TULANE UNIVERSITY CLASS OF 2026

The Tulane University Class of 2026 is filled with graduates whose time on campus has been shaped by extraordinary experiences. As they prepare for the next chapter of their lives, these remarkable students leave behind stories worth celebrating. Here are a few outstanding members of the Class of 2026 recently featured in Tulane Today, the university’s daily e-newsletter.

Andrea Zeebe is graduating with a degree in neuroscience from the School of Science and Engineering. (Photo by Kenny Lass)

Green Wave swimmer plans to bring her passion for community to medicine

For Andrea Zeebe, being an athlete on the Green Wave Swimming and Diving team is inextricably linked to her success as a Tulane student.

“Swimming has made me a better student,” said Zeebe, who is graduating with a degree in neuroscience from the School of Science and Engineering.

Read Zeebe’s full profile.

Catarina Vazquez is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology this month. (Photo by Kenny Lass)

Anthropology graduate seeks to understand others through research and service work

Catarina Vazquez came to Tulane already fascinated by the stories of other people. Vazquez, who is graduating in May with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the School of Liberal Arts, has spent the past four years seeking to understand and be of service to others both inside and outside the classroom — whether they are alive now or lived more than 800 years ago.

Read Vazquez’s full profile.

Paresh Kolluru, a Tulane 34 recipient, is graduating with a major in neuroscience from the School of Science and Engineering and a minor in philosophy from the School of Liberal Arts. (Photo by Kenny Lass)

Care for community at the center of neuroscience grad’s leadership

Paresh Kolluru didn’t come to Tulane intending to be a student leader, but his care for his community made him one, anyway. Kolluru, a Tulane 34 recipient and Lafayette native who is graduating with a major in neuroscience from the School of Science and Engineering and a minor in philosophy from the School of Liberal Arts, moved into Wall Residential Hall his first year with another Louisianian and an international student as his roommates. They were all in a new environment, away from home for the first time, and they all wanted to find a community.

Read Kolluru’s full profile.

Daevon James “D.J.” Adams is graduating from Tulane School of Law on Saturday, May 16, at Tulane Law’s 2026 commencement ceremony in the Avron B. Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse. (Photo by Kenny Lass)

At Tulane, D.J. Adams found his voice in entertainment law

Daevon James “D.J.” Adams dreaded public speaking. He had no debate background, no courtroom experience and did not think he was ready for a Moot Court team. He joined anyway.

Three years later, he stood in front of a panel of judges and argued his way onto the Tulane School of Law’s wall, as part of a decades-long tradition in which Moot Court champions have their names etched into the marble plaques that line the walls of the Wendell H. Gauthier Moot Court Room in John Giffen Weinmann Hall.

Read Adams’s full profile.

Kelly Nguyen will graduate in May from the School of Professional Advancement with a degree in digital media and marketing. (Photo by Kenny Lass)

From Arizona to Vietnam, Kelly Nguyen’s path leads to graduation at Tulane

Kelly Nguyen’s journey to Tulane University was anything but straightforward — taking her from a Vietnamese-speaking household in Arizona to a community college honors program and, eventually, a semester sailing around the world before landing in New Orleans.

Read Nguyen’s full profile.

Rodrek Williams II will graduate in May with a Master of Management in Energy from the A. B. Freeman School of Business through Tulane’s 4+1 program. (Photo by Kenny Lass)

All the right moves: The Tulane journey of Rodrek Williams II

From childhood birthday parties at the Reily Student Recreation Center to competing for championships in Yulman Stadium, Tulane University has long been part of the life of Rodrek Williams II.

As a New Orleans native, De La Salle High School graduate and the son of a Tulane alumnus, the uptown campus was a familiar place to Williams long before he arrived as a student-athlete in 2021.

Read Williams’s full profile.

Jonathan Hall is graduating in May with a Master of Architecture and a Master of Sustainable Real Estate Development from the Tulane School of Architecture and Built Environment. (Photo by Kenny Lass)

From Katrina to cancer, Jonathan Hall’s path led to Tulane

Jonathan Hall knows a thing or two about building — and rebuilding.

As a graduate student earning two master’s degrees from the Tulane University School of Architecture and Built Environment, Hall has applied his studies through such programs as UrbanBuild, helping construct housing in some of New Orleans’ most challenged neighborhoods.

Read Hall’s full profile.

Tabitha Manuel is graduating with a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from Tulane University School of Medicine. (Photo by Kenny Lass)

PhD grad hopes to use her work to help families

Growing up in rural Louisiana, surrounded by animals, gave Tabitha Manuel a love of science from an early age.

Watching her family’s cats give birth to litters of kittens eventually led her to study infectious diseases and their effects on pregnancy, and now she is graduating with a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from Tulane University School of Medicine. Manuel’s doctoral research, with Dr. Amitinder Kaur, chair of the division of immunology and professor of microbiology and immunology at the school and Tulane National Biomedical Research Center, focused on congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV), the leading infectious cause of birth defects.

Read Manuel’s full profile.

Ian Faul is graduating with dual bachelor’s degrees from the School of Science and Engineering and the School of Liberal Arts. (Photo by Kenny Lass)

Curiosity drives Hullabaloo editor-in-chief’s dream of becoming a doctor

It might be surprising that the editor-in-chief of the Hullabaloo, Tulane University’s student newspaper, plans to become a doctor. But to Ian Faul, who is that editor-in-chief, it just makes sense.

Read Faul’s full profile.

Angela Philpot is graduating from the Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine with a Master of Health Administration this spring.

Tulane graduate turns personal health journey into mission for change

Angela Philpot has spent much of her life navigating the health care system — first as a patient and now as a professional working to improve it.

After a serious car accident at 18 led to years of chronic pain, nerve damage and what she describes as an “invisible illness,” Philpot found herself in and out of hospitals searching for answers. Along the way, she developed a firsthand understanding of both the strengths and the shortcomings of the medical system.

Read Philpot’s full profile.

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