COMMENCEMENT EXERCISES
JUNE 14, 2025
At our time in Thurgood Marshall College, we became aware of our place in the long genealogy, in the great story of us; how legacies of resilience and sacrifice culminate into us, the heirs of great lineages of radical hope and love. We bear the faces, names, and histories of lives well-lived, of dreams realized and accomplished.
— Maria Lucilla "Aya" Bernal, Senior Speaker
Mission
History and Philosophy
In 1970, Third College was founded in response to a student movement, to provide a broad liberal arts education to students of all majors, while also helping them to develop as Scholars and Citizens, so that they will excel both academically and as engaged members of their community. The college has been central to the establishment of the university’s academic programs in Urban Studies and Planning, Education Studies, Communication, Third World Studies, Ethnic Studies, Public Service, African American Studies and Film Studies.
In 1993, Third College was named Thurgood Marshall College in honor of a man whose life’s work and philosophy embodied the college’s ideals. Thurgood Marshall became a lawyer and, when he became the director of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, masterminded the strategy that ended legalized racial segregation in the United States. Marshall was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals by President Kennedy, then to the Office of U.S. Solicitor General, and finally to the United States Supreme Court by President Johnson. As an associate justice of the Supreme Court, Marshall left a legacy of tireless commitment to the powerless and the voiceless.
Thurgood Marshall College has been committed to the education of people who traditionally have been underrepresented on college campuses. UC San Diego recognizes that diversity in the student population enhances everyone’s intellectual experience. The college logo of three hands interlocking was selected in 1974 to symbolize the unity and diversity of our college population and the wider community. Introduced in 1991, the required freshman course Dimensions of Culture: Diversity, Justice and Imagination has helped students understand the variety of experiences that people have had in the United States. Thurgood Marshall College aims to expand students’ intellectual horizons and to prepare them to be leaders and engaged participants in society — as scholars and as citizens.
MarStole Tradition
Processional
Call to Order
Leslie Carver
Provost
Land and Labor Acknowledgement
Leslie Carver
Provost
Commencement Welcome
Leslie Carver
Provost
Senior Address
Maria Lucilla "Aya" Bernal
Political Science: Race, Ethnicity, and Politics
Commencement Address
Kent Lee '07
Keynote Speaker
Recognition of Award Recipients
Presented by the following
Leslie Carver
Provost
Amber Vlasnik
Dean of Student Affairs
Emily Gonzales
Dean of Academic Advising
OUTSTANDING FACULTY AWARD
Dr. Amanda Solomon Amorao
Dimensions of Culture Director, Associate Teaching Professor
DR. JOSEPH WATSON PROVOST AWARD
Alesia Andrade
THURGOOD MARSHALL AWARD OF ACADEMIC DISTINCTION
Lilian Xia
PROVOST’S ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AWARD
Pallavi Singamsetty
OUTSTANDING SENIOR AWARD
Samantha Cerrudo Chan
DEAN’S AWARD FOR LEADERSHIP AND SERVICE
Alyssa Helene Haruko Falk
UC SAN DIEGO ALUMNI OUTSTANDING SENIOR AWARD
Samantha Cerrudo Chan
TRANSFER LEADERSHIP AWARD
Jeffrey Michael Chapman, Jr.
DISTINGUISHED SENIOR SERVICE AWARDS
Maria Lucilla "Aya" Bernal
Rebecca Cardona
Kristen Chen-Eng
Jonathan Chanh Trung Duong
Alyssa Huie
Raigan Danielle Johnson
Jessie Subin Kim
Vitasta Mahajan
Nicole Rose Vassar
Annmarie Lyla Vera
Tiffany P. Yuen
Conferral of Degrees
Leslie Carver
Provost
Turning of the Tassel
Samantha Cerrudo Chan
Outstanding Senior Awardee
Closing
Leslie Carver
Provost
Faculty and Student Recessional
The Class of 2025 requests that families and guests remain seated until the faculty and graduates have recessed.
CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2025!