Wittenberg’s commencement speaker is Apple’s director of product design

Megan Frost is a 1994 graduate praised for innovative thinking and creativity.

Wittenberg University has announced Megan Frost, class of 1994 and director of product design for Apple Inc., as this year’s commencement speaker.

Frost will present the keynote address at the 174th Commencement on Saturday, May 11, in Commencement Hollow.

“Megan’s innovative thinking, creativity and impressive leadership in the tech industry remind all of us of the power generated when a Wittenberg liberal arts education meets technology,” said Wittenberg President Michael L. Frandsen.

After graduating from Wittenberg with a degree in graphic design, Frost, a product design leader with more than 25 years of experience, began her career as a senior designer at Silicon Graphics, then was in a senior art director position at SBI-Razorfish before joining the Apple team in 2004 as a design lead for the iTunes Music Store.

As the director of product design at Apple, Frost oversees iCloud, Apple Maps, Education, Business, Wallet and Pay, as well as oversees the end-to-end design process of product lines, from prototyping to testing and launch. Some of her recent projects include the creation of the 3D cartograph and Look Around features for Apple Maps and the creation of Family Sharing.

Frost also founded Cute Overload in 2005, a blog that chronicled the finest in cute imagery and commentary for over a decade. It was accidently made when Frost created cuteoverload.com to test web software, but the site gained popularity and has been covered by multiple media companies. She is also a current advisor at WHILL Inc., a company with the a mission to improve people’s short-distance travel experience by providing mobility products and services.

Frost, who lives with her husband and 10-year-old twins in Menlo Park, Calif., grew up in California, but often visited family in Cincinnati, which is how she learned about Wittenberg. She decided the university was a good fit, and there, she was a member of the Delta Gamma sorority and choir.

This year’s senior class president, Gabby Stern, a nursing major pursing a minor in psychology, said most students of the class of 2024 will be attending their first in-person graduation since their high schools couldn’t host a traditional ceremony because of COVID-19. She said getting a graduation after years of hard work isn’t something they got to experience as high school students, and only got to watch the classes above and below celebrate their graduation.

Stern said their class also went through the worst of the pandemic, their first year of college, as well because it made it “almost impossible” for them to meet new people and build friendships.

“We have grown together and navigated through college, despite being in a global pandemic. We have faced much uncertainty, though we have grown close and always been there for each other. I believe this class is beyond excited to actually have senior festivities and commencement. This is something that was taken away from us due to the pandemic, so this graduation is extra special,” she said.

The university is planning for a traditional commencement beginning at 11:30 a.m., with access starting at 9:30 a.m. All guests must be seated by 11 a.m. If there is inclement weather, the ceremony will be held in the Health, Wellness & Athletics Center’s Pam Evans Smith Arena. Tickets are required for an indoor ceremony.

A Countdown to Commencement event will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Feb. 15 in Geil Lounge on the lower level of the student center. During the event, graduates will be able to place orders for caps and gowns, announcements, diploma frames and other commencement-related items.

For more information, visit www.wittenberg.edu/event/commencement.

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