On May 10, 2026, Simi Olusola-Ajayi will take the podium as a student speaker at Carnegie Mellon University’s main commencement ceremony, addressing graduates across bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs. Among those sharing the stage is Jensen Huang, alongside honorary doctorate recipients including Jamie deRoy, Samuel John Hazo and Thomas J. Sargent.
Currently completing her master’s in Human-Computer Interaction at Carnegie Mellon’s HCI Institute, Olusola-Ajayi brings a background that cuts across disciplines. She previously earned a psychology degree from Pennsylvania State University before spending seven years working as a full-time strategist, a path she pursued without a fixed blueprint. Post-graduation, she plans to attend law school.
That non-linear trajectory is central to the message she intends to deliver. Her decision to apply for the speaker role came from an unexpected moment after offering perspective to a friend during a difficult time, she was encouraged to step forward. She did and was selected.
“That is the beauty of life — it’s that we don’t always look like our experiences,” she says. “This thing that feels so huge and insurmountable has a way of working itself out.”
Beyond personal reflection, her address will also engage with a broader theme: responsible innovation. With a grounding in tech-adjacent work and current studies in human-computer interaction, Olusola-Ajayi positions innovation as something that must remain human-centered.
“Innovation itself is not a bad thing, it’s a thing to welcome… but it’s not innovation for the sake of innovation, it’s in service of people.”
The ceremony begins at 10 a.m., with attendees expected to be seated by 9:15 a.m. for the student procession.