Commencement
Commencement Greetings from Symbolic Systems Graduates
Class of 2026
Bachelor of Science Graduates
Elijah Anderson
How do you describe Symbolic Systems? I describe SymSys as a combination of different majors similar to cognitive science. A mix of philosophy, math, psychology and computer science core.
People you want to thank: God, my family, my friends and LeBron James
Favorite SymSys-related readings or media: iRobot with Will Smith
Favorite SymSys memory: Succeeding in classes that are were difficult for me at the beginning and feeling like I learned a lot in the end.
Your future plans: Interning at the New York Times and coterming in media studies
Advice to future SymSys students and graduates: Always believe in yourself and always choose to be kind even if you can choose to do anything! Also having to take classes out of your comfort zone is a good thing.
Austin Konig
How do you describe Symbolic Systems? The study of minds and machines!
People you want to thank: My mom, my grandparents, my aunt, uncle, and cousins, the Las Vegas music community, Jay, Hassan at CCRMA, Celeste from SLOrk, Mike Galisatus, my peers and mentors from the jazz department, Ujamaa House, Joshua Redman, Ambrose Akinmusire, God, and me.
Favorite SymSys-related readings or media: Every work from Stanford's Laptop Orchestra!
Favorite SymSys memory: Discovering CCRMA, the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics, on a random midnight stroll.
Your future plans: Working in all things audio tech and live music.
Advice to future SymSys students and graduates: Enjoy every second.
Clara Lu
How do you describe Symbolic Systems? a major that feels welcoming to everyone -- whether you were originally someone who was strong in CS, social sciences, or the humanities, there is always a place for you in SymSys.
People you want to thank: I want to thank my best friend Sunny Yu -- without her, I don't think I would've had the courage to take CS106B, to declare SymSys as my major. She taught me how to have faith in myself and believe in my own capabilities. I love you so much.
Favorite SymSys memory: Meeting my best friend. Spending time in the SymSys lounge.
Advice to future SymSys students and graduates: Don't be afraid to take a leap -- do what you love rather than follow the traditional path. Take that random class. Participate in that study. You never know where it will take you!
Maimuna Muntaha
Favorite SymSys memory: Talking to faculty and other symsys students during the Symsys thanksgiving celebration in Ng my junior year
Celeste Ayleen Noriega
How do you describe Symbolic Systems? It's not simply the accumulation of knowledge or skills, but the capacity to forge fresh connections between them.
People you want to thank: Derek, Cecilia, Jacklyn, Javier, and Juggernaut
Favorite SymSys-related readings or media: Self-Theories and Growth Mindset by Carol Dweck, who is also my advisor for both my B.S. and M.S.! Reading this during my freshman fall was truly seminal to my academic trajectory, and it remains one of the core frameworks I intend to carry into my future work.
Favorite SymSys memory: Working with Dr. Berger on my capstone, where I analyzed the acoustic structure of EDM to understand how it can facilitate neural entrainment and help listeners enter a flow state, which is one of my favorite neuroscientific phenomena to study.
Your future plans: I'm pursuing a master's degree in Sustainability Science and Practice. I plan to leverage behavioral science, technology, and systems thinking to help people engage more effectively with sustainability initiatives.
Advice to future SymSys students and graduates: Use the knowledge to better society, extend empathy, strengthen human dignity, and advance civilization. Don’t use it to build systems that take away from others or perpetuate harm. Don’t work for Palantir.
Kristine Pashin
How do you describe Symbolic Systems? Symbolic Systems is the convergence of computation, cognition, language, philosophy, and human meaning. It has made me ask not only how systems work but what they reveal about minds and societies and the futures we build.
People you want to thank: I am profoundly grateful to my family, friends, mentors, professors, and the SymSys community for fueling my curiosity across different domains and supporting me through every surprise along the way at Stanford.
Your future plans: After Stanford, I will begin a joint DPhil/PhD across Oxford and the NIH, working at the intersection of biomaterials, neural organoids, regenerative medicine, ethics, and health policy.
Advice to future SymSys students and graduates: Follow the questions that don’t fit neatly into one department! SymSys is special because it allows you to build bridges between disciplines, people, ideas, and versions of yourself you have yet to meet.
Max Rodriguez
How do you describe Symbolic Systems? A program of whimsy and ephemerality.
People you want to thank: I am beyond grateful for the support provided to me by my family, friends, honors advisors, and music instructors.
Favorite SymSys-related readings or media: Thomas Nagel’s “What Is It Like to Be a Bat”
Favorite SymSys memory: Losing my mind searching for the old SymSys headquarters buried in the Ling building.
Your future plans: Return next year for the CS coterm and build my own pedagogical app for pianists.
Advice to future SymSys students and graduates: Don’t stress, you made the right choice over CS! You will become a more well-rounded person because of SymSys.
Thet Htar Thin Zar
How do you describe Symbolic Systems? I’d describe SymSys as the heart of the fusion between my interests: from psychoanalyzing everything and trying to understand how people think, to breaking ideas down logically through systems and code.
People you want to thank: I want to dedicate this honor mainly to my mom—I love you so much. I also want to thank my family and friends who have stood by me through everything. I cannot imagine my 4 years at Stanford without their support.
Satya Vargas
How do you describe Symbolic Systems? An interdisciplinary major at the intersection of human and machine cognition. My focus has been in philosophy and linguistics.
People you want to thank: Thank you to my professors, especially in philosophy and linguistics for inspiring me to continue on in my studies! Your classes have changed how I think about the world :)And a huge thank you to my family for always being a pillar of support during my time here.
Favorite SymSys memory: Spending 4+ hours talking about logic, language and literature in the dining halls :)
Your future plans: Starting a PhD in philosophy at University of Michigan.
Alexander Worley
How do you describe Symbolic Systems? SymSys is synthesis. It is the study of how different systems, seemingly related or not, combine into larger systems with emergent properties the parts alone can't explain.
Master of Science Graduates
Fisher Anderson
How do you describe Symbolic Systems? I often describe it as "the study of minds and machines, how they are similar and different." based on the contents of SymSys 1.
People you want to thank: Jesus, for being my Rock. My family (mom, dad, and sister), for loving me so well. Chris Potts for being willing to advise a kid like me for 2 years with constant encouragement and support, carefully honing my wild interests into something worthy of a thesis.
Favorite SymSys-related readings or media: Anything from David Chalmers.
Favorite SymSys memory: Probably taking SymSys 207, which was my first exposure to different theories of consciousness!
Your future plans: Play one more year of football at Stanford, then go play in the NFL. Lord willing.
Advice to future SymSys students and graduates: Symbolic Systems is the coolest degree on this campus. But be warned, you will forever be consigned to explaining what the heck it means to everybody you meet for the rest of your life.