Join Me for Commencement at Harvard!
What a long, strange trip getting a PhD has been. Over the course of this journey, I have lived in 6 states and the back of an ambulance; experienced a pandemic; transitioned from living as a woman to living as a man; found god; had front row seats to the slow unravelling of American democracy; and somehow managed to research and write an entire book on the early political life of LSD in the United States through it all. And yet all of these things are only beginning to scratch the surface of just how wonderful, strange, unexpected, and rambunctious this has been?! It has been nothing if not an adventure.
As the final act of this absolutely wild ride, I have been asked to give the graduate student speech at the Diploma Awarding Ceremony (DAC) during Commencement for Harvard’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences this year. I hope that you will be able to join me to hear me speak and see me walk the stage as I close this chapter of my adventures and open new ones. The DAC will be live streamed on YouTube, where you can join me this Thursday, May 29, 2025 at 2:30 pm EDT.* For those who can’t watch live, Harvard has traditionally left the recording online, where you should be able to catch it afterwards if you’re so inclined.
Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me along the way. I am looking forward to having you join me this Thursday and following along as I set out on the next journey!
*Please note that Sanders Theatre, where the event is held, is not large enough to hold all graduates at one time. There are two DACs that will be livestreamed on Thursday. If you arrive a few minutes early and see a ceremony ending, don't panic! I will be participating in the second ceremony, which begins at 2:30. If you are a glutton for pomp and circumstance or otherwise morbidly curious about the ceremonies this year, you are of course welcome to come early and watch both.
Dr. Turner’s Notebooks are a reader-supported publication. Although all our posts are free, your generous support makes this possible.
