Drake Roth ’25, an Honors English literature and physics major from New York City, will be this year’s student speaker at Commencement after receiving the most votes in a speech-off run by the Student Government Organization. 

Roth values the opportunity to “extend gratitude to all those people who have profoundly influenced [his] time and growth at Swarthmore.”

“I’m excited to spend time reflecting on our robust community and the moments and memories that have shaped us,” adds Roth, an aspiring pediatric neurosurgeon and writer.

Roth garnered an impressive list of accomplishments during his time at the College. Among them, his time as a Writing Associates fellow, co-editor in chief of The Swarthmore Review literary magazine, and vice-president of the Swarthmore Pan-Asian Association (SPAA). He also served as a research assistant in the Physics and English literature departments, and as a teaching assistant in the Physics and Chemistry departments as well as the Swarthmore Taiko Ensemble. 

Roth considers himself fortunate to have received two Swarthmore fellowships. The Kaori Kitao Humanities Research Fellowship brought him to Sydney, Australia for intensive study of Japanese taiko drumming with the premiere performance ensemble Taikoz in 2024. And the Carl Grossman Summer Opportunity Fund gave him the opportunity to work on physics education research with Ben Geller, associate professor of physics, and Catherine Crouch, professor of physics, in 2023.

Roth’s activities outside of Swarthmore included furthering his work in advocacy and cultural leadership as a fellow and programming officer with the National Korean Student Alliance.

Looking back on his time at Swarthmore, Roth counts “the weekly recurring meals with friends that served as the foundation for life-long friendships” as his most prized memory, along with “the countless hours spent playing and performing taiko with Associate Professor of Dance Joe Small ’05 and the other extraordinarily dedicated members of the Swarthmore Taiko Ensemble.”

“The wonderful people and exceptional academic environment pushed me to grow both as a person and as a scholar,” he says. “Swarthmore quickly became a place I could call home.”