MIDDLEBURY/HANCOCK — Middlebury College honored members of the class of 2025.5 for completing their undergraduate studies at Feb Celebration, held this past Saturday, Jan. 31, at Virtue Field House in the Peterson Family Athletic Complex. The 163 midyear graduates then headed to the Middlebury College Snowbowl in Hancock for the traditional ski-down in caps and gowns, an event held annually since 1987.

In his first address at a Feb celebration, President Ian Baucom highlighted the varied journeys taken by the students who arrived at Middlebury in February 2022 from 31 states and 14 countries. “Each time I met one of you, each time I met one of your professors, I kept hearing the same thing: ‘These are special, unique, curious, open-to-the-world students,’” he said.

These new Middlebury College graduates look to the future while taking the Sheehan Lift to the top of the Snowbowl. Independent photo/Steve James

Baucom commended students for seizing opportunities throughout their four years at Middlebury College. “Life presents myriad challenges and opportunities — many of them unexpected, unplanned, and uncharted — and while we as educators seek to prepare you to meet these moments and seize these opportunities, the act of doing so ultimately falls to you,” said Baucom. “Over the past four years, you have done so again and again.”

Among the graduates was student speaker Samimah Naiemi ’25.5, who came to Middlebury after fleeing Afghanistan in hopes of earning a college degree — an opportunity she said most women can only dream of back home.

“Going to college was one of my biggest dreams since I was a little girl,” she said, describing the increasingly dire conditions for women in Afghanistan that prompted her to leave. “I knew then that if I wanted to survive — and if my dream of college was going to live — I had to leave.”

Midyear graduates of Middlebury College take the Sheehan Lift to the top of the Snowbowl. Independent photo/Steve James

With only a handful of bags to her name, Naiemi boarded a plane that eventually took her to Rwanda, where she worked at a high school during Febmester. She arrived in Middlebury on a “freezing cold day in February,” unsure of what to expect.

“I was looking for a community — a community I felt I belonged to,” said Naiemi. “And Middlebury welcomed me with open arms and open heart. And soon, this place became more than a college — it became my home…my Feb class was a whole community of its own. Slowly, quietly, Middlebury changed my definition of home. Home became the place where my heart felt full.”

Naiemi and her 2025.5 classmates will officially receive their bachelor of arts degrees in March, following the winter term, and are invited to participate in May Commencement.

Here they come! Middlebury College honored members of the class of 2025.5 for completing their undergraduate studies at the Feb Celebration on Saturday, which started with a traditional conferring of degrees ceremony at Virtue Field House and ended with the storied “Ski-down” at the Middlebury Snowbowl. Many of 163 grads added skis and poles to accent their caps and gowns, took the Sheehan Lift to the top of the Bowl and slalomed down in all their splendor. Independent photo/Steve James

Smita Ruzicka, vice president for student affairs, presented the Jason B. Fleishman ’03.5 Award to Lucas Nerbonne ’25.5, an earth and climate science major from Minneapolis. The award, established in memory of Fleishman, who died shortly after his Feb Celebration in 2004, honors students who “embody Feb and College pride, academic passion and determination, excellence in leadership and involvement, a positive attitude, and care for others.”

Earlier in the day, Ronan Christopher Corley ’25.5 was appointed second lieutenant at an Army ROTC Commissioning Ceremony in Goldsmith Lounge at Peterson Athletics Center. A graduate of the Army Mountain Warfare School, Corley was also given the National Defense Transportation Association Award ROTC “recognizing outstanding Army, Navy, and Air Force cadets for exceptional leadership, academic achievement, and potential for service in logistics or transportation fields.”

Hello, Everybody! This skiing grad seems to know what she’s doing. Independent photo/Steve James

Héctor Vila, associate professor of writing and rhetoric, was chosen by the graduating Febs as faculty speaker. He likened the day for Febs to stepping off a speeding train after being on it for four years. “You are standing still right now, but you won’t be for long. Soon you’ll choose which train to board, which direction to move. There will be enormous pressure to choose quickly, to choose conventionally, to choose the path that’s already mapped.”

Drawing on his own experience — from immigrating to the United States from Argentina as a young boy with his parents to his current role at the college — Vila encouraged students to board the train that feels most meaningful to them, rather than the one prescribed by society or an algorithm.

Woo Hoo! Some Middlebury grads had more ski skills than others. This guy shows his stuff as he whooshes past a phalanx of parent photographers. Independent photo/Steve James

“You are ready — not because you have all the answers, but because you’ve learned to live with the questions. Not because you fit perfectly into what comes next, but because you’ve learned that the most important space is the space between. Stand at the edge. Live on the boundary. Cross the line.”

After the ceremony, students boarded buses and headed to the Middlebury Snowbowl, where they skied, snowboarded, or hiked down the mountain in their caps and gowns for the annual February Ski Down.

This was the first graduation for new Middlebury College President Ian Baucom (center), who seemed to enjoy the celebration, despite the single-digit temps. Independent photo/Steve James

Some 2025.5 grads are practically locals, like Eliane Odefey of Waterbury (left) and Zoe Sipe, whose family is from Richmond. Independent photo/Steve James

Some 2025.5 graduates are local, like 2021 Middlebury Union High Schoool grad Tom Nevins. Independent photo/Steve James

Smita Ruzicka, Middlebury vice president for student affairs, takes a selfie with the class. Independent photo/Steve James

A midyear graduate of Middlebury College enjoys a Saturday afternoon at the Snowbowl. Independent photo/Steve James

Midyear graduates of Middlebury College enjoy some of their last moments together as a class on Saturday afternoon at the Snowbowl, where many of the 163 newly-minted alumni celebrated after collecting their diplomas on campus. Independent photo/Steve James

The snow was particularly special to some, like Sanmyukta Shinde (above) of India and Nee Syengo of Kenya. Independent photo/Steve James

After taking the Sheehan lift to the top of the Snowbowl, some midyear Middlebury grads skied down. This regalia looks like faculty. Independent photo

Fun at the Snowbowl wasn’t just about skiing. Independent photo/Steve James

The departing editor of The Campus newspaper, Madeleine Kaptein (strawberry blonde), takes the lift with her pals. Independent photo/Steve James

This grad on the Sheehan Lift is very excited to ski down in cap and gown. Independent photo/Steve James

MIDYEAR GRADUATES OF Middlebury College enjoy some of their last moments together as a class on Saturday afternoon at the Snowbowl, where many of the 163 newly-minted alumni celebrated after collecting their diplomas on campus.
Independent photo/Steve James