Leading up to Commencement on May 18, meet six members of the Class of 2025 and learn about their time at Pomona, their future plans and what they will miss after they graduate.
Riaan Dhankhar ’25
Dhankhar, an international relations major from Morristown, New Jersey, chose Pomona for “the extraordinary people and the collaborative community they foster,” he says. “I immediately fell in love with the supportive, cooperative environment and the close-knit community that Pomona offers.”
As an IR major, Dhankhar had the opportunity to travel to Sarajevo through a grant from the IR department to conduct research for his senior thesis on EU enlargement. There, he met both the President and the High Representative of Bosnia. “Through my classes, professors, work experience and study abroad opportunities, Pomona has allowed me to develop my passion for diplomacy and service,” he says. “Pomona has given me the tools to work towards a life and career in service towards the United States, and for that I am immensely grateful.”
After graduation, Dhankhar hopes to go to India as a Fulbright scholar to research the military relationship between India and the U.S. After that, he will attend Oxford University for a Master of Philosophy in international relations.
On campus, he worked as a head tour guide for the last two years and helped to organize Pomona’s fly-in admissions program and Admitted Students Day. He found it meaningful to help “build a strong community of future Sagehens." Some of his best memories at Pomona include studying with friends at the Coop Fountain and going with the 5C Ski Club trip to Mammoth last December.
Ziona King ’25
King, an Africana studies major with an art concentration from Louisville, Kentucky, heard about Pomona as a Questbridge finalist. She knew she wanted to attend a small liberal arts college where she could take an interdisciplinary approach to her creative passions. Moreover, she says, “Pomona’s generous financial support made it possible for me to pursue my education without financial burden.”
At Pomona, she has had the opportunity to exhibit her work in multiple student exhibitions including curating and hosting her own senior exhibition. She was also able to study in Florence, Italy, the summer after her junior year through the support of departmental grants. Her education here has shaped how she “tackles complex issues and injustices with creative solutions,” she says.
Outside of academics, King served as an intern with the First Generation Low Income (FLI) club and as a sponsor for first-year students, helping ease their transition to college. “One of the most meaningful experiences I’ve had at Pomona College has been immersing myself in the social fabric of campus by taking on leadership roles,” she says.
After graduation, King will take a gap year for artists in residences in Costa Rica and Florence, Italy, before starting a full-time job in museum exhibitions. Her long-term goal is to work as a full-time artist. She will miss her nightly walks through The Claremont Colleges and “living minutes away from everything I needed and an unlimited meal plan.”
Katriona Kirkpatrick ’25
As the daughter of Pomona alumni, Kirkpatrick fully expected to go elsewhere for college—until she visited the place her parents fell in love. A Seattle native, Kirkpatrick says the beautiful Southern California weather combined with small class sizes, the ability to explore various passions, and the opportunity to receive a great education were enough for her to reconsider. Now, she says, “I understand why my parents loved Pomona so much.”
Kirkpatrick credits Pomona for “teaching me how to exist in multiple spaces while maintaining my identity and growing as an individual and young professional.” The psychological science major and Sagehen track star holds three school records and is a two-time team captain.
Precious few memories resonate with Kirkpatrick more than seeing the College community’s overwhelming support when her father passed away earlier this year. “From the dean and administration to my coaches and teammates to my professors and friends,” she says, “I have truly felt so cared for and like I have a second family here.”
Kirkpatrick intends to work for a year or two before attending grad school to study organizational psychology. “I will miss the communities I have had the opportunity to be a part of,” she says. “In each of the clubs, classes, teams and friend groups I am a part of, I have cultivated deep relationships and made some of my best friends.”
Erubey Lopez ’25
Lopez, a linguistics major from Hyde Park, Vermont, chose Pomona “because it reflected the values I had grown up with of a small community,” he says. “I feel like I’m deeply cared for at Pomona and valued as a community member.”
Lopez credits Pomona’s sponsor program for helping him navigate the first months of college. As a sophomore, he returned the favor as a first-year sponsor, helping new students feel welcomed in a new environment. He also holds dears the work he did as a community advisor and coordinator for the Pomona Academy for Youth Success (PAYS). As he did within Housing and Residence Life, Lopez built community on the track and field team as a former walk-on. Now a team captain, “I work to make sure the environment is as welcoming to all as it was to me,” he says.
Academically, the Linguistics and Cognitive Science Department’s focus on community and collaborative learning “greatly supported my scholarly development,” Lopez says. Working with thesis advisor Ernesto Gutierrez Topete “has been game changing,” he adds.
Lopez studied abroad in Mérida, Yucatán, México, as a junior and returned to the city in summer 2024 as a Humanities Studio Undergraduate Fellow to conduct linguistic field research on the Yucatán Spanish dialect. Before applying to Ph.D. programs in Hispanic Linguistics, Lopez plans to spend as much time as possible sitting under Orozco’s Prometheus in Frary Dining Hall chatting with friends over great food.
Jo Ong ’25
Ong, an economics major from San Diego, chose Pomona to “explore a wide range of interests while still being challenged academically,” he says. “Pomona felt like the perfect environment to grow in multiple directions, both inside and outside the classroom.”
At Pomona, he spent two years on the varsity swim team and his senior year as a leader in Claremont Christian Fellowship’s athletes’ group. Academically, he has enjoyed taking on projects that reflect his interests, including an econometrics paper analyzing the relationship between vinyl record sales and artist controversy. He is currently working on his senior thesis focused on housing affordability across several cities, with an emphasis on how proximity to tech hubs affects real estate trends.
After graduation, he will work at an information services company called AlphaSights in San Francisco. Long term, he’s drawn to entrepreneurship and wants “to create something meaningful—especially at the intersection of economics, storytelling and social impact.” He is considering building a coaching community of runners on the side, while competing in marathons himself. He says that Pomona has prepared him by teaching him “how to think critically, ask better questions and communicate ideas clearly.”
What he will miss the most at Pomona College is “definitely the people,” he says. He has cherished “relationships with professors who truly care and spontaneous deep talks with friends.”
Eliza Powers ’25
Powers, an English and religious studies double major from New Orleans, Louisiana, came to Pomona for the “tight-knit community and intellectual curiosity of the student body.”
During her time here, Powers has taken that intellectual curiosity to address social justice issues. As a writer for The Student Life newspaper, she has aimed to advocate for issues she is passionate about. She was also able to work as an editorial intern for the feminist periodical Ms. Magazine through the Pomona College Internship Program (PCIP) after her junior year. Creative writing was also on the docket for her. Through Pomona’s Summer Undergraduate Research Program, she traveled to Dublin after her sophomore year to write. She returned to Europe her junior year to study abroad at the University of Cambridge and in Greece her senior year for her religious studies thesis.
After she graduates in May, Powers will head to Harvard Divinity School to pursue a Master of Theological Studies, where she plans to build on the skills and experiences she gained at Pomona.
She says she will especially miss the pizza at Frank Dining Hall. One of her most cherished memories at Pomona is participating in Ski Beach Day this year. “Ever since I was a prospective student, I’ve dreamed of going,” she says. “I finally got to go a few weeks ago. Making s’mores on the beach with other seniors after spending the day skiing was so special.”