Acclaimed Nigerian writer Chimamanda Adichie 41, has been selected as the speaker in the during the Yale’s 2019 Class Day.
Adichie graduated with a Master’s Degree from Yale in African History in 2008.
“The committee cannot imagine a better speaker to commemorate our four years at Yale than Adichie.
“She is an inspiring global citizen whose words, teaching, and social activism have had an indelible impact on the diaspora and broader contemporary culture,’’ he said.
Most of the Class Day speakers selected in the past have been politicians, including former US secretary of state John Kerry and former US VP Joe Biden, former United Nations Ambassador Samantha Power and Democratic nominee for president in 2016 Hillary Clinton.
Adichie had written bestselling books including “We Should All Be Feminists,” “Americanah” and “The Thing Around Your Neck,” which have been translated into more than thirty languages.
She was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2015 and one of Fortune Magazine’s World’s 50 Greatest Leaders in 2017.
Adichie graduated summa cum laude from Eastern Connecticut State University in 2001 with a degree in communication and political science.
She also has a master’s degree in creative writing from Johns Hopkins University and honorary doctorates from Haverford College, Williams College, the University of Edinburgh, Duke University and Amherst College, among others.
