The event will be held on July 12 and special guests include actor, producer, writer, and podcaster Rachel Strauss-Muñiz ’01 and CEO and President of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce Randy Peers ’96. Brooklyn College will hold a special in-person commencement on its campus at 10 a.m. on July 12 to recognize the graduating classes of both 2020 and 2021 since the college was unable to hold an in-person ceremony for them due to pandemic restrictions. The event will be held in the Claire Tow Theater in Whitman Hall. “The sacrifices these graduates made and the commitment they showed to complete their degrees were extraordinary,” said Brooklyn College President Michelle J. Anderson. “We are thrilled to be able to hold this commencement for the Classes of 2020 and 2021 on our beautiful campus to share their joy as they continue with this next chapter in their lives.” You can watch the ceremony live on July 12 starting at 10 a.m. here. The commencement will be led by President Anderson, Vice President for Student Affairs Ronald C. Jackson, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Anne Lopes, and other college faculty and staff. There will be an address by Roby Daniel, the valedictorian for the Class of 2020 and Asma Awad, the valedictorian for the Class of 2021. Serving as keynote speaker is actor, producer, writer, and prolific podcaster Rachel Strauss-Muñiz ’01. She is executive producer and host of the 2021 Webby Award-nominated podcast, Latinos Out Loud. She is one of seven selected writers for NHMC’s 2021 LatinX Stream Showcase, where her short film, The Swimmers, premiered. It was also featured in the 2021 Official Latino Film Festival. Her one-woman show, Ink, was a featured selection in the 2021 ONE Theatre Festival. Muñiz is currently voicing the role of “Mama” on the animated series, The Tuttle Twins. Her feature film debut as an actress in Superblocked premiered at the 2021 Warner Media Latino Film Festival and won Best Feature at The Official Latino Film Festival. She also performs alongside Room 28, the multicultural sketch comedy troupe she also produces that is part of the program Bring the Funny. Aside from off-Broadway live comedy show runs, Room 28 won a NYC Indie Film Festival Award for Latino Vortex, a short directed by Saturday Night Live’s Oz Rodriguez. She is also the creator/producer of The HERlarious Show, an all-female variety show featuring some of the best BIPOC females in sketch, improvisation, stand-up, and musical comedy, among her many other projects. Commencement will also feature CEO and President of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce Randy Peers ’96 as another special guest speaker. From 2002–2006, Peers served as vice president of Economic Development at the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce under former President Kenneth Adams, developing a portfolio of projects that included the Good Help program and Real Estate Development (RED) industry initiative, as well as developing the concept for the Business Solutions Center. He previously served as the inaugural president and CEO of the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance (GRCA) in Berks County, Pennsylvania, overseeing the alignment of the Chamber of Commerce and two economic development organizations. For over a decade, Peers was CEO of Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow (OBT), a Brooklyn-headquartered workforce development organization that was the leading provider of disconnected youth job training services in New York City.
