SARATOGA SPRINGS — Skidmore College conferred 650 degrees to the Class of 2024 during its 113th Commencement Exercises at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) on May 18.
Luis A. Miranda Jr. and Luz Towns-Miranda both received honorary degrees, and were among those to address the graduates. Rather than delivering traditional speeches, the couple engaged in a short dialogue.
Towns-Miranda stressed the importance of empathy, noting how artists like the couple’s son and “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda take every experience and empathize with multiple points of view through their work.
“Learn the systems, to use the systems, to improve the systems,” Towns-Miranda said. “Believe in the power of your vote and your activism to raise your voice. Use your energy, your skills, your talent to speak out against injustice, to create change where you see it is needed, and to uplift the underrepresented people in our communities.”
