Seniors gathered on the main residential quad Thursday afternoon to remember their time as members of the latest graduating class to go out with a national championship in men's basketball and reflect on the last four years.
The event—which was attended by approximately 200 people—was Duke’s first ever Class Day ceremony. It featured speakers from the Class of 2015, as well as prominent University figures such as Shepard Moyle, Trinity '84 and president of the Duke Alumni Association Board of Directors, and Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Christoph Guttentag. Many reflected on the unique memories of the senior class and offered words of wisdom.
“We are surrounded by so many amazing people,” said senior Ray Li. He referenced a recent article in Business Insider that highlighted “18 incredibly impressive Duke Students” and suggested that the author could have chosen to write about many others in the class.
Bob Penn, Trinity '74 and a member of the Board of Trustees, gave the keynote address, urging seniors to remember their “Big Duke Family.”
“You will never be surrounded by such smart, articulate, animated and capable people,” he said.
Senior Class Council President Bret Lesavoy said he wanted Class Day to become a more permanent event at Duke.
“The Class Day ceremony is meant to initiate a new tradition to highlight Duke University’s undergraduate graduating class alone,” Lesavoy wrote in an email prior to the event.
He noted that it was an event that already occurred at peer institutions such as Princeton University. Working with Larry Moneta, vice president of student affairs, and Kenai McFadden, senior class council vice president, he helped bring the idea to Duke.
“Class Day is a completely student organized and run event, which I believe gets at the heart of the Class of 2015's own Duke experience,” Lesavoy said.
In addition to the speeches, the Class Council presented three awards whose recipients were nominated and chosen by the graduating class. Aarti Thakkar received the Moral Integrity and Character Award, Christine Schindler received the Innovation for the Good of Society Award and Lesavoy received the Duke Impact Award, which recognized his impact on the Duke community.
After the event ended, the class moved to Clocktower Quadrangle, where they spelled out “2015,” recreating the photo taken during their orientation week.
Although many members of the Class of 2015 were not there, Moyle encouraged those in attendance to “be loud and proud.”
"This will be your home. Duke is a special place, and as you leave here, you will own a part of it," Moyle said.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.
Adam Beyer is a senior public policy major and is The Chronicle's Digital Strategy Team director.