Fifteen Superlative Seniors
Best Dressed: Primo Lagaso-Goldberg
Last year, Primo says, their style was more edgy. They used to wear eyeliner every day, and their wardrobe had (well, technically, still has) an abundance of black clothing. Nowadays, you might not see them sporting black eyeliner everyday, but they always stay true to what they “feel good wearing, no matter what aesthetic that borrows from.”
Most Iconic Duo: Chase Melton and Tamar Sella
It all started with a party in Hurlbut at which the two arrived dressed in the exact same clothes: velvet pants, white tank top, dark hair slicked back dramatically.
Most Interesting Thesis: Sabrina Freidus
Ironically, Sabrina got the idea for her thesis from a joke her friend made. “One of my friends was like, ‘Sabrina, you should write your thesis about toilets or about poop.’ And I was like, ‘I will.’ And that’s what I ended up choosing.”
15 Superlative Seniors from the Class of 2025
FM profiled 15 graduating seniors, each assigned to a different superlative categories, just like your old high school yearbook. Read on to see how these seniors both fit and transcend their superlative and to learn about all the cool things they’ve gotten up to — one senior studied abroad in Samoa, another is writing her thesis about sitting vs. squatting toilets, and one is a mathemetician-lyricist-saxophonist-stage-director. Just your average Harvard kids. Sort of.
Unsung Hero: Hana Rehman
Rehman’s said her leadership in the South Asian campus community was the result of persistence. “Showing up was really hard. There was a lot happening in my life and in other people’s lives and in the world. But showing up is half the battle,” she explains.
Life of the Party: Shmuel Padwa
When I contacted Shmu to arrange an interview for this article, he replied that he was “actively boarding” a flight to Berlin. A week or so before, he’d bumped into some friends who told him that Berlin would be crazy for the 35-year anniversary of the wall falling and that flights were also cheap. Shmu’s reaction? “Sick, that sounds awesome.”
Most Chill: Ethan Phan
Ethan N. Phan ’25 wants people to know that just because he’s chill, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about anything. “That’s a common misconception of chillness,” he tells me, talking at a slow, unhurried pace, sporting a hoodie and a mullet.
Biggest Flirt: Adam Mohamed
How did he come to be this way? Adam reckons he may have been born with the kiss of Cupid on his cheek. “I crawled out of my mother’s womb and winked at the doctor,” he says, laughing.
Most Mysterious: Casey Murray
Casey understands why an “air of mystique” might surround him, citing the prevalence of his recorder playing, his habit of running to class, and his defiance of New England winters, which he explains are no match for the brutal midwestern winters he grew up with. But he says that he’s “actually just a pretty normal person” with an “undue, perhaps, emphasis on the bit.”
Most School Spirit: Uzma Issa
Uzma’s bucket list is taking her all across Harvard’s campus. A pottery class in Allston. The Kirkland Choosening. Currioke Night. Looking at the Andromeda Galaxy from the Harvard Observatory. Performing magic tricks and stand-up comedy at Lowell’s Coffee House on Tuesday.
Class Clown: Gibson Bartlett
Though Gibson was awarded Class Clown, he toyed with the idea of changing his title to “Voice of a Generation,” which I would have endorsed, or “Best Hair,” which he could have easily won, with or without endorsement.
Most Chronically Online: Brady Connolly
Brady may be one of Harvard’s leading ethnographers. From rowers and tourists to Insomnia Cookies and Amorino Gelato, no person or corporation in the Harvard area is below his scrutiny on X.
Most Whimsical: Ben Cammarata
For Ben, whimsy is inseparable from authenticity. “You know, this could potentially be perceived as ugly,” he says, gesturing to his shirt, frogs jubilantly prominent, “but I like it, so that’s all that matters.”
Renaissance Person: Zach Halberstam
In many ways, Zach’s experience at Harvard has been negotiating between the sciences and the humanities, applying a precise mathematical mind to creative pursuits. Zach is a mathematician. He is a lyricist. He is a physicist, occasionally. He is a saxophone player. He is a stage director and staple of the Leverett dining hall.
Most Likely to Be President: Laila Nasher
Laila’s interest in political organizing is deeply personal. She grew up in a socially conservative Yemeni-American community in Detroit where most young people did not attend college.
Best Advice Giver: Imaan Mirza
She may be optimistic, but Imaan doesn’t just tell people what they want to hear. “I’m a very blunt person,” she explains.
Imaan Best Advice Giver Portrait
Imaan Mirza '25 despises the compliment sandwich, a technique for delivering criticism that goes: good, bad, good. To her, whatever she says to her friends — “it’s not bad, it’s not good.”
Gibson Class Clown Portrait
Though a one-man show may seem daunting to the rest of us, Gibson D. Bartlett '25 is primed for the spotlight.
Casey Murray Most Mysterious Portrait
“I take so much joy out of just being outside on a good frolic,” says Kenneth "Casey" Murray '25, a joint concentrator in Astrophysics and Earth & Planetary Sciences
Adam Biggest Flirt Portrait
If the original Adam was made in the image of God, this Adam was surely made in the image of the Rizz God.
Shmu Padwa Life of Party Cover Portrait
Even more than a yes-man, Shmu Padwa '25 is a “Why not?” man. When I contacted him to arrange an interview for this article, he replied that he was “actively boarding” a flight to Berlin.
Sabrina Most Interesting Thesis Portrait
“It’s kind of strange to talk about poop in an academic context, but it’s gone well so far,” Sabrina M. Freidus '25 says. “No one has laughed, and everyone has taken it seriously, so that’s really nice.”
Brady Superlative Please Retweet Portrait
Brady remembers complaining so vehemently about his three-page problem sets on Twitter that his roommate checked in on him. That’s when he decided he needed to change his approach to the app.
Uzma Most School Spirit Portrait
Uzma A. Issa '25, the Class of 2025's First Marshal, is determined to make the most out of her Harvard experience, dabbling in various social events and meeting up with friends whenever she can.