Daphne Freeman named undergraduate Commencement speaker

Daphne Freeman came to Lesley from Medway, Massachusetts (that’s where the cows are, she says) with no interest in science and no interest in being an educator. She followed her sister, who graduated in 2022. “In high school, I was very much an English theater kind of person. I never really touched STEM. I didn’t consider it my strong suit.”

She came to Lesley to study art therapy. Then she took some science classes at Lesley, and realized the theatrics of chemistry. She says she had no idea science could be “so creative and cool.” She realized she wanted to know more about neuroscience, neuropsychology, and adolescent brain development. And with her father, mother, and sister being educators, she accepted her fate. “It’s in my blood,” says Daphne, “to be a teacher."

Daphne Freeman is graduating with three degrees—biology, chemistry, and education. She is also your undergraduate speaker at Commencement. I would like to be a person who makes science fun,” she says. That’s what she tries to do with her class in Arlington, where she is teaching grade 11 chemistry. “My students are so smart and they’re so funny,” she says. “They have their whole lives ahead of them.” Her advice for life is this: Be the person you needed,” she says. Commencement is Sunday, May 18.