Vice President Kamala Harris will become the first woman to give a commencement speech at West Point’s graduation ceremony on Saturday.
Historic moment: This event marks the first time a woman has given a commencement address in the military academy’s 221-year history.
* West Point’s superintendent, Lt. Gen. Steven W. Gilland, expressed honor in having Vice President Harris as the commencement speaker.
Tradition: Vice presidents have typically delivered the commencement speech to graduating classes at U.S. military academies.
* Last year, Harris addressed U.S. Coast Guard Academy graduates, and in 2021, she became the first female commencement speaker at the U.S. Naval Academy.
Gender milestones at West Point: Women didn’t start attending West Point until 1976, and Andrea Hollen became the first of 62 pioneering women to graduate from the academy in 1980.
* Since then, more than 5,000 women have graduated from the military academy.
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