Bennington College Celebrates 91st Commencement
On Saturday, May 30, 2026, 209 members of Bennington College’s Class of 2026 gathered, along with their family members and friends, faculty, staff, and leadership, in a tent on Common’s Lawn.
Graduates hailed from 39 states and 28 countries, including Afghanistan, Armenia, Bangladesh, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Estonia, Germany, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Mozambique, Nepal, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Syria, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States, and ranged in age from 19 to 51.
The institution conferred 15 master’s degrees in dance, one master’s degree each in Music and Public Action, 226 bachelor’s degrees, and 19 bachelor’s of fine arts degrees in dance. Undergraduate students studied Advancement of Public Action; Cultural Studies and Languages; Dance; Drama; Education; Environment; Literature; Music; Science and Mathematics; Society, Culture, and Thought; and Visual Arts.
Brass musicians along with student percussionists, conducted by faculty member in Music Michael Wimberly, played “Ceremonial March,” which was written by longtime Bennington faculty member in Music Lou Calabro in 1958. Interim President Elissa Tenny led the procession, followed by Nicholas Stephens ’77, the chair of the Board of Trustees.
After acknowledging the families of graduates and Bennington College’s staff, the 2026 Faculty Speaker Ikuko Yoshida provided funny and poignant insights informed by her experience as a teacher and a learner.
“Life often doesn’t work as planned and is rarely straightforward. There are many twists and turns… Don’t get discouraged when your small steps don’t lead exactly where you envisioned,” she said. “Perseverance can lead you to greater achievements.”
The class of 2026 Commencement Speaker was author and political analyst Molly Jong-Fast MFA ’04. She is a contributing writer for the opinion page at The New York Times, an MSNOW political contributor, and host of the Fast Politics podcast. Molly is the author of four books, including her latest memoir, the New York Times best-selling title, How to Lose Your Mother. Her writing has appeared across the media spectrum including in Vanity Fair, The New York Review of Books, The Wall Street Journal, and The Atlantic.
“Life is messy and painful. We learn from making mistakes. There’s nothing I can say that will prevent you from making your own messy way in the world. And thank God for that. If we could prevent ourselves from [experiencing] heartbreak, maybe none of us would do anything, ever,” said Jong-Fast. “You must go out into the world and get your heart broken by it. This is your job, and it is my job to implore you to do it…. Go and make those mistakes and live loudly and messily and beautifully and noisily.”
Both Friday's Eve of Commencement speeches and Saturday’s Conferring of Degrees ceremony are available to watch on the College’s Commencement webpage.
Bennington graduates have exciting plans for the future. They have received offers to pursue graduate studies at New England Conservatory of Music, Northwestern University, Syracuse University, University of Chicago, University of Iowa Writers Workshop, and University of Toronto, to name a few. Others will pursue travel, publication, auditions, or first professional jobs. To read about graduates’ accomplishments at Bennington, visit bennington.edu.