A celebration for parents, too

Harvard grad Ayleen Villarreal (second from left), with her family. Photos by Niles Singer/Harvard Staff Photographer

Sy Boles

Harvard Staff Writer

May 28, 2025

5 min read

Moms and dads reflect on campus journey they shared with children

Part of the
Commencement 2025
series

A collection of features and profiles covering Harvard University’s 374th Commencement.

Commencement season is a time to celebrate the achievements of graduates, but behind every individual success is a network of parents, family members, and friends whose unwavering support made each diploma possible — or at least easier. Four families shared their stories — and their pride — on the eve of graduation.

Full circle for family

Gunjan and Gurmeet Batra journeyed from Denver to celebrate their son, Arjun, who is graduating with a concentration in electrical engineering.

“It’s a very proud moment for our entire family,” said mom Gunjan in a bustling Harvard Yard on Wednesday. “It’s been lovely having him go through the process and through such a prestigious institution. It’s been wonderful. We’re very proud of him.”

Arjun picked electrical engineering because a professor inspired him, but the decision has a special meaning for his family: His grandfather was also an electrical engineer.

Arjun said his parents supported him every step of the way. “I’d call them every night and complain about a p-set or complain about a class, and they’d help me get through it. I would call them multiple times a day. Having their support in the background, being there always, has been incredible.”

Arjun Batra ’25 (center) flanked by family and friends in the Yard.

Gurmeet said it was a bittersweet moment for his son.

“On one hand, he’s graduating and moving on, exploring new ventures,” he said. “On the other hand, he’s going to miss this. College is the place you build memories. He’s going to miss all this.”

More than a game

Owen Fanning always knew what he wanted: to play volleyball at a top college.

For mom Carolyn, that meant years of driving him to practice and matches during his high school years in Needham, Massachusetts.

“Without great support, people don’t typically get here,” said Owen, a physics concentrator and outside hitter for the men’s volleyball team, as he thanked his mom for schlepping him to “all those tournaments.”

But Carolyn deflected the praise. “He got himself here for sure. We were just there to be the car driver.”

The Fannings enjoyed coming into Cambridge to watch Owen’s matches. Carolyn said the family will miss those outings but are gratified to see how far Owen has come.

“This was the dream,” she said. “For us, it was worth every effort we put into it.”

Alongside the Fannings at Class Day, the Diaks were celebrating their own volleyball success story.

Parents Nikki and Bradley were volleyball players themselves, and soon-to-be-graduate Callum grew up playing the game with them on Lake Ontario near their hometown of Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

“Without them, I definitely wouldn’t be as passionate as I am about this sport,” Callum said.

Owen Fanning (second from left) and Callum Diak (third from left), both ’25, with family members.

Nikki said she was proud of her son for taking the initiative to apply to Harvard as a foreign student, and that playing on a college team taught him about determination and resilience.

“He’s grown so much personally and education-wise,” she said. “We’re so proud of all he’s learned.”

‘She could have gone to any university, and she decided to come here’

Sandra Villarreal posed for a photo with daughter Ayleen in front of one of the most recognizable landmarks on campus: the statue of John Harvard.

For Villarreal and husband Sergio, who immigrated from Mexico before Ayleen was born, watching their daughter earn a Harvard degree was a milestone decades in the making. The couple and 15-year-old son Dylan made the trip from El Paso, Texas, to attend Commencement.

“I feel fortunate to have been able to bring my family here and to have been able to give her the opportunity to go to whatever university she wanted and follow her dreams,” Sandra said in Spanish.

Ayleen spent four and a half years in the U.S. Air Force before coming to Harvard and is graduating with a concentration in government and a secondary in global health and health policy. She plans on working in politics for a few years before going to law school.

“At Harvard, I found my love for the law,” she said. “I believe that laws, regulations, and policies affect a human being’s everyday life all the way to their biological cells. … I’m very, very thankful for Harvard academics, because I’ve learned a lot in the government department, and I’m very grateful to the professors. I will take everything they gave me and go and keep serving the United States.”

Ayleen said her path was different than most of her classmates, as a Mexican American, a first-generation student, and a female veteran at the College — at one point, there were only five others. But she hopes her experience will show others that difference is not an insurmountable barrier.

“I want females in my hometown, in El Paso, Texas, or in Texas in general, to know that it is possible to achieve your dreams despite being a minority in the United States,” she said.

“I feel very, very proud of her for everything she’s done. It’s a very great pride,” her father Sergio said in Spanish. “She took every opportunity. She had a lot of options for university; it wasn’t just one or two. She could have gone to any university, and she decided to come here. We’re very happy with her choice.”