It is our tradition at Denison that each year a member of the graduating class addresses the audience during the Commencement ceremony. Through a competitive process, a faculty committee appointed by the President of the college has selected as this year's speaker a Sociology/Anthropology and Environmental Studies double major and a Spanish minor.

Our speaker is an Environmental Studies Fellow who lived out her commitment to sustainability as a resident of the Homestead, Denison's intentional student community focused on sustainable living. She studied abroad in Ecuador the spring of her junior year, and this year she carried out senior research projects in both of her majors, both projects looking at the roles of media, social norms, and decision making behavior in Ohio natural gas drilling, particularly the phenomenon known as "fracking." Following graduation, she will spend a year teaching in Spain. One of her professors describes her as "a delight to have in class because she's genuinely interested in learning. She is very interested in and effective at collaborative work and brings a good and sincere energy to the classroom."

Our speaker has been very involved in the campus community outside the classroom as an Admissions Tour Guide, Spanish Tutor, and a member of Delta Gamma Sorority, Denison Democrats, and several academic honorary societies. And she plays a mean banjo and toe tappin' guitar in the Denison Bluegrass Ensemble!

Please welcome to the podium this year's Student Commencement Speaker, Melanie Stolp.