Commencement season arrives tomorrow, with Wellesley College taking the lead in sending 531 newly minted graduates out into the world. Be prepared—roads leading to Wellesley College, Babson, MassBay, Wellesley High School, and Dana Hall become clogged with traffic moving at a snail’s pace both pre- and post- ceremonies. Before you find yourself caught in a slow crawl behind vehicles with out-of-state plates, here’s when to avoid the areas. Note: all ceremonies are private, ticketed events.
Wellesley College
DATE: Friday, May 16
TIME: 10:30am-1:30pm
AREAS TO AVOID: Wellesley Square, the College’s rt. 135 and rt. 16 entrance vehicle entrances
SPEAKER: Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson.
ATTEND VIRTUALLY: livestreamed here
Babson College
DATE: Saturday, May 17
TIME: undergrad, 9:45am-12:30pm; graduate, 2:45pm
AREAS TO AVOID: Great Plain Ave.; Forest St., Wellesley Country Club (plan your tee times accordingly)
SPEAKERS: Boston Globe Media CEO/Co-Owner Linda Henry (undergrads); and Blink UX Co-founder and former CEO Karen Clark Cole (grad students)
MassBay graduation
DATE: Thursday, May 29
TIME: 6pm
AREAS TO AVOID: route 9; Centennial Park parking area on Oakland St.; Oakland St. in general
(Photo via MassBay)
SPEAKER: We just learned that Massachusetts Secretary of Education, Patrick Tutwiler, will address the Class of 2025. Tutwiler directs the Executive Office of Education, which oversees early education, K-12, and higher education. Secretary Tutwiler sits on each of the boards governing the Commonwealth’s education agencies, as well as the University of Massachusetts system. He is Governor Maura Healey’s top advisor on education and helps shape the Commonwealth’s education agenda.
Before being sworn in as Secretary, Dr. Tutwiler served as the senior program officer at the Boston-based Barr Foundation, a grant making organization focused on arts, climate and education. Prior to that, Secretary Tutwiler was superintendent of the Lynn Public Schools and headmaster in the Boston Public Schools. As superintendent of Lynn Public Schools, he spearheaded a collaborative, equity-centered effort that translated into higher graduation rates and a more racially diverse staff while also overseeing the creation of the Commonwealth’s second largest early college program.
Dana Hall School
DATE: May 31
TIME: 10am-noon
AREAS TO AVOID: Grove St.; stretch of Washington St. (rt. 16) near the school; Cameron St., Hampden St. and other side streets near the school.
Wellesley High School
DATE: Friday, June 6
TIME: 5pm
LOCATION: Hunnewell Field
AREAS TO AVOID: Rice St.; Smith St., stretch of Washington St. (rt. 16) near the high school.
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