Bethel Kifle graduates from Bates

2014 Jul 24

Bethel Kifle, the daughter of Mr. Gilia Barih and Ms. Hana Gender of Chicago, Ill., graduated from Bates College on May 25, 2014.

A 2010 graduate of Saint Ignatius College Preparatory School, Kifle graduated after majoring in sociology at Bates.

She graduated as a member of the College Key, an honor reserved for Bates students who have exhibited outstanding character, academic excellence, campus and community service, leadership and future promise..

Isabel Wilkerson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "The Warmth of Other Suns," delivered the address at Bates' 148th commencement ceremony. In her speech, she spoke of equality and social betterment. Above all, she told graduates, "You must leave this world a better place than it would have been if you had not existed." She was joined by fellow honorands John Seely Brown, Glenn Close and David Shaw.

Located in Lewiston, Maine, Bates is internationally recognized as a leading college of the liberal arts, attracting 2,000 students from across the U.S. and around the world. In the 2014 graduating class alone, Bates students represented 29 states and 32 countries. With a commitment to affordability, Bates has always admitted students without regard to gender, race, religion or national origin. Cultivating intellectual discovery and informed civic action, Bates prepares leaders sustained by a love of learning and zeal for responsible stewardship of the wider world.