The Class of 2026 leaves Southwestern with more than degrees—this graduating class leaves behind research discoveries, campus traditions, community impact, and a legacy of leadership.
When the Class of 2026 first stepped onto campus in August 2022, they became part of a University building toward the future. Four years later, they leave Southwestern having shaped that future through leadership, creativity, research, service, athletic achievement, and a commitment to one another.
Now, as they prepare to graduate, they leave behind a legacy defined not by one accomplishment, but by the collective impact they made across campus and beyond.
This is a class that embraced opportunity.
Students transformed personal interests into hands-on experiences and career pathways. Some helped preserve Southwestern’s Bee Campus designation, built trails in the EcoLab, and partnered with conservation organizations across Texas. Others combined classroom learning with entrepreneurship, launching businesses with classmates while balancing leadership roles, fraternity involvement, and collegiate athletics.
Internships connected students with organizations including Northwestern Mutual, Texas Capital Bank, Perry Homes, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce, Houston Methodist Hospital, and Williamson County Juvenile Services.
Several students translated classroom skills directly into professional projects. One student used CAD technology to help create 3D renderings and product designs for Tecovas. Another supported litigation tied to refugee rights, gender justice, and land reform while interning in South Africa. Others analyzed institutional trading risk management at Morgan Stanley, supported mergers and acquisitions work at The Capital Corporation, researched cancer biology through the Duke University AMGEN Scholars Program, worked on autism-related genetic research with Children’s Hospital Colorado, and explored biomedical engineering through REU programs at UT Austin and Auburn University.
Research projects across the class were equally ambitious and wide-ranging.
Students investigated automated robotic plant growth systems, thermal batteries, anti-magic squares, protein synthesis in cancer cells, DNA-barcoded protease sensors, and biomaterials research presented at conferences including the Biomedical Engineering Society and the American Chemical Society.
Others explored Belizean historical archives, developed educational games, conducted site-based community memory research, and collaborated on projects tied to Mexican history, national identity, and Chicana representation.
The Class of 2026 also embraced global learning experiences.
Students studied abroad in Belize, South Africa, Austria, England, Costa Rica, Switzerland, France, Spain, Ireland, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Mexico, and South Korea. They studied anthropology in Belize, international law in South Africa, analytical chemistry in England, and completed internships abroad in Vienna. One student traveled independently to Costa Rica through ISEP, while another studied at the London School of Economics and interned with Grupo Salinas in Mexico City.
Their experiences took them everywhere from classrooms in Georgetown to research labs, hospitals, schools, nonprofits, law offices, and corporate headquarters across the world.
The graduating class also made a lasting impact through leadership and service.
Students served as orientation leaders, resident assistants, peer mentors, student-athlete leaders, organization presidents, and advocates for causes they cared deeply about. One student helped advocate for expanded dining options on campus and contributed to the creation of a vegan section in Commons while also helping launch the President’s Corner initiative. Another helped increase participation in Campus Recreation programming by 20 percent while balancing athletics, leadership roles, and academics.
Members of the Class of 2026 earned recognition across disciplines for scholarship, leadership, creativity, and service. Graduates received honors including the Laura Kuykendall Award, Outstanding Senior Awards, conference athletic honors, national scholar-athlete recognition, and departmental distinctions recognizing excellence both inside and outside the classroom.
The Class of 2026 also helped shape a defining era for Pirate Athletics.
All 20 varsity sports programs included at least one student-athlete or team manager from the graduating class, and 98 athletes and team managers are part of the 2026 graduating class.
This senior class helped pioneer Southwestern’s first year competing in the Southern Athletic Association, with 17 programs qualifying for the SAA Conference Tournament during the inaugural season. Their impact was felt across every level of competition. Forty-six seniors earned SCAC or SAA All-Conference honors, while others earned All-Region recognition, individual conference championships, All-American honors, and Academic All-American distinctions.
The class also produced countless memorable moments for Pirate Athletics, including volleyball defeating nationally ranked No. 9 Trinity at home, men’s soccer breaking the program’s all-time wins record, softball taking down No. 5 Berry twice, and men’s lacrosse clinching an SAA Tournament berth during the final home game of the season. And those moments represent only a small glimpse into the countless memories this class created across Pirate Athletics.
As graduation approaches, members of the Class of 2026 are preparing to teach elementary students in Georgetown, attend law school, pursue careers in counseling and healthcare, work in sports and recreation, move to New York City to begin careers in finance, and relocate abroad to teach English internationally.
But what stands out most about the Class of 2026 is not simply the awards they earned or the records they set. It is the way they engaged fully in the Southwestern Experience.
They built friendships across disciplines and backgrounds. They challenged themselves academically and personally. They supported one another through successes and setbacks. They took advantage of opportunities to lead, explore, create, compete, and serve.
They helped strengthen the Southwestern community and, in countless ways both large and small, left the University better than they found it.
As the Class of 2026 begins its next chapter, its members carry forward the values that define a Southwestern education: intellectual curiosity, resilience, collaboration, creativity, and a commitment to making a meaningful impact.
Southwestern University published this content on May 13, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on May 13, 2026 at 18:40 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]
