In Ceremony, College Honors Off-Cycle Graduates

Harvard College honored 99 students who are completing their degrees off-cycle at a recognition ceremony on Dec. 2 that featured History professor Jill M. Lepore and Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana as speakers.

According to College spokesperson Rachael Dane, 23 students completed their studies this November and 76 are projected to finish in March. November degree candidates completed their coursework over the summer, while the projected March degree candidates will finish their final semester this term.

Khurana, who graduated mid-year from Cornell, addressed the students at the ceremony, which was held at the Student Organization Center at Hilles. He reminded them of the importance of including and tolerating others even in the face of risks.

Lepore said in an interview that she hoped that graduates would take with them a “spirit of inquiry in the service of the public good.”

“We live in a very instrumental time when people feel a lot of obligation to do the most straightforward and obvious and practical thing,” Lepore said. “I wanted to ask people to remember to think about beauty and truth.”

An increasing number of undergraduates have taken voluntary leaves of absence in the past five years, according to the College’s Administrative Board. During the 2014-2015 academic year, 242 students took time off, which does not include those studying abroad or on mandated leaves of absence.

Eliza R. Pugh ’16-’17, who was the student speaker at the event, discussed her experience taking her junior fall off, when she spent a semester in the Andes region of South America. She said the decision to take time off campus creates a shared experience for mid-year graduates.

“We all shared this commonality of taking time away from Harvard and that made our time here at Harvard different,” Pugh said. “I was really inspired to speak because I think my time off was very transformative.”

Pugh described the feeling of taking time off from college and returning as distinct from those of her classmates.

“It’s the same Harvard. Classes are the same, midterms are the same, homework is the same, but a little bit different socially,” she said. “Blockmates and roommates have graduated; your timing is off for your extracurriculars.”

Like many of his fellow off-cycle graduates, Reylon A. Yount ’16-’17 participated in the commencement exercises with his peers in May. Seniors who graduate off-cycle are invited to participate in commencement exercises either with the class with which they entered the College, prior to the completion of their final term, or the following spring.

Yount, who was the first marshal of the Class of 2016, said that the time he finished his degree requirements remained independent of the emotional experience of commencement and helping plan Class Day.

“I liked being able to phase out of Harvard more gradually,” Yount said. “[It] made me really appreciate the following summer and fall more.”

Justin P. Giallorenzo ’16-’17 took time off to travel in Italy, to study Italian, and connect with relatives. He said that his final semester has been like a “reset button”—a different, but positive experience.

“Being here after most of your class graduates is a different Harvard,” Giallorenzo said. “I found that it’s created a bit more of space for me to engage with Harvard how I want to.”

—Staff writer Menaka V. Narayanan contributed reporting to this story.

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