Whitman Stories

This year’s commencement ceremony will be in person—but only for graduating seniors. Here are more need-to-know facts about Whitman College’s 2021 commencement.

Davis, who is managing director and senior partner, chairman of North America at the Boston Consulting Group, was listed as one of the senior leaders on the 2021 EMpower Advocates Executive Role Models ranking for his efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion.

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold is set to speak in person at the college’s spring commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 23.

As the deadline for the U.S. departure from Afghanistan on September 11, 2021, approaches, Crocker and his co-author, Congressman Michael McCaul, urge mitigation strategies including intelligence agreements with neighboring countries, humanitarian and development assistance, more programs to protect Afghan women and girls, and expedited special visas for interpreters and other Afghans who supported the U.S.

For the first time in its 10-year history, the Rabinowitz Award was presented to three projects.

Pop-up campus activities, which aligned with the five spring break days scheduled throughout the semester, included walking a slack line, riding a zip line or navigating a Tyrolean traverse under the sun.

The first time that Maamoon Saleh, from Kent, Washington, travelled to Walla Walla—or anywhere on the eastside of the state—was late at night following his senior high school district track meet. Now, as a soon-to-graduate senior, Saleh reflects on his Whitman journey.

Whitman’s recently founded BIPOC Outdoors Club seeks to create a welcoming and accessible space on campus for students of color to experience outdoor recreation. The idea of founding an outdoor club for Whitman’s students of color population came up during a meeting between the four outreach coordinators for Whitman’s climbing gym last semester.

"We as a society have to think long and deep about what diversity actually means," Elseewi says. "If it is simply a formal inclusion of different races or genders, then the problems of inequality we face now will never change."

Whitman’s promise of diversity in student nationalities has led to a rise in international student enrollment over the past decade, supported by the college’s policy to meet international students’ full financial need.

In its 23rd year, the Whitman Undergraduate Conference is an opportunity for students to present their original research from classes, senior theses, study abroad projects and summer internships. The 2021 conference showcased the work of 118 students and, adapting to the times, was held virtually. Presentations were pre-recorded and shown during the 16 panels, followed by a live question-and-answer session with attendees.

Just a month into his senior year at Whitman, Brayden Preskenis received a phone call from his father. The region of Oregon where he grew up was on fire. Wanting to do something for his community, Preskenis decided he would build a tiny house on a trailer in Walla Walla and drive it to Ashland, Oregon, where it would become the home of a family who had lost theirs in the fire.