The Emory Wheel’s annual Graduation Magazine celebrates the graduating class by highlighting the milestones and accomplishments of the Emory community over the past year. This year, the Wheel commemorated the Class of 2024 with stories about students and faculty’s thoughts on political landmarks since 2020, student-athletes who took non-traditional paths to college athletics and reflections from seniors who have made their mark on campus.
Morehouse School of Medicine (Ga.) President and CEO Valerie Montgomery Rice (90MR, 91MR) will deliver the keynote address at Emory University’s 179th Commencement Ceremony on May 13, University President Gregory Fenves announced in a March 26 email to Emory students. She will also receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree during the ceremony.
The Class of 2024 entered college amid one pivotal election year and concluded their education at the onset of another. With the 2024 presidential election approaching, Emory University students and faculty looked back on political involvement on campus over the last four years, which have been highlighted by several political landmarks ranging from the 2020 election that flipped Georgia blue for the first time since 1992 to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Most college athletes experience a traditional recruiting process. After coaches notice them and get in contact, they are offered a spot on the team and get to jump right in once they arrive on campus. However, some of their teammates take a different path to collegiate athletics.
Each spring, the Wheel selects a handful of leaders from the graduating class to reflect on their time at Emory University for our Graduation Magazine. This year, 11 members of the Class of 2024 wrote about the parts of their undergraduate experience that shaped the people they are today.
By Amelia Andujar
I am forever grateful to my time at Emory for teaching me just how much one can squeeze out of life if you’re willing to crack open doors that may seem closed off to you.
By Matthew Chupack
Despite the woeful underpinnings of my reminiscing about Emory while I visited my future school, I am joyful that these small moments remodeled my Emory experience into one that I do not want to leave behind.
By Catherine Haus
Emory gifted me life-changing experiences that solidified my passion for nature. The Earth is worth protecting.
By Arturo Juarez Jr.
My college experience has taught me the importance of being proactive, embracing risks to pursue my passions and blazing forward toward new opportunities.
By Shreyas Rajagopal
I’m now also a seasoned hiker, an identity constructed from traversing the uphill path from the Sanford S. Atwood Chemistry Center to Kaldi’s at the Depot or climbing four flights of stairs to get to my Evans Hall dormitory. However, the skill I am most excited to add to my repertoire is storytelling: an art that my four years at Emory have helped me perfect.
By Neha Murthy
I am especially grateful for the people who have shaped me into who I am today — the list is simply endless. I have realized that it is the people at Emory who truly shape this institution.