“Be Present and Patient Enough to Find What You Love,” Durfee ’85 Tells Graduates

Other speakers included Jun Reiss ’26, recipient of the James Soper Merrill Prize awarded to the member of the graduating class “who, in character and influence, has typified the highest ideals of the College” as selected by the faculty, and Anna Gnapp ’26, who was chosen by her classmates to address the gathering.

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.

Watch Commencement Ceremony

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.”

Jun Reiss

Jun Reiss (Brooklyn, N.Y./Sociology) remembers clearly a lesson he learned during his first few days at Hamilton: Be Here Now. “Being present both physically and mentally is a privilege,” he said. “‘Be here now’ is the mantra of every student’s introduction to Hamilton at orientation.”

“‘Be here now’ is the mantra of every student’s introduction to Hamilton at orientation.”

Reiss illustrated how he carried that message with him throughout his time on College Hill. He shared a story of how he bought a box of 500 pens as a first-year student. At first, he was intentionally careless with them. “I thought there was no way I going to use them all,” he said.

The pens moved with Reiss through different residence halls and began dwindling in number. By junior year, he realized he was running low on pens and began to conserve them. “Quickly, the pens became something that I prioritized and stayed conscious of,” he said. By senior year, he realized, “The pens were valuable and should be properly kept in mind.”

Reiss displayed the last pen from his box. “It represents four years of academic work, the most incredible communities, and trying to know myself,” he said. “Much like me today, it is one out of about 500. This pen marks not only the last day of my four years at Hamilton College, but also all the pens I have lost along the way. I’m gonna throw this pen into the crowd right now. I am trusting that if I do, someone will hold onto it tight.”

Anna Gnapp

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.”

“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.”

She said she learned that she and her classmates did not come to Hamilton to find out who they are — they came here to learn how to evolve.

“Hamilton taught us to know ourselves, and we have. But knowing ourselves 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.

Anna Gnapp Remarks

Posted May 24, 2026