By Matthew Hersh

Princeton University has named Daniel Yu valedictorian and Madeleine Murnick salutatorian for the Class of 2026. University faculty approved the honors on April 20, and both students will deliver remarks at commencement on May 26 at Princeton Stadium.

Yu, an African American Studies (AAS) major with minors in English and Gender and Sexuality Studies, was recognized for interdisciplinary scholarship examining race, gender, and law. A member of Phi Beta Kappa and recipient of multiple academic prizes, his senior thesis explores race and anti-Blackness in the context of anti-trans violence. Yu also served as a head fellow at the Princeton Writing Center, co-founded Positions Magazine, and interned with several civil rights organizations. He will continue his studies in the U.K. as a Marshall scholar.

Murnick, a Classics major with minors in Humanistic Studies and Music Performance, earned distinction for combining humanities scholarship with artistic and campus leadership. Her thesis, “Latin in the Literary Imagination,” challenges common assumptions about the difficulty of Latin. A peer mentor, musician, and former president of Charter Club, she studied ancient architecture in Athens and toured Europe with the Princeton Glee Club. She plans to intern at Baxter State Park in Maine this summer, working on a guidebook.

Yu’s work emphasizes interdisciplinary research and social impact, while Murnick bridges classical scholarship, artistic performance, and community leadership.

“I called my parents immediately, and they were amazed and overjoyed,” Yu said in a statement released by Princeton University. “My family, and the generation before them, sacrificed enormously for me to get here. I’m glad I could begin to pay that effort back in some small way.”

Yu noted his accomplishments were not simply the outcome of individual hard work. “I wouldn’t be the scholar or person I am today without the ceaseless genius of my peers; the patience and intellectual generosity of my professors; and the tireless work of department staff, who make Morrison Hall, the home of AAS, what it is today,” he said.

Yu is an intern with the National Political Advocacy Department of the American Civil Liberties Union. He previously served as a fellow with the national student-led organization OutVote and interned at Lambda Legal and the Hetrick-Martin Institute, which works to advance LGBTQ+ rights.

A member of Forbes College at Princeton University, Yu serves on the Department of African American Studies’ Undergraduate Board of Advisers. He is also a peer educator and leadership fellow at the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center and a co-founder of Positions Magazine, a student publication dedicated to celebrating Asian diasporic writing and the arts.

Known on campus for her “discipline, enthusiasm, and collaborative spirit,” Murnick served as a Humanities Sequence peer mentor, performed in multiple music ensembles, and served as president of Charter Club in 2025.

She said that when she heard she would be this year’s salutatorian, she was “surprised and then very, very honored,” and that she immediately began thinking about expressing gratitude for her classmates in the Salutatio, the annual Latin address to the graduating class delivered during Commencement.

“Not everyone gets to tell the rest of the class how much they meant to us,” Murnick said in a statement released by Princeton University. “I want everyone to leave knowing that not only did they get a strong education, they helped their friends along the way.”

Murnick first discovered Latin at National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C., and then Princeton University introduced her to medieval Latin texts and a broad range of Roman poets.

“I was drawn to the supportive and tight-knit community among students, professors, and staff in Princeton’s classics department,” she said.

After she completed the yearlong Humanities Sequence during her first year at Princeton, she spent years serving as a Humanities Sequence peer mentor, helping to build community among students in the interdisciplinary class.

Ilaria Marchesi, director of Princeton’s Classical Languages Program and Murnick’s thesis adviser, said Murnick is a devoted student who inspires others to appreciate Latin.

“I am truly happy that her love of Latin, and the hard work that she has done over many years, is being recognized with this honor, giving her the joyful opportunity of speaking Latin in front of the graduating class,” said Marchesi.