Congratulations to the class of 2018! The College’s 226th commencement took place on Sunday May 13th in Annapolis, and on Sunday May 18th in Santa Fe.

In Annapolis, the graduating seniors selected tutor Matthew Holtzman (class of 2000) as their speaker. Mr. Holtzman spoke to the what the graduating seniors had gained during their time at St. John’s, describing the Program as botanical garden of imagination, creating graduates who “have each acquired so many capabilities, they are poised to go off in any of a hundred ways.” No matter how far our graduates roam, the college, Holtzman promised, “can remain with you wherever you are.”

This commencement also marked the first for Annapolis campus President Panayiotis Kanelos, and some rainy weather did little to dampen the enthusiasm of students, tutors, families, and President Kanelos alike!

Santa Fe enjoyed sunnier weather, and graduating seniors invited Lydia Polgreen, St. John’s College class of 1997 and current editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post, to be their speaker.  Ms. Polgreen congratulated graduates on completing “one of the toughest most rigorous academic programs in the country.”  She recalled some of her own struggles with Greek, Newton, and Lobachevsky, and told the class of 2018 that their years at St. John’s would serve them well, urging them “Hold fast to what you learned here…it is vital to our democracy, to our future, and to our survival.” You can watch her commencement address in its entirety below

We here in admissions are proud of all the graduates of 2018! It feels like not to long ago that we met you as prospective students, and then cheered you on as you signed the book at convocation. We’re so happy to see you walk across the stage four years later, diploma in hand–congratulations!