Introducing 2025 Commencement Marshal David Amorim Caldas, AM, Anthropology
Each spring, the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (Harvard Griffin GSAS) celebrates one of its most enduring and honored traditions: the selection of Commencement marshals. Nominated by fellow students, graduate program administrators, and faculty, then selected by the Harvard Griffin GSAS Student Council, the marshals embody the leadership, service, and scholarly excellence that define our community.
The 2025 Commencement marshals will play a vital role in Harvard’s graduation ceremonies. On the morning of Commencement, they will join the School’s deans in organizing the academic procession from the lawns at Richards Hall to historic Harvard Yard. At the front of the procession, they will carry the Harvard Griffin GSAS gonfalon—a ceremonial banner representing the School’s legacy—as they lead their peers into Tercentenary Theatre.
Being named a Commencement marshal is a significant honor and a symbol of the high regard in which these students are held by the Harvard Griffin GSAS community.
The 2025 Commencement marshal representing graduates with a master of arts, master of science, and master of engineering is David Amorim Caldas, AM, Anthropology.
David, originally from Northeast Brazil, is completing his thesis on the moral experience of caregiving in nursing homes in Massachusetts. During his MA in Medical Anthropology, he served as President of the Harvard Brazilian Association and the GSAS Science Policy Group, Student Center Fellow for Community Engagement, and Chair of Support and Program Representative for the Anthropology Department on the Student Council.
David shares:
Being a member of the Anthropology Department has transformed me into a better scholar, professional, leader, and person. I am profoundly honored to be recognized as a Commencement Marshal for GSAS, and it is a privilege to represent the Anthropology Department among the nominees.
Please join us in congratulating David, as well as all of our outstanding graduates this Spring!