Monday, February 22, 2010

Rachel Maddow to deliver the 2010 Smith College Commencement Address May 16


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Rachel Maddow's most recent local appearance
was last August at Jacob's Pillow.

When Smith College President Carol T. Crist announced to the senior class that MSNBC's political analyist and Berkshire favorite Rachel Maddow would deliver the commencement address, it was an event all by itself. Watch and enjoy:



Maddow's success story is one that began locally. A contest launched Maddow’s career in 2004. As the winner of a challenge for a new on-air personality in Holyoke, Mass., she addressed listeners for the first time. Meeting with success at the local level, she soon joined the newly created Air America and, a year later, MSNBC.

Maddow's success may seem somewhat serendipitous, but she worked hard to get where she is. Maddow earned a degree in public policy from Stanford University in 1994, was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship, and earned a doctor of philosophy degree from Oxford University.

Maddow undertakes a regular 190 mile commute home to her 1865 house in Western Massachusetts. She maintains a teeny 275' apartment in Manhattan too. She is a real person, too, with a real full time relationship.

Rachel's human side: "One of my liabilities as a broadcaster is sometimes I get a little teary. Having a handkerchief is handy. My partner, Susan Mikula, buys me cute ones."


Lucky Dog.


Four Honorary Degrees to be Awarded


Commencement is on May 16 at 10 AM in Northampton. Honorary degrees will be awarded to Maddow, renowned dance composer Martha Myers, record-setter Victoria “Tori” Murden McClure, environmental justice advocate Peggy M. Shepard and global activist Princess Basma Bint Talal of Jordan.

The complete commencement schedule indicates that students may invite as many guests as they want.

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