At Princeton’s Class Day ceremony Monday, May 26, the Class of 2025 gathered on Cannon Green for the warm and lighthearted annual pre-Commencement event run by the class to reminisce on their years together and recognize one other’s achievements.

To open the ceremony, University President Christopher L. Eisgruber greeted the seniors and their families with welcoming remarks that included a snapshot history of the Class Day tradition.

“In the words of the Great Class of 1898, Class Day is ‘a day over which the graduating class has full charge and which we run to suit ourselves,’” he said.

President Christopher L. Eisgruber lauded the graduating seniors for their accomplishments and handed over the “metaphorical” keys to the University to Class of 2025 officers.

Photo by

Matthew Raspanti, Office of Communications

In keeping with the spirit and tradition of the day, Eisgruber then handed over the “metaphorical” keys to the University to the Class of 2025 officers.

Eisgruber lauded the graduating seniors for their accomplishments. “Your class has demonstrated itself capable of great things by maintaining high levels of achievement during a tumultuous period that has encompassed the effects of a pandemic and intense political conflict,” he said.

Class president Ben Wachspress addressed his classmates, mixing the nostalgic and the bittersweet as he whipped through highlights of their time together: stargazing as the movie “Oppenheimer” was filmed on campus, gathering on Cannon Green for a bonfire after Princeton’s football team beat Harvard and Yale, grabbing snacks at the Wawa in the wee hours.

Class president Ben Wachspress reminisced about experiences that drew the class together. “You’ll forever hold a big tiger-shaped place in my heart,” he said.

Photo by

Matthew Raspanti, Office of Communications

Knowing his fellow classmates would soon be scattered far and wide, pursuing their own life paths, he wanted them to remember “it’s the people — your mentors, friends and family — that quietly carry you through it all,” he said.

“To the Great Class of 2025, thank you for your love, support and patience,” Wachspress said. “You’ll forever hold a big tiger-shaped place in my heart.”

Class Day chairs Venezia Garza, Gil Joseph and Kelly Park also shared fond memories, and class “heralds” Vincent Gerardi and Jeffery Chen elicited cheers and laughter with their jokes.

After an awards presentation honoring the achievements and leadership of their classmates, class officers granted honorary class membership to Class Day speaker Jay Shetty and four Princeton staff members: Melanie Ibarra, student organization program coordinator in the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students; Julie Gerek-Sefa, undergraduate administrator in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; Catalina Maldonado-Lopez, food service worker, Campus Dining; and Chelsie Berg-Geist, assistant director of the Emma Bloomberg Center for Access & Opportunity.

Shetty, the bestselling author of “Think Like a Monk” and “8 Rules of Love” and the award-winning podcaster of “On Purpose,” closed out the ceremony with advice to the seniors to turn inward to find their north star. “You have to disappear,” he said in his Class Day remarks. “It means doing the work when no one is watching.”

“What’s fascinating is to look at world-class entrepreneurs, artists, businesspeople and creatives you admire," he said. "Guess what? They all disappeared.”

“Kobe Bryant practiced at 4 a.m. when no one was watching. Warren Buffett sat in a quiet room in Omaha reading. … Lady Gaga played dive bars in a glitter leotard for audiences of six. …"

“Step off the stage as often as you can,” he advised.

Being yourself "in a world obsessed with being seen"

“So, how do you disappear in a world obsessed with being seen?” Shetty asked.

Before becoming a social media presence with more than 50 million followers, Shetty did it twice, he said, first to immerse himself in monastic study after college and later starting a tiny lunchtime meditation group at the global consulting firm Accenture, where he worked.

At first the meditation sessions were just him, speaking to an empty room, he said. But gradually, the work blossomed into his expansive career.

“The world is waiting for you,” Class Day speaker Jay Shetty said in his remarks to the seniors and their guests. “Use your passion in the service of others, and it will become your purpose.”

Photo by

Matthew Raspanti, Office of Communications

By sharing his own story, Shetty invited the seniors to craft a personal definition of success by “doing the work in the dark.” That means getting quiet, starting small and becoming comfortable with the idea that no one is watching, he said. It means resisting the temptation and pressure to “perform” success by curating your every move on social media.

“Every day, starting tomorrow, write down one thing you did that required effort — even if no one saw it,” he advised. “Not what you achieved. Not what got praise. Just what took energy, courage and discipline.”

Shetty said these small, unbroadcasted moments add up. “When you start measuring your day by effort, not recognition, you begin to feel accomplished — without needing to be noticed.”

“The world is waiting for you,” he told the gathered Class of 2025. "Use your passion in the service of others, and it will become your purpose.”

A captioned video of the ceremony is available online. Graduation activities will continue with the University’s 278th Commencement scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 27.

Class Day is a warm and lighthearted pre-Commencement event run by the graduating seniors to reflect on their years together and recognize each other’s achievements.

 

Photo by

Denise Applewhite, Office of Communications