Mia Vesely | The commencement speaker is qualified and a excellent choice

In less than a month, over 2,400 graduating seniors donning caps and gowns will sit on Franklin Field for one of the most memorable days of their lives. Commencement marks the end of one's undergraduate career, and the best part — aside from actually receiving a degree —  is the chance to hear from a prolific person involved in the greater world, the commencement speaker. 

The 2024 ceremony speaker is Siddhartha Mukherjee. When he was announced, Sidechat flooded with comments denouncing the choice. I was confused because, to me, Mukherjee seemed like a commendable choice. 

From being a Pulitzer Prize winning author to appearing on the Times 100 list of most influential people, his work surrounding cancer research and stem cells is extensive and highly acclaimed. Considering this, why do some students feel so disappointed to hear from him?

In such a pre-professional place as Penn, I’ve often felt the pressure to be one thing or stay on a singular track. Lots of people feel so committed to one specialty that they lose their other passions along the way. Hearing from someone who is a successful author, columnist, researcher, and doctor will be a window into a professional's experience that is very unique and multiplistic. Mukherjee has been able to channel his passion for medicine and skill for writing to build a successful career. If that's not someone worth listening to as you enter post-grad life, I don't know who is. 

Following graduation and leading into our careers, any of us would be lucky to have half as many accolades as Mukherjee has, so why is he as a speaker not celebrated — and harshly criticized before even speaking instead? Of course, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. As a sophomore, I won’t be at the ceremony, so his appointment has no direct effect on me. However, I think it’s unfortunate that feelings of dismay are voiced by what I would say is a loud minority of students on an anonymous platform.

Sure, he has less name recognition with undergraduates than famous actress and singer Idina Menzel (last year's speaker). But while Menzel was also an outstanding choice, I don’t think some current Penn seniors realize that the norm is not a famous person as the speaker. More commonly, former commencement speakers are politicians, academics, alumni, or any combination of the three. 

Whether some students' attitudes can be attributed to the consistent complaint culture of Penn, simply not knowing who Dr. Mukherjee is without first doing a Google search, or something different, he is the speaker and rightfully so. His honors as both a writer and doctor are very compelling and specialized. Regardless of who was chosen, someone somewhere would be unhappy, and this consistent dissatisfaction is low on my list of favorite aspects of Penn culture. 

Preprofessionalism runs deep at Penn and should extend to our role models. Normally, when people think of Penn, they are focused on success in the finance sector, but all sorts of pre-professional specialties should be uplifted. Former commencement speakers have varied in professional background from journalists to the current President of the United States. It’s a very impressive lineup. 

While I’d argue that any and all of the former speakers have brought something interesting to the role, I’d say Mukherjee has the opportunity to bring a unique perspective stemming from his work as both an award-winning author and physician.

I encourage students who are maybe skeptical of his impacts to do their research, and hopefully once you know a little bit more about his life and work, you will be more elated to hear from him and understand why he was chosen. 

After everything we’ve been through this year, including a presidential resignation, negative national attention, and so on, I think it’s important to recognize the beauties of Penn and reflect positively at commencement. 

While not a Penn alumni, Mukherjee studied at other top schools in the country adjacent to Penn. Any of us — with the right work ethic and skills — can take our Penn degrees and also go as far. Penn focuses on being pre-professional, and hearing from an academic professional has its own set benefits.

I hope the people who are “disappointed” to see Mukherjee speak show some humility and enjoy their graduation. I am confident that two years down the line, when it’s my turn to cross the stage, the speaker before me will teach me something I have yet to learn, and match the long lineup of qualified individuals coming before them. 

MIA VESELY is a College sophomore studying philosophy, politics, and economics from Phoenix, A.Z. Her email is mvesely@sas.upenn.edu