Stanford senior Lamya Butt, an economics major who has served in a range of leadership roles on campus, will be the student speaker for the Baccalaureate celebration on June 13 during Commencement Weekend 2026.

Baccalaureate is an annual multifaith gathering for graduates, families, and other guests. The student-led celebration, organized by the Office for Religious & Spiritual Life, recognizes the spiritual contribution to graduates’ academic journeys. Music and readings reflect an array of religious and spiritual traditions among Stanford students.

Each year, the presidents of the graduating senior class and the religious and spiritual life office select the student speaker from submissions by graduating seniors.

Butt, who is from Dubai and Toronto, is an economics major with honors and has a minor in South Asian studies. She has been active across campus, supporting students as a resident assistant and as a teaching assistant for classes at the Graduate School of Business and the d.school, and serving in leadership roles for Stanford Women in Business, Pakistanis at Stanford, and Alpha Phi. Her honors thesis bridges her interests in education equity, development economics, and finance by exploring the financial case for climate-resilient schools in Pakistan.

Butt’s speech will follow remarks by Lerone A. Martin, director of Stanford’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute and a prominent scholar in religious studies.

Baccalaureate will take place from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Frost Amphitheater, with gates opening at 9 a.m. Tickets are required for entry, and seating for guests is first-come, first-served. With large crowds anticipated, admission is subject to venue capacity. Air-conditioned remote viewing will be available at the nearby Bing Concert Hall.

Both Baccalaureate and the Commencement ceremony, which follows on Sunday, June 14, in Stanford Stadium, will be livestreamed and broadcast live on Stanford radio station KZSU FM 90.1 and on kzsu.stanford.edu.

More information is available on the Stanford Commencement website.