On May 7, 2025, the graduating seniors of the Class of 2025 finally experienced their first official Wittpenn Walk on their last day as undergraduates.
The Wittpenn Walk is a Stevens tradition that bookends the undergraduate experience. According to Stevens, it is a tradition that “symbolizes the start and end of an undergraduate student’s academic career.” First-year students walk up Wittpenn Walk to mark the beginning of their academic journey, while seniors walk down the same path at the end of their undergraduate years to symbolize its completion. The ritual is a visual and communal representation of growth, transition, and reflection.
But for the Class of 2025, that symbolic beginning never happened. When they arrived on campus in the Fall of 2021, construction on the University Center Complex had closed off Wittpenn Walk completely, and the traditional freshman walk was held on a different route due to detours.
While the Class of 2025’s journey didn’t start with the tradition as intended, ending down Wittpenn brought a sense of closure. Lined with faculty, underclassmen, and friends, the path of Wittpenn Walk is an experience filled with cheers, hugs, and goodbyes. It was a moment of reflection for the graduating seniors as they looked ahead to their futures and a reminder that even if things don’t begin as planned, they can still end on a meaningful note.
Congratulations to the Stevens Class of 2025!
