Ph.D. Grad Shocked By Surprise Gift Registry From Her Community

Danielle Greene recently graduated with her Ph.D. in education, and her college roommate had her covered with the celebration.

Upon graduating from her Stanford Ph.D. program, where she centered her studies around race and inequality in education, Greene’s best friend, Liz Powell, surprised her with a gift registry she had set up in her name.

“My freshman roommate and bestie made a gift registry to congratulate me for graduating with my Ph.D. because ‘we shouldn’t only reward women for marriage and babies’ and distributed it to everyone who RSVPd to my defense. Y’all… I…,” Greene tweeted. “The way the people in my life love and show up for me. It’s truly unmatched.”

My freshman roommate and bestie made a gift registry to congratulate me for graduating with my PhD, because “we shouldn’t only reward women for marriage and babies” and distributed it to everyone who RSVPd to my defense.

Y’all… I… 🥹

— danny, phd. (@blackhomeva) June 2, 2023

According to People, Greene was not into Powell’s suggestion when she initially texted her about a registry in December 2022. She had only associated gestures like a gift registry with celebrations of marriage or pregnancy. “We had a really good, genuine conversion about how there are other significant thing[s] that happen in your life that you need support for from your community. It’s about transitions in your life, moving forward to the next stage,” she said. “A doctorate is one of those things.”

Greene’s studies on majority-Black schools and their closing rates spanned over five years.

“I had put everything on hold. [Powell] wanted to support me. She said, ‘You worked really hard for this, what better way [to celebrate you] than to give you exactly what you want or need?’” Green shared. The recent grad said Powell teamed up with another friend and her fiancé to form the registry.

After she tweeted about it, social media blew it up with positive responses. Even though some didn’t understand the intent, Greene believes launching registries can be a great way to celebrate any life achievement.

Greene discussed with Good Morning America how the registry had sparked conversations about how women should be able to celebrate other milestones beyond marriage and babies. “I want to be clear that when we were talking about it…we were in conversation about how often women are thought about in relationship to other people, whether it’s as a caretaker, as a mother, or as a wife. It’s not necessarily a reward or anything like that, but it is an acknowledgment that your life is changing and you[r] people want to be a part of that community and support you.”