Callie Cho ’23, a neuroscience major and English minor from Austin, Texas, will be this year’s Commencement student speaker after receiving the most votes in a speech-off run by the Student Government Organization. She says she’s excited to be giving an address at Commencement because it will allow her to thank everyone who has been a part of her Swarthmore journey. 

“The Swarthmore community means so much to me,” says Cho. “I wanted the opportunity to express my gratitude to the community that has shaped me into the person I am today.” 

Cho has garnered an impressive list of accomplishments during her time at the College. Between meeting the demands of her neuroscience major and English minor, she found time to write for The Phoenix’s arts and culture section and was the captain of the varsity field hockey team. She also writes poetry and works as an editor and associate producer on a podcast called One Planet.

Many of Cho’s favorite Swarthmore memories revolve around sports, like playing home games against Haverford and watching baseball on the deck of her dorm with her hallmates.

“Here, I have grown both personally and intellectually and made the best friends of my life,” says Cho. “I have never felt more at home in a place before.”

What she’ll miss most about Swarthmore is the beauty of the campus and the intellectual stimulation. 

“I love learning from my peers as much as learning in the classroom,” says Cho.

In 2022, she received the Norman A. Meinkoth Field Biology Fellowship and spent the summer studying connections between hormones and behavior in frogs with Associate Professor of Biology Alex Baugh.

“Nobody is afraid to be nerdy here,” says Cho, pointing to her favorite aspect of Swarthmore. “I would never have wanted to attend college anywhere else.”