Graduation Roundup

By Lucas Strand //

More than 500 graduates, including 277 undergraduate and 238 graduate students, will receive their degrees at commencement ceremonies on May 16 at the Volpe Athletic Center.

The undergraduate ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. and the graduate ceremony will start at 3 p.m. 

Commencement celebrations begin on Friday, May 15, with a baccalaureate service, which honors a long graduation tradition while reflecting the diversity of the Class of 2026.

Seniors will wear their commencement robes, dinks, and academic honors as they gather for a reflective service that recognizes their growth, friendships, and achievements before passing the torch to the Class of 2027.

On the morning of commencement, graduating seniors and their families will start the day by enjoying strawberries and ice cream together.

This long-standing Hood tradition creates a moment to pause, come together, and celebrate before the ceremony begins.

The graduating class reflects a diverse geographic background, with undergraduate students representing 13 states, Washington, D.C., and France. 

Among the undergraduate students, business is the most popular major, followed by psychology and biology. 

Nilah Magruder, Class of 2005, and Derrick Harrigan, Class of 2007 and MBA 2014, and chair of the Board of Associates, will speak at the ceremonies. 

Magruder earned her bachelor’s degree in communication arts from Hood College in 2005 and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in computer animation from Ringling College of Art and Design. 

She became the first Black woman to write for Marvel Comics in 2016 and has since worked on more than a dozen Marvel projects, including “Marvel Rising,” “Edge of Spider-verse” and “Vault of Spiders.”

Harrigan earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and later a master’s degree in business administration. He is a fiscal and policy analyst in the Office of Management and Budget for Montgomery County government. 

The commencement ceremonies will be followed by Senior Sunset, where graduates and loved ones celebrate their final evening on campus with a toast and remarks connecting the class to Hood’s history.

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