), one of South Africa’s leading news websites.

Inanda Seminary was founded by American missionaries in 1869, thus beginning the training of South Africa’s top female leadership; under Nelson Mandela, 20 percent of the women in parliament were graduates of this unique school. In 1881, a young woman from Northfield, Minnesota by the name of Ida Belle Wilcox (née Clary, an Oberlin graduate) taught at the school attended by then-nine-year-old Nokutela Mdima, the forgotten South African heroine whose story is unveiled in Keïta’s film.

Originally a biweekly nightlife event, Tarnow’s The Big Quiz Thing (BQT) evolved from a DIY quiz program into the nationwide customizable trivia event company that it is today, for which Tarnow serves as CEO, creative director, and senior quizmaster. In the two decades of its development, BQT has entertained hundreds of thousands of people across the country through its innovative take on classic bar-style trivia. BQT has even been adapted to television, as the world’s first bar-trivia-style TV show. 

During his Carleton experience, Tarnow — a lifetime lover of obscure facts and habitual devourer of quirky reference books — became determined to study popular culture, despite the College’s then-lack of classes on the subject. Majoring in American studies with a media studies concentration, Tarnow managed to overcome some faculty doubts to write his comps about the history of Batman as a pop culture icon, carrying that knowledge and novelty to New York City as a magazine editor. By his late 20s, the novelty had worn off — his magazine career was stagnant, and a diversion into stand-up comedy was utterly unremarkable. Yet undeterred, Tarnow repurposed his love of being on stage (in some capacity) and formulated the DIY quiz program that became BQT.

Tarnow now lives in San Francisco, where he also co-hosts the podcast I Don’t Get It: The Pop Culture Get-Off-My-Lawn Cast, and returns to Carleton when he can to check up on the Libe’s ever-growing section of graphic novels. 

This convocation will also be live streamed — please register in advance to receive information on how to attend via Zoom. Carleton convocations are free and open to the public. Find upcoming events and archived recordings (including in podcast form) on the convocations website. For more information, including disability accommodations, call 507-222-5461 or email nponder@carleton.edu.

After each convocation address, Carleton hosts a luncheon with the speaker. Convocation luncheon is held in the Alumni Guest House Meeting Room (unless otherwise noted) from noon to 1 p.m. and is generally limited to 30 people. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP on the convocations website.

The evening began with a warm introduction from Carleton president Alison Byerly, who underscored Yamada’s impressive career trajectory. After earning his second bachelor’s degree at Carleton, Yamada held influential positions in Washington, D.C. and Tokyo, consistently advocating for international collaboration.

Yamada began his talk with, “I’m happy to be back,” expressing gratitude for the opportunity to reconnect with the community that played such a pivotal role in his life. With humor and humility, he acknowledged the trope of the seasoned alum sharing stories of “what it used to be like” and embraced it, diving into his personal story.

Originally sent to the United States to better understand the country, Yamada chose Carleton for its close-knit community and rigorous academics. Reflecting on his arrival, he described the nervous anticipation of starting a new life alone in a foreign land. Yet, the kindness he encountered — from floormates who welcomed him, to an adviser whose generosity made a lasting impression — helped him find his footing.

Yamada highlighted the friendships that defined his Carleton experience, particularly with his roommate, George Ehrhardt ’91. Their conversations, spanning topics from personal anecdotes to cultural differences, profoundly shaped Yamada’s worldview. He recalled one pivotal moment when Ehrhardt asked why Japan was important to the United States. Struck by the question’s directness, Yamada admitted he struggled to respond at the time, but that moment became the cornerstone of his career in diplomacy.

Central to Yamada’s philosophy is the belief that strong interpersonal relationships form the bedrock of effective diplomacy.

“The most important element between two countries is the relationship between their people,” Yamada said. His bond with Ehrhardt exemplified this principle, proving that mutual understanding and trust between individuals can translate into stronger international partnerships.

“Everything important I learned about this country, I learned right here, at Carleton,” Yamada concluded, noting that these experiences reinforced his commitment to fostering meaningful connections for the sake of diplomacy.

Following his remarks, Yamada was joined by Mihaela Czobor-Lupp, associate professor of political science and chair of political science and international relations, for a discussion on contemporary issues.

On the current state of U.S.–Japan relations, Yamada painted a picture of strength and collaboration, emphasizing shared values like the rule of law. He pointed to the importance of standing united against global challenges, including Russian aggression and the implications for East Asia.

“Today’s Ukraine could be tomorrow’s East Asia,” he warned, reaffirming Japan’s readiness to work alongside the U.S. to uphold peace and stability.

Yamada identified three key priorities for Japanese security: maintaining a strong U.S.–Japan alliance, addressing Indo-Pacific security challenges through cooperation with like-minded nations, and ensuring economic resilience through competitive supply chains.

When asked why he chose a diplomatic career, Yamada spoke of his passion for international peace and stability.

“It may sound naive,” he admitted, but Czobor-Lupp countered with encouragement: “It’s not naive, but powerful,” she said. “It is important to have hope.”

For students considering diplomacy as a career, Yamada offered practical and philosophical guidance. He urged them to embrace Carleton’s liberal arts education, emphasizing the value of broad knowledge in becoming a productive diplomat.

Closing on a hopeful note, Yamada encouraged Carleton students to follow in his footsteps.

“I’d love to work with fellow Carls to strengthen peace,” he said.

Political scientist Lawrence R. Jacobs will deliver convocation at Carleton College on Friday, January 17 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Jacobs’ address, “American Democracy in Fractured Times,” stems from his expertise in American political science and will be informed by the content of his latest book, Democracy Under Fire: Donald Trump and the Breaking of American History.

Jacobs is the founder and director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance (CSPG) at the University of Minnesota. He also serves as the Walter F. and Joan Mondale Chair for Political Studies at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and holds the McKnight Presidential Chair — one of the highest faculty honors at the University of Minnesota — for his research work and contributions to the advancement of the university.

In 2020, Jacobs was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Beyond that, Jacobs has written or collaborated on over 100 scholarly articles, 17 books, and numerous media essays and reports. Jacobs is a specialized expert in national and Minnesota elections, Midwestern swing states, presidential and legislative politics, political communications, health care reform, economic inequality, Social Security, and third party politics.

Jacobs earned his BA in history and English from Oberlin College in 1981 and his PhD in political science from Columbia University in 1990.

This convocation will also be live streamed — please register in advance to receive information on how to attend via Zoom. Carleton convocations are free and open to the public. Find upcoming events and archived recordings (including in podcast form) on the convocations website. For more information, including disability accommodations, call 507-222-5461 or email nponder@carleton.edu.

After each convocation address, Carleton hosts a luncheon with the speaker. Convocation luncheon is held in the Alumni Guest House Meeting Room (unless otherwise noted) from noon to 1 p.m. and is generally limited to 30 people. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP on the convocations website.