Sierra graduated Cum Laude From Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, with a degree in Biochemistry. It was the 159th commencement for the university, held outside on the quad in chilly but (mostly) dry weather. We waited patiently for Sierra’s moment – being a Stark placed her toward the end of the 504 students graduating.
The commencement speaker was Angela Duckworth, a psychology professor from the University of Pennsylvania. Her talk advocated disconnecting from our cell phones by setting them aside out of sight. To make the audience do this, she had us swap phones with the person in the next seat. It worked, at least for the 15 minutes when she was talking.
