Paperless Post CEO to give keynote address at W&J commencement May 18
Alexa Hirschfeld, co-founder and CEO of Paperless Post, will give the 2019 keynote address at Washington & Jefferson College’s commencement ceremony May 18.
At age 23, Hirschfeld and her younger brother created an e-commerce company that would soon reach over 85 million users and employ more than 100 people in New York and London. She has been named one of Fortune’s 10 most-powerful women entrepreneurs, and landed on Fast Company’s list of the most influential women in technology and Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list.
A 2006 graduate of Harvard University, Hirschfeld is an outspoken advocate for the liberal arts and holds a degree in classics.
The commencement ceremony will be at James David Ross Family Recreation Center and start at 10 a.m.
A noted chaplain and an accomplished military general will be speaking at ceremonies preceding commencement.
Mark Johnson, a 1994 graduate of W&J, will be the keynote speaker at the baccalaureate service Friday at Church of the Covenant in Washington. Johnson was the first African American senior class commencement speaker at W&J when he graduated, and has served as the chaplain for the Cleveland Indians. An instructor and research fellow at New Orleans Theological Seminary, he recently completed a doctorate at that institution.
Steven R. Grove, a 1983 W&J graduate and retired U.S. Army major general, will be the keynote speaker at the ROTC commissioning ceremony Thursday in the chapel of Old Main on the W&J campus. Grove has more than three decades of global intelligence experience and has served in the most senior intelligence positions in the Middle East, Asia and Europe. Grove also holds a master’s degree from the U.S. Naval War College.
In addition, Zach Pellis will give the senior address during the commencement ceremony. He is a member of the pre-health society, student health coach program, the Phi Beta Kappa honor society and other organizations. He will graduate with a degree in biochemistry and plans to attend medical school.
For additional information, see the ROTC commissioning ceremony, baccalaureate and commencement pages on the W&J web calendar.