Distributed May 7, 2001
For Immediate Release
News Service Contact: Kristen Cole



The 233rd Commencement

Upholding a Brown tradition, two seniors will address graduating class

Ana Escrogima of New York City and Joshua Levine of North Hollywood, Calif., will deliver orations during Brown’s 233rd Commencement, Monday, May 28, 2001, at 10:15 a.m. in the Meeting House of the First Baptist Church in America.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Following a long-standing tradition, two members of the Class of 2001 will be the primary speakers during Brown University’s undergraduate Commencement ceremonies. Ana Escrogima of New York City and Joshua Levine of North Hollywood, Calif., will deliver their orations Monday, May 28, 2001, at 10:15 a.m., in the Meeting House of the First Baptist Church in America.

Editors: Full texts of orations by Escrogima and Levine are available online and by fax from the News Service.

A committee of faculty and students chose the pair from among 59 applicants to address a packed audience of undergraduate classmates, honorary degree recipients and their own parents.

Their orations are a ceremonial high point of the weekend’s events, which include forum discussions, a baccalaureate address, and the presentation of honorary degrees. Since Brown’s earliest days, graduating seniors have been the principal speakers at Commencement.

Because the Meeting House is large enough to hold only the graduates, the orations will be simulcast to The College Green, where parents, friends and guests of the University can gather. Closed captioning will be provided. In case of rain, the simulcast will be offered in the Salomon Center for Teaching, located on The College Green.

Joshua Levine

Levine, 21, will use an anecdote about getting lost as a freshman at Brown to talk about the experience of getting lost in the figurative sense. As he and classmates leave Brown, they leave confidently, “ready to be lost again,” Levine said.

LevineAt Brown, Levine concentrated in political science and spent a semester of his junior year studying in Edinburgh, Scotland. Outside of the classroom, he served as a campus tour guide and a writing fellow, and participated in the Bruin Club.

Levine will begin a nine-month public affairs fellowship in New York City in September. There he will be assigned to month-long positions at a variety of organizations including a political campaign, media organization, labor union, government agency and nonprofit organization. Following his fellowship, Levine is considering attending law school. He is the son of Paul and Julie Levine.

Ana Escrogima

Escrogima, 21, will weave her speech around the story of a historic figure from the Dominican Republic named Enriquillo. In the late 1400s, Enriquillo was selected to be taken away from his home and educated in Spain, with the idea that he would return to become a government administrator on behalf of Spain, said Escrogima. Instead he led a rebellion against Spain. Escrogima will ask classmates to use the educational opportunity they had at Brown to make socially conscious decisions.

LevineEscrogima concentrated in international relations, focusing immigration and Middle Eastern studies, and spent her junior year studying in Paris. Outside the classroom, Escrogima served as a presidential host, a program she helped to coordinate this year, and she served as a co-chair of the Latin American Student Organization.

After graduation, Escrogima will begin an international affairs program at Columbia University. She is the daughter of Ana Fernandez and Pedro Escrogima.

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