Commencement on May 17, 2025By Caitlin Antonios
Friends, family, and loved ones gathered on Elm Tree Lawn in May to celebrate Scripps College’s Class of 2025. For many, it was the first time they were able to share that moment in person instead of through a screen or at a social distance.
“Together, we’ve redefined what it means to attend Scripps—not as a place where we’re molded into someone else’s ideal, but as a space where we shape ourselves,” Class of 2025 co-presidents Belén Yudess ’25 and Abbie Oh Arroyo ’25 said at Commencement.
Scripps College’s Class of 2025 by the numbers
Each graduating class brings an opportunity to reflect on their intellectual and personal growth embodied by leadership, service, integrity, and creativity. Of Scripps’ 301 graduating seniors, 65 percent received major honors, with 69 students double majoring and 122 completing at least one minor.
While all seniors must complete a thesis, 21 students composed two theses, with several written in more than one language. The Class of 2025 also represented 10 international students as well as graduates from 34 states across the US.
In response to complex social and environmental challenges, politics, psychology, environmental analysis, and media studies—fields that equip students with how to understand and shape the world around them—emerged as the most popular majors.
Ingrained in campus culture and academics is a desire to be bold and try something new. Whether that’s embracing Scripps’ interdisciplinary studies, joining a Scripps Club and Organization (CLORG), or using academic breaks to complete internships, Scripps students make an impact both in and outside the Claremont bubble. The Class of 2025’s accomplishments advance a legacy they’ll hand to the next generation, including forming the Transparency Committee to further accountability, promoting sustainability at Scripps and the 5Cs through the Sustainabiliteam, and helping fund new water bottle filling stations in the Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler (GJW) Residence Hall as their senior gift.
“I am going to miss being surrounded by inspiring people doing things they are passionate about. This school is not only beautiful to walk around, it is beautiful in its student body,” says Angela Niederberger ’25. “The people here put action to their thoughts, an energy which catalyzed most of my own achievements here.”
Read more reflections from the Class of 2025 here.