Meet Your 2024 Student Commencement Speaker

From comedy to equity, Julia Maskin has been an active participant in student life and social causes.

May 10, 2024

Communications Staff

Julia Maskin.

Julia Maskin will represent the Class of 2024 as the student commencement speaker on May 27 at Tappan Square.

Maskin’s Oberlin experience has been marked by her deep connections to student life and her advocacy for issues related to equity. A native of Montclair, New Jersey, she completed majors in Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies and Cinema Studies. She organized events to raise awareness for Ohio abortion access funds and participated in the Doula Collective and Survivors of Sexual Harm and Allies, or SOSHA.

For three years, Maskin hosted a program on WOBC radio. She organized live comedy events and produced sketches through the late-night show Good Talk. She acted in theatrical productions and student films, performed original music and participated in cover band showcases, wrote and directed short films, and directed and choreographed a production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the ’Sco. She was a member of the Film Co-op, Folk Club, and OSCA, and she played intramural softball.

“My commencement speech is about how Oberlin is a place that values the process of learning and growing just as much as the product—and how rare and special an environment like that is,” Maskin shared in her application.

For more information about commencement activities, please visit the commencement page.

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