Eliot Circular

March of the Class of ’11

Photo by Vivian Johnson

New crop of Reedies unleashed on an unsuspecting world.

On a bright morning in May, the 336 members of the class of ’11 assembled in a gleaming tent on the Great Lawn to celebrate a momentous occasion—earning their degrees from Reed.

The commencement address was delivered by economist Pamela Cox ’75, vice president of the Latin America and Caribbean Region for the World Bank, who issued three challenges to the graduates, namely, Change the World, Be a Citizen of the World, and Do Good.

“In today’s world, you are the global elite. In a world of the haves and have-nots, you are the haves,” she told the audience. “Every day, thousands of migrants—Mexicans and Guatemalans trying to go to the U.S., North Africans trying to go to Europe, Africans and South Asians to North Africa—risk their lives in the hopes of a better chance for themselves and their families.
You have that chance. What will you do with it? How will you contribute to making the world a more equitable, sustainable, and livable place for all of us?

For more details, see www.reed.edu/commencement.