Charisma Chen ’26 Elected First Marshal for Harvard College Class of 2026

Updated September 19, 2025, at 1:03 a.m.

Charisma W. Chen ’26 and Mohan A. Hathi ’26 will serve as the first and second class marshals for the Class of 2026, according to five people familiar with the decision.

The pair were selected after two rounds of voting, which were open to all members of the Class of 2026. Chen, a Government concentrator in Lowell House, and Hathi, an Integrative Biology concentrator in Mather House, will lead the Senior Class Committee, which is responsible for organizing class-wide events in May leading up to Commencement.

Chen and Hathi, a Crimson News editor, did not immediately respond to a request for comment about their selection.

Six other seniors, those who placed third through eighth in the class marshal election, will serve on the Committee as program marshals.

The program marshals are Toluwaniase T. Ademola ’26, Jade M. Stanford ’26, Kritika Nagappa ’26, Kirthi Chigurupati ’26, Arezoo Ghazagh ’26, according to four people familiar, and Emma S. de Jong ’26 — a Crimson Sports editor — according to one person. It was not immediately clear whether additional program marshals were named as a result of ties.

Ademola, Nagappa, and Ghazagh, a Crimson Blog Chair, declined to comment on Thursday afternoon, and the rest did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Winners were notified over the phone early Thursday morning, according to two people, but an official announcement is not expected until later Thursday or on Friday.The results will be announced to the Class of 2026 on Friday afternoon.

Harvard College Fund Marshals, which who had to apply through a requires a separate application process, were also notified on Thursday. The fund marshals for the class are Said El Kadi Paluan ’26, Ethan P. Hsiao ’26, Cassie B. Liu ’26, Isabella S. Mandis ’26, Shukria Yassin ’26, and Andrew J. Zonneveld ’26.

In the coming weeks, the class marshals will interview candidates to determine the rest of the Senior Class Committee, which will also consist of a secretary, treasurer, media team, and house representatives. After graduating, the committee will plan reunion events and manage several fundraising efforts.

The election process kicked off in early September with interested seniors campaigning through social media platforms. 16 candidates advanced past the first round, eight of whom were selected after an all-day voting round on Wednesday.

—Staff writer Dhruv T. Patel can be reached at dhruv.patel@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @dhruvtkpatel.

—Staff writer Samuel A. Church can be reached at samuel.church@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @samuelachurch.

—Staff writer Cam N. Srivastava can be reached at cam.srivastava@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @camsrivastava.