The Class of 2026 Pays It Forward
By Bowdoin NewsThis year’s senior class agents kicked off their 2026 Pays it Forward campaign in September 2025 with a Senior Soiree event in Main Lounge, educated peers about annual giving during Bowdoin One Day in February, hosted a Senior Slowdown event in Barry Mills Hall in April, and encouraged student-athletes to participate in the May Go U Bears Athletic Fund Challenge.
On Monday, May 18, their yearlong education and engagement campaign culminated in a long-standing tradition, the Commencing Dinner and Thorndike Oak Toast. As the Class of 2026 gathered in Thorne Dining Hall for their final class dinner before Commencement, Paul Conti ’26 welcomed them and introduced President Safa Zaki, who thanked the Class of 2026 for engaging in deep and meaningful discussions during their time at the College.
Before dinner was served, Rickey Karunadhara ’26 delivered the Thorndike Oak Toast, named for George Thorndike, Class of 1806, a member of Bowdoin’s first graduating class. Karunadhara shared the story of the Thorndike Oak—the tree on the Quad surrounded by benches—and how Thorndike had planted an acorn on that spot to commemorate his time on campus.
“Our successes here and beyond are a result of our hard work and the sacrifice and stewardship by those who came before us. So, I encourage you to look back at your time here, think about the host of friends among whom you will be a leader in all walks of life, and ponder how you will inspire the next,” Karunadhara said. “Like generations before us, we now become part of the story that sustains this place for those who will one day sit where we sit now.”
At each student’s seat was a note from two alumni leaders—Alumni Council president John Shukie ’99 and Alumni Fund Directors chair Lance Conrad ’91, P’28—along with a small reproduction of a drawing of the chapel and first-year bricks in the snow from special collections and archives and a print of their first-year class photo.
The nine senior class agents who led this year’s effort are Yahairy Colin, Paul Conti, Ava Desouza, Ruby Fyffe, Rickey Karunadhara, Neiman Mocombe, Asher Savel, Charlotte Tagupa, and Marianna Vidaurri.