Soledad O’Brien Named Harvard College Class Day Speaker

The class of 2013 will hear a star of the twenty-fifth-reunion class.

Soledad O'Brien

CNN special correspondent and twenty-fifth reunioner Soledad O’Brien ’88 will be the principal guest speaker for the seniors celebrating Class Day, on Wednesday, May 29, officers of the class of 2013 announced late Tuesday. First marshal Nina Yancy ’13 told the Harvard Gazette it was “rare to hear from someone who has achieved such success and who not only can relate to our lives as undergraduates, but specifically wants to share her story with us.”

The winner of an Emmy in 2011 for her reporting from Haiti, O’Brien was also a member of CNN teams whose coverage of the Gulf oil spill, Hurricane Katrina, and the Southeast Asia tsunami won national broadcasting awards. She has hosted and developed Black in America, one of CNN’s most successful international franchises, and is about to launch her own company, Starfish Media Group.

In 2010 she published a memoir, The Next Big Story: My Journey through the Land of Possibilities; in discussing her book with Time senior reporter Andrea Sachs, she mentioned that Harvard “sometimes was a struggle because I didn't feel super comfortable there.” (She didn’t complete her A.B. until 2000.) Now the class of 2013 is helping rectify that. Harvard Crimson staff writer Laya Anasu reports that class marshals Yancy and Scott Yim “said that O’Brien told them she never had the chance to experience Class Day for herself—and that as a result, this Class Day would be her own.” 

You might also like

‘Passengers’ at A.R.T. Blends Acrobatics with Einstein’s Relativity

Review: Quantum mechanics meets circus arts at the American Repertory Theater’s performance

Harvard Research Funding Cuts Are Illegal, Judge Rules

The Trump administration violated the University’s First Amendment rights and must restore all funding, the court said.

In Sermon, Garber Urges Harvard Community to ‘Defend and Protect’ Institutions

Harvard’s president uses traditional Memorial Church address to encourage divergent views.

Most popular

Harvard art historian Jennifer Roberts teaches the value of immersive attention

Teaching students the value of deceleration and immersive attention

How MAGA Went Mainstream at Harvard

Trump, TikTok, and the pandemic are reshaping Gen Z politics.

Jodie Foster Honored at Radcliffe Day 2025

The actress and director discussed her film career and her transformative time at Yale.

Explore More From Current Issue

Vivian W. Rong sitting on bench outdoors.

Highlighting Harvard Magazine’s Fellows

The 2025-2026 Ledecky and Summer Undergraduate Fellows

James Muller in white lab coat leaning on railing in hospital hallway.

Free Speech, the Bomb—and Donald Trump

A Harvard cardiologist on the unlikely alliances that shaped a global movement to prevent nuclear war

David McCord in suit reading a book at cluttered wooden desk in office filled with framed art and shelves.

The Pump Celebrates Its 85th Birthday

Giving Harvard traditions their due