Like most of the other ECs, I don’t want to think about our impending graduation, but we must prepare for the sad reality of leaving HBS.
Following a month’s break after our final exams, we will return to school for Graduation Week. The first official event of Graduation Week will begin on Tuesday, June 8th with the section dinners.
On Wednesday, June 9th, HBS will hold its Class Day ceremony, which in essence is our own business school graduation. The event will be highlighted by speeches given by the Class Presidents, an elected student speaker, a faculty speaker, and a guest speaker. The day should be a ton of fun for us and our guests. It includes the Class Day ceremony, the Section Reunions, and a night-time SA event for all EC’s and their guests.
The following is a preliminary schedule for the day:
Class Day – Wednesday, June 9th
9:00am-5:00pm
Commencement Ticket Pick-up, MBA Student & Academic Services. Note you can also pick up your tickets on Monday or Tuesday. (Bring your HBS ID; you will NOT be able to pick up your tickets without showing it)
12:30pm-1:45pm
Class Day Ceremony
(Speeches by Class Presidents, student speaker and guest speaker; Presentation of Faculty Awards). Baker Lawn. All welcome.
2:00pm-3:30pm
Graduating Students
Section reunions in Aldrich and Hawes.
Guests
2:00pm-3:30pm
Faculty speech in Burden Auditorium.
Evening
SA Event at the Roxy
Faculty Awards
The Faculty Awards are an integral part of the Class Day tradition. The honors are bestowed upon teachers who have made particularly exceptional contributions to the HBS experience. Since their inception, these awards have carried a significant degree of prestige and recognition for the faculty members.
This year the awards will be given to two Required Curriculum (RC) and two Elective Curriculum (EC) teachers. In order to ensure fairness, the winners will be selected on the basis of the greatest number of votes relative to the number of students taught. The Class of 2004 will be asked to take part in an online election during the first week in April. In past years, over 95% of the graduating class participated in the awards selection, using the following six criteria to decide which faculty to vote for:
Inspiration: transfers their passion for the subject matter to the students
Knowledge Transfer: makes difficult course material accessible to all students through clear explanations and demonstrated relevance
Accessibility: available to students outside the classroom on a personal and professional basis
Career Guidance: helps to identify industry contacts and evaluate potential career options
Quality of Life: helps to improve the quality of life on campus
Feedback: provides feedback that contributes to professional and personal development
Student Speaker
Later this spring, the Class of 2004 will elect one member of our class to speak at Class Day on June 9th. The speaker will reflect on their time at HBS and the road that lies ahead. Every member of the Class of 2004 is eligible to compete. During the first round of competition, each candidate will speak for 3 minutes in front of a panel of volunteer judges representing each section in the class. The first round speakers will be judged on their ability to address their audience (the Class of 2004), presentation skills, creativity, and overall general impression.
The top five finalists will enter the second round of competition. Each student will speak for 5 minutes and will be judged by the entire Class of 2004. The Class Day Committee will be emailing more details regarding this process shortly.
Guest Speaker
Our guest speaker has recently accepted an invitation to join us for Class Day, and will be introduced with our elected student speaker in late April. Our guest speaker was chosen from a list of impressive individuals and we are confident that we will appreciate their words of wisdom.
Harvard Commencement, Thursday, June 10th
For Students
7:00 am
Graduating students gather in front of Kresge.
7:30 am
Meet with section. Depart promptly for Harvard Yard.
8:15 am
Arrive at Harvard Yard. Make sure you carry your Harvard ID.
9:00 am – 11:30 am
Commencement. Rain or shine.
For Guests
7:00 am
Gates open at Harvard Yard. There is limited seating, so most get there early to assure seating. For those who don’t get in, there is an air-conditioned telecast video of the event in Burden, Spangler Auditorium and the Grille.
For Everyone
11:30 am – 12:30 pm
HBS Luncheon in Kresge Tents.
12:30 pm – 2:30 pm
HBS Diploma Ceremony. Baker Lawn (rain or shine).
2:30 pm – 4:00 pm
HBS Reception in Kresge Tent (rain or shine).
Alternate
Harvard University is holding optional concurrent event with HBS.
2:00 pm
Harvard University Alumni Meeting, Harvard Yard.
For further details, you can refer to MyHBS at the top of which you should have an entire page devoted to Commencement.
Questions
If you have any additional questions regarding Class Day or Graduation Week, please feel free to contact any of the Class Day Committee members:
Committee Chair: So-Young Kang (OA). Other committee members: Robert Barlick (OD), John Bayliss (NI), Ashish Contractor (NC), Anand Devendran (NG), Majid Jafar (OB), Bryan Morgan (NF), Paulo Passoni (ND), Jeff Yurcisin (OG) and Kelly Diamond, Associate Director of Student and Academic Services.
Alternate
Harvard University is holding optional concurrent event with HBS.
Harvard University Alumni Meeting, Harvard Yard.
2:00 pm
For further details, you can refer to MyHBS at the top of which you should have an entire page devoted to Commencement.
Questions
If you have any additional questions regarding Class Day or Graduation Week, please feel free to contact any of the Class Day Committee members:
Committee Chair: So-Young Kang (OA). Other committee members: Robert Barlick (OD), John Bayliss (NI), Ashish Contractor (NC), Anand Devendran (NG), Majid Jafar (OB), Bryan Morgan (NF), Paulo Passoni (ND), Jeff Yurcisin (OG) and Kelly Diamond, Associate Director of Student and Academic Services.
