Cancer turned her into a scientist
Diagnosis transformed Mary Cipperman ’26 into a hyperproductive student researcher with diverse interests in physics, medicine, and AI
Series
Commencement 2026
After failing out and dropping out, Navy vet set to graduate
A few months shy of 30, Richard Glazunov is poised to graduate from Harvard College with a degree in government.
Finding his rhythm between classroom and stage
At Harvard, drummer Raghav Mehrotra ’26 built knowledge about the music industry — and a sizable social media following.
Retelling Frederick Douglass’ story, with a soundtrack
Quadree “Dree” Palimore paced the floor in a campus studio recently as Yerim Colin prepared to sing. The students were workshopping a number from Palimore’s original musical — an ambitious retelling of the life of Frederick Douglass.
Class curiosity spouts river thesis
Can a river be a living entity? Harvard College senior Hassan Looky, a joint concentrator in anthropology and history, is asking this very question as he focuses his thesis on the rights of the Yarra River (Birrarung) in Melbourne, Australia.
How does dopamine shape our choices? Thesis investigates
Neurobiology concentrator Sean Meng ’26 is fascinated by how individuals see the world. He first became aware of how differently people can experience the same environment while serving as a teaching assistant at a school in Lawrence, Massachusetts. There, he met Elmer, a first grader with severe autism who was, for the most part, overlooked. After spending more time with him, Meng found that Elmer truly “was seeing the world in very different ways.”