On Saturday afternoon, more than 200 students filed into Salomon 101 for the University’s Midyear Completion Celebration.
The annual ceremony recognizes undergraduate students who will complete their degree requirements in December, rather than May. The celebration “provides an opportunity to recognize the achievements and unique paths of Brown’s ’0.5ers,” according to the ceremony’s program. This year, students entered the auditorium alongside hundreds of family and friends as an instrumental rendition of Taylor Swift’s “Long Live (Taylor’s Version)” played on the speakers.
The event opened with remarks from Dean of the College of the College Rashid Zia ’01, which were followed by a performance of the national anthem by the Chattertocks, the University’s longest-running a capella group. Reverend Janet Cooper-Nelson, the chaplain of the University, led the invocation, followed by speeches from graduating students Katie Haley ’23.5 and Arden Reynolds ’23.5. President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 concluded the ceremony with the University’s salutations to the graduates.
“Midyear Completion Ceremony is one of the most joyous events of the entire year at Brown,” Zia said in his remarks.
Midyear Completion graduates belong to two graduating classes, and Zia noted that the weekend ceremony is “not meant to replace (their) graduation.” The University welcomes 0.5ers to walk through the Van Wickle Gates again in the spring — even if they already did so with the previous graduating class — once the University officially confers their degrees in May.
Throughout the night, speakers noted that despite the unique paths 0.5ers took — whether that meant transferring midyear, taking a leave of absence due to the pandemic or choosing to extend their studies — the students and their classmates are now all in the same space, looking to celebrate one another and use their shared talents to embark on the new opportunities that lie ahead.
The two student speakers told their stories and Brown experiences to highlight their respective journeys to becoming 0.5ers.
Haley, a psychology concentrator, recounted her story of overcoming substance abuse and homelessness to become Bristol Community College’s valedictorian before entering Brown. In her speech, Haley said she first thought she had made a “huge mistake” coming to Brown because she had a different age and background than most of her classmates.
But she began to find ownership in her story, becoming the founding chair of the nontraditional advisory board at Brown and manager of the program house for the Bruce E. Donovan Program for Recovery and Substance-Free Initiatives, according to a University press release.
She credited Adjunct Assistant Professor of Health Services, Policy, and Practice Brad Brockmann for helping her discover her own “value in elite academic spaces.”
“I am no longer afraid that you’re going to find out that I’m different,” Haley said. “Because I found out that you are also different. We are all different.”
Reynolds, an English nonfiction concentrator, started her speech by recounting her fourth day at Brown, when she was hit by a car.
She recalled her memories from those first months: the “cute guy from orientation game night” who played her Bach Cello Suites as she recovered in the hospital, the first-year English teacher who checked in with her each day after class and the Sharpe Refectory dining hall staff member who helped her carry her food — all of whom were in the audience tonight, she noted.
“Let’s take a minute to think of someone who cared for us during our time here — someone we cared for,” Reynolds said. “As we move beyond our time at Brown, we will be left with the memories of the people who heard us, helped us, and held us.”
After the speeches, the University presented the graduates as they walked the stage amid applause from friends and family.
“As you go out in the world, what I want to say to you is — come back,” Paxson said. “We love you. We want you here.”
The Chattertocks concluded the event by singing the University’s alma mater.
“I am so happy to have been at the ceremony,” said Canqi Li ’23.5, a former Herald senior staff writer. “Everyone is so dressed up and beautiful, and I’m so inspired by them all.”
Emma Amselem Bensadon ’24 came to the Ceremony to celebrate her friend’s graduation. “I’m sad that they are leaving,” said Bensadon. “But I’m very excited to see them enter this new phase in their lives.”
Zia shared a story of the Iranian winter solstice holiday — Shabe Yalda — with the audience.
On this longest night of the year, young people “stay up all night to watch the sunrise over the horizon,” Zia said as he pointed to the emblem above his head, “much like the sun in the Brown seal overhead breaks through the clouds.”
“We are here to celebrate you and your achievements — your hope and light that provides warmth and comfort to us all.”
Sanai Rashid was raised in Brooklyn and now lives in Long Island, New York. As an English and History concentrator, she is always looking for a way to amplify stories and histories previously unheard. When she is not writing, you can find her trying new pizza places in Providence or buying another whale stuffed animal.
