“I don’t know this guy,” said Jacob Ma, a senior double majoring in applied mathematics and computer science games.
Dornsife students were underwhelmed when they heard who their 2024 commencement speaker would be.
USC Dornsife sent an email to students today, announcing that Jaren Lewison will be the commencement speaker for the 2024 grad season. Lewison, who graduated from USC Dornsife in 2022, is an actor most well-known for his role as Ben Gross in the Netflix series “Never Have I Ever.”
Lewison’s name doesn’t carry enough weight for some.
“It would be special to get to have a speaker that is a well-known name like Will Ferrell,” said Ashley Singleton-Comfort, a senior majoring in chemistry.
Earlier this week, Annenberg announced that their commencement speaker would be tennis legend and LGBTQ+ rights activist, Billie Jean King. Some students think Lewison doesn’t come close to King in terms of excitement.
“I saw this announcement this morning in the email they sent and I was partially disappointed,” said Maggie Torstrick, a senior USC student majoring in Biological Sciences. “There’s some other really cool speakers like at Annenberg and Marshall. I don’t really know him.”
To some, Lewison is simply a classmate or friend.
“I have people in my class who are still friends with him, so he’s more of a peer,” Torstrick said. “That’s why we have student speakers.”
Lewison is 23 years old. Some are concerned about his age and level of professional experience.
“It takes like five or 10 years to see how someone’s career path goes,” Ma said. “It’s not just about his acting. It’s also about his reputation, and that’s not something that can be developed in two or three years.”
There is a flip side of that coin, though: relatability and inspiration.
“For some, the short time kind of makes it inspirational to the student being like, ‘I’m about to graduate, which means I’m on the brink of doing something great in my life. I don’t need to be 50 years old to become a big name,’” Singleton-Comfort said.
Some even prefer a younger speaker.
“I don’t buy into the idea that the speaker needs to be older than us and lecture us,” said Andrew Tarazon, a senior studying economics. “I think the fact that he’s so close in age with us makes it more relatable. It gives us an extra drive to say if someone our age is doing this, so can I.”
Tarazon thinks Lewison embodies what it means to be a Trojan.
“He’s a guy who’s young, evolving, reaching the pinnacles of his profession,” Tarazon said. “Isn’t that what we want? Isn’t that what USC is all about? Getting remarkable people together.”
Following the main commencement ceremony on May 10, Dornsife will hold two ceremonies that same afternoon. Ceremony one will be at 11 a.m. and ceremony two will take place at 2:30 p.m.
In an email sent by Dornsife, to all their seniors, a blurred-out image of Lewison can be seen. Featured is also a link to Dornsife’s LinkedIn where the school uploaded a video of him in front of the Traveler statue.
Lewison said in the video, “USC Dornsife Class of 2024, it’s almost graduation season. I can’t believe it. I’m going to be your commencement speaker. I’m so excited! And I’ll see you all on May 10th. It’s going to be amazing. Fight On!”
The actor graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2022. He graduated summa cum laude in three years while filming the show.
The 23-year-old is originally from Dallas, Texas but moved to Southern California to pursue his career at USC. His first on-screen role was on “Barney and Friends” in 2008. Right before starring in “Never Have I Ever,” Lewison also played a minimal role in the 2018 film called “Tag” as the younger version of Ed Helms.
A previous version of this article stated that Lewison said “he’s a guy who’s young, evolving, reaching the pinnacles of his profession.” It was Tarazon.