The Arcadia University community celebrated more than 800 graduates of the Class of 2025 during the master’s and doctoral Commencement ceremony on May 15 and the baccalaureate Commencement ceremony on May 16. Both ceremonies were held in the Kuch Alumni Gymnasium due to inclement weather.

Students processed from the Commons Great Room through the Kuch Center to the Alumni Gymnasium in their regalia, led by University Relations’ Dan Brumbach playing the bagpipes on Thursday and the Positive Movement Entertainment drumline on Friday, setting an energetic tone for the celebrations.

Marissa Boyers Bluestine, assistant director of the Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters before addressing the Master’s and Doctoral Class of 2025.

“What you have accomplished today, you may have once thought impossible, but here you sit today,” Bluestine said. “Impossible is just a dare in disguise. So many things are possible as long as you don’t know they’re impossible. You are living proof that impossible is more invitation than living fact. Congratulations to the Class of 2025, I hope you go out and redefine what is life.”

Media and Communication major Myles Gayden ’25 introduced Arcadia University President Ajay Nair, who walked up to the stage to Harry Styles’ “As It Was” before explaining, “Class of 2025, like Harry Styles, we are having a hard time letting go.”

For the seventh year in a row, President Nair framed his Commencement addresses around music chosen by students from the graduating class. This year, however, it was not limited to one artist or song, but a variety of student-curated tracks. In his remarks, President Nair reflected on his roots in Delaware County, finding home at Arcadia, and being able to “Carry Home Forward.”

“You don’t go back, you go forward—never forgetting where you came from,” Nair explained. “All of your experiences at Arcadia, the good, the bad, the ugly, are experiences you will carry with you forever. And if you are lucky like me, you can grow even closer to your roots, and help shape your home to make space for others, moving it forward. Graduates, you are not who you were when you arrived here. You have read widely, argued fiercely, traveled boldly, failed bravely, and led humbly. You have expanded into a new version of yourself—one shaped by your time here, and now you are called to lead beyond here.”

Michele Pistone, Villanova law professor and immigration advocate, received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters and addressed the undergraduate Class of 2025.

“Today is a day to celebrate family and to appreciate the accomplishments of this group of amazing graduates, and the families that made it all possible. So, congratulations,” said Pistone. 

Arcadia University then recognized outstanding faculty and students with University awards:

Student speaker Nicole Burgon closed out the series of remarks by addressing her classmates ahead of the conferring of degrees, placing an emphasis on taking time to be open to connections.

“Life is a long song, and it’s time to move on to the next verse,” said Burgon. “It’s time to do your own thing, write your own story, and make your own kind of music in life. Not everyone will accompany you on your adventure, but some connections you’ve made are ones you’ll carry for a lifetime. I bet when you made them, you had no idea they would be so special. So, as you take on the world, watch with open eyes, because the greatest people may be hidden in the most unlikely places.”

Arcadia’s School of Education conferred a posthumous bachelor’s degree to Samantha Szafran, who passed away in January. 

“Samantha will forever be a part of the Arcadia family,” said Associate Professor of Education Dr. Foram Bhukhanwala, who taught Szafran in the Working Early Childhood Professionals Program. “We are honored to welcome her husband, Vincent, and two of her daughters to the stage to accept Samantha’s degree.”

Some members of the Class of 2025 decorated their grad caps with sayings such as “Be the change you want to see in the world” and other designs, including photos with family and friends, artwork, cartoon characters, and more. Graduates have until May 23 to enter this year’s Grad Cap Contest for a chance to win up to $100. Graduates can enter the contest here.