Computer Science celebrates Commencement 2021

The Department of Computer Science held a virtual Celebration of Graduates event to help CS students mark Commencement. On Saturday, May 22, more than 250 students, parents, faculty members, and staff joined together virtually on Zoom to celebrate almost 200 graduates.

Professor Kathleen Fisher, Chair of the Department of Computer Science, opened the event with highlights from the 2020-21 academic year, including the addition of three new faculty members. Fisher applauded the Women in Computer Science student group, which hosted its fourth annual Women in Tech Conference in 2020, JumboCode for its continued good work by developing free custom technology to aid nonprofits, and the Tufts team that placed second in the inaugural Veracode Hacker Games, as well as a number of other students who presented at conferences and events. Whether they represented the CS department by being part of the contingent at the virtual Grace Hopper Celebration, by teaming up at the Cyber 9/12 Security Challenge, or by teaching courses at the ExCollege, Tufts CS students made the department proud. 

During the event, five graduating students spoke about their time at Tufts and the future ahead. Juliana A. Vega del Castillo, Jheanelle Owens, Anthony Goss, Shaikat Islam, and Anika Agarwal addressed those who gathered, sharing their thoughts, thanks, and memories of how the Tufts community touched their lives.

Faculty members took turns acknowledging students who had won awards and completed honors theses, and read the name of each computer science and data science graduate in the Class of 2021. The chat feed buzzed as congratulations were sent by friends and family.

Fisher closed by congratulating the graduates, as well as the friends and families who had supported them, stating that they should be very proud of their accomplishments. The event finished to thunderous applause.

Celebrations continued the next day as Tufts held its all-university Commencement ceremony, the School of Engineering (undergraduate programs and graduate programs) and School of Arts and Sciences posted their ceremonies, and graduates and their families were invited to watch prerecorded in-person ceremonies for computer science students (undergraduate programs and graduate programs).

The Department of Computer Science congratulates the Class of 2021! Watch the CS Celebration of Graduates.