Katie Cunningham, linguistics and English major, selected to perform at 2025 commencement
Haven Hunt
Katie Cunningham says her role at commencement will be a perfect way to close her UCLA journey.
| June 9, 2025
Katie Cunningham’s parents and sister are traveling all the way from their home in Virginia to be at Pauley Pavilion for her UCLA graduation.
The long plane ride would have been worth it anyway, to be sure. But now the family has some additional incentive: Cunningham was selected to sing the national anthem at one of the three UCLA College commencement ceremonies on June 13.
Cunningham, who will graduate with honors with a degree in linguistics and English, was selected from among 30 students who auditioned for the honor. She’ll give her rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the 3 p.m. event in front of thousands of other graduating students and their families, and a livestream audience on YouTube.
Even with her academic home in the linguistics department, Cunningham has been an active performer throughout her time at UCLA, as a member of the HOOLIGAN Theatre Company. (One recent highlight was playing Sandy Cheeks in “The SpongeBob Musical.”) In fact, she learned about the opportunity to sing the anthem a year ago because her roommate Danielle Groode, another HOOLIGAN member, performed at the 2024 commencement.
“So I figured I’d try out for it this year and maybe give my family more of a reason to come,” Cunningham joked, “besides just hearing some cool speeches and taking pictures.”
For Cunningham, one of the perks of her selection is that she figures to have a chance to meet Sara Bareilles, the UCLA alumna and award-winning singer-songwriter who will deliver the commencement keynote.
“I love Sara Bareilles — if you like singing and you like music, you probably like Sara — so I’m very excited about that,” said Cunningham, adding that she might try to get a selfie and an autograph backstage. “I got to see her perform in ‘Into the Woods’ in New York, so maybe I’ll bring my Playbill and ask her to sign it.”
Even as a seasoned performer who has been singing since childhood, Cunningham admits that the prospect of a huge Pauley Pavilion audience is a little daunting. But as she looks forward to pursuing a career in publishing, she said she’s thrilled by the opportunity to be on stage one last time as a UCLA student.
“I’m not ready to give up performing just yet,” she said. “So I feel like this will be a perfect way to say goodbye in a big way.”