Senior class presidents select student speakers for Stanford Baccalaureate celebrations
Senior Temiloluwa Bolodeoku and Madison Fish, BA ’20, will address graduates, families, and friends during separate Baccalaureate ceremonies at Frost Amphitheater on June 10.
Stanford senior Temiloluwa Bolodeoku, an electrical engineering major and coterminal master’s student in management science and engineering, and 2020 graduate Madison Fish, a human biology major now working in early education, will be the student speakers for Baccalaureate celebrations at Frost Amphitheater during Commencement Weekend in June.
This year, the university will have two Baccalaureate ceremonies, which are multifaith gatherings for graduates, family members, and friends: one for 2022 graduates and another for 2020 graduates, who had a virtual Commencement. A number of 2021 graduates who were unable to be on campus for their ceremonies will participate in Baccalaureate and other events with 2020 graduates.
Temiloluwa Bolodeoku (Image credit: Courtesy Temiloluwa Bolodeoku)
Presidents of the 2022 and 2020 senior classes, in consultation with the Office for Religious & Spiritual Life (ORSL), made the selections from speeches submitted by more than 50 current seniors and graduates.
The speakers contest, sponsored by ORSL since 2005, seeks out individuals who will share “reflections into their own spiritual journey during their time at Stanford, including hopes and dreams for the future for the entire class.”
The 2022 speaker, Temi Bolodeoku, a Nigerian educated in the United Kingdom, is committed to playing a major role in the interaction between finance, technology, and development.
The 2020 speaker, Maddy Fish, came to Stanford from Panama City, Florida, and has begun her career in the Bay Area, teaching kindergarten in East Palo Alto. As a HumBio major, she focused on the social and emotional dimensions of children’s lives and, as a teacher, has a broader interest in working to end the transmission of trauma in school systems.
Madison Fish (Image credit: Courtesy Madison Fish)
At the respective ceremonies, the speeches by Bolodeoku and Fish will precede remarks by Simran Jeet Singh (2022), a professor, author, and educator who advocates for religious and racial tolerance, and the Rev. Dr. Yvette A. Flunder (2020), whose work links gospel and social ministries.
Stanford’s Baccalaureate celebrations on June 10 will be at 10 a.m. for 2022 graduates and 4 p.m. for 2020 and 2021 graduates. On June 11, France A. Córdova, an astrophysicist and leader in higher education and government, will speak at the 2020 Commencement ceremony, and on June 12, Reed Hastings, co-founder and co-CEO of Netflix, will speak at the 2022 Commencement ceremony. Additional details and updates are available at the Commencement Weekend website.