Brown University announced on Apr. 23 that Kenia Collins and Melanie Ortiz Alvarez de la Campa have been selected as the graduate student speakers for the university’s 258th Commencement ceremonies. Collins will address master’s degree recipients, while Ortiz Alvarez de la Campa will speak at the Ph.D. ceremony, both taking place during Commencement and Reunion Weekend.
The selection of these speakers highlights Brown’s tradition of featuring student voices during significant university events. Both Collins and Ortiz Alvarez de la Campa have centered their academic work around expanding access—Collins in health care leadership and nursing, and Ortiz Alvarez de la Campa in scientific research and communication.
Collins, who is earning a master of science in health care leadership, described her journey from humble beginnings in the U.S. Virgin Islands to becoming a “respectful disruptor” in nursing. “I was already thinking about how I could cause ripples of change within nursing and create just and equitable systems in a leadership space, and that’s what this program at Brown focused on,” Collins said. She credits her time at Brown for fostering connections with diverse peers: “Brown has a remarkable way of bringing together individuals with diverse backgrounds and perspectives, creating not only a learning environment but a true sense of connection and growth.”
Ortiz Alvarez de la Campa’s path to the Ph.D. ceremony began when Hurricane Maria displaced them from Puerto Rico to Providence as an undergraduate student guest at Brown. Their research focuses on how early-life stress affects the microbiome’s influence on anxiety development. They have also been active outside the lab by co-founding organizations like Ciencia Pa’ Todes to make science more accessible to Spanish-speaking communities.
Ortiz Alvarez de la Campa emphasized collective achievement: “If you want to be your whole self, you need to be present in all three versions of yourself: the past you, the current you, the future you.” Reflecting on challenges faced by their cohort during COVID-19 disruptions, they added: “We’re really a masterclass in resilience… As this chapter ends, the world looks kind of crazy again, but we did it once and we can do it again.”
Both speakers aim to inspire their fellow graduates by drawing upon personal experiences shaped by ambition and adversity as they prepare for new chapters beyond Brown.
