Clinton, N.Y. – The Hamilton College’s Commencement ceremony took place on Sunday, May 24, in the Margaret Bundy Scott Field House, where 507 bachelor of arts degrees were awarded. Commencement speaker, chef, chocolatier, and Hamilton alumnus Stephen Durfee ’85 urged the Class of 2026 to be present and patient enough to find what they love.
At the ceremony members of the Class of 2026 were recognized for outstanding academic achievements. Julia Afsar-Keshmiri, an interdisciplinary studies major from Queensbury, N.Y., was named valedictorian, while salutatorian honors went to Mina Kishi Stevens, an art major from Pittsford, N.Y.
Durfee, an award-winning pastry chef who serves as the director of curriculum at Dandelion Chocolate in San Francisco, was awarded an honorary degree, along with Maryam Banikarim, Emmy Award-winning storyteller and host of The Messy Parts podcast. She presented the baccalaureate address on Saturday afternoon.
In his remarks, Durfee assured graduates that they’re more ready to enter the post-college world than they may feel. Calling on his background as a chef, he shared with graduates a phrase often used in the professional kitchen, “Mise en place,” which describes the French culinary tradition of having everything in its place before the work begins — ingredients prepped, tools ready, station clean.
“And it’s not just a kitchen concept,” he said. “It’s a whole philosophy of intentional preparation. Even if you’re not exactly sure which dish you’re about to pick up, what a guest is going to order, your station is set. … You know the recipe. So, bring it!”
However, Durfee acknowledged that “it’s tough to stand here and tell you to follow your dream if you’re not even sure what that dream is. … When you find what you love, you’ve just got to go for it. Don’t feel like you have to be an expert to get started. You just have to take the first step.”
Durfee said that in talking with members of the graduating class, he was struck by how much they talked about the joy they found in sitting down for meals with friends and the importance of sharing time together — “like you’d already figured out what actually matters most in this world.”
Likening a liberal arts education to a basic pastry recipe — pâte à choux — that contains only four ingredients, Durfee said a liberal arts approach to the world will serve the graduates well. “You didn’t come to this college to study one thing,” he said. “You studied everything — philosophy, literature, music, science, history, art. It’s your pâte à choux. From the versatility of that foundation, you can make almost anything. The specific shape your life takes is entirely up to you.”
Anna Gnapp (South Plainfield, N.J./Government) told her classmates to recognize that growth can mean overflowing, not outgrowing. “Overflowing means you have become too big for the container you used to fit into. It means your life is so full of new experiences, new perspectives, new versions of yourself … that the old shape just can’t hold it anymore.”
She said she learned that she and her classmates did not come to Hamilton to finds out who they are — they came here to learn how to evolve.
“Hamilton taught us to know ourselves, and we have. But knowing ourself was never meant to be the finish line, it was always just the beginning. There is still much overflowing to do — new containers to outgrow, new doors to walk through,” she said.
Local graduates: Aubrey Campbell, Utica; Sa Da, Utica; Aiyana McDonell, Chittenango; Beau Sinardo, Waterville; Kenisha Stills, Rome
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