At Brown’s medical school Commencement ceremony, the 119 graduates in the Warren Alpert Medical School’s Class of 2021 marked four years of intense academic and clinical training in joyous, jubilant solidarity.

With an eye toward lives and careers that make an enduring and positive impact, 763 master’s and Ph.D. graduates earned Brown degrees in a Saturday afternoon Commencement ceremony on the College Green.

In a virtual address during the annual celebration of cultures and traditions, former NFL player, business leader and Brown alumnus Steven Jordan urged graduates to uncover their purposes in life by examining their passions.

In the days leading up to their Commencement ceremonies, members of the Class of 2021 attended campus events preparing them for graduation day and celebrating their academic accomplishments at Brown.

At its 253rd Commencement — which will take place across two days of ceremonies on May 1 and 2, 2021 — Brown University will confer a total of 2,505 undergraduate, graduate, medical and honorary degrees.

As part of a virtual celebration for the School of Public Health’s soon-to-be Class of 2021 graduates, Dr. Vivek Murthy drew on his experience as a public health leader to offer advice for the challenges ahead.

A series of in-person, socially distanced Commencement ceremonies for graduates and a wide range of virtual events for students, families and Brown alumni will take place from April 30 to May 2 — here is what to expect.

Brown will bestow honorary degrees on a diverse group of business leaders, educators, scholars and scientists during its Commencement and Reunion Weekend celebration from April 30 to May 2.

In keeping with a Brown tradition of elevating student voices at Commencement, seniors George Kubai and Siddhi Nadkarni will encourage their classmates to strengthen communities and remove barriers.

Bardiya Akhbari, a Ph.D. graduate in biomedical engineering, and Sonya Brooks, a master’s graduate in urban education policy, will speak about the power of human connection, especially in the midst of a global pandemic.

Given the state of the public health situation, Brown will host Commencement events for Class of 2021 graduates in person, but families and guests will attend virtually, and all alumni Reunion events will be held virtually.

From locations across the globe, thousands of new Brown graduates and loved ones tuned in to Virtual Degree Conferral celebrations that honored achievements and offered words of wisdom for lives and careers to come.

At three Virtual Degree Conferral ceremonies on Sunday, May 24, Brown will confer 2,657 degrees — undergraduate, graduate and medical — in advance of Class of 2020 Commencement activities in Spring 2021.

Sheyla Medina, who graduated early from the Warren Alpert Medical School, will emphasize the intersection between medicine and humanism in a Virtual Degree Conferral ceremony address on May 24.

As president of Brown’s Undergraduate Council of Students, William Zhou will address the way that listening to others creates community and catalyzes change in Virtual Degree Conferral ceremony remarks on Sunday, May 24.

In an address at the Graduate School’s Virtual Degree Ceremony, master’s degree speaker Abdullah Shihipar will urge his classmates to use their degrees in ways that advance all of society, not just themselves.

With seniors who are culminating their undergraduate experiences remotely in mind, Brown-RISD dual degree student Yunni Cho created a digital collection of drawings depicting favorite sites on the College Hill campuses.

Mira Nikolova, a native of Bulgaria and a doctoral candidate in Slavic studies, plans to draw parallels between Ph.D. students and saguaro cacti in her Virtual Degree Conferral ceremony address on Sunday, May 24.

Virtual Degree Conferral ceremonies on May 24 will mark the milestone of graduation in advance of next spring’s Commencement and Reunion Weekend, which will honor the classes of 2020 and 2021.

With no signs of the global coronavirus pandemic ending soon, the University will postpone its Commencement and Reunion Weekend until a new date for the celebration can be determined.

Brown President Christina H. Paxson wrote to students, faculty, staff, parents and alumni on March 17 about maintaining a strong sense of community, even in the face of COVID-19’s impact on campus and beyond.