The Drexel University College of Engineering celebrated its Class of 2025 on June 13 at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Fairmount Park. The ceremony recognized graduates who completed their degrees during a time of rapid change at the university and in the world.
Family, friends, faculty and mentors filled the outdoor amphitheater to cheer on the newest group of Drexel engineers. Interim Dean Kapil Dandekar opened the ceremony by congratulating the graduates and inviting them to acknowledge the people who helped them reach this milestone.
“You have mastered optimization under constraints, which now makes you fully qualified to be the R2-D2 of your team. Calm under pressure, solutions always in hand, and somehow the only one who read the instructions,” Dandekar said. “But you did not just endure. You built. You created. You led. You turned your ideas into action and your plans into impact.”
Graduate student speaker Abhijnan Prakash encouraged his classmates to embrace their own journeys, whether well-defined or still unfolding.
“Some of us already know our path, mapped out to the last detail. Others are already climbing, not at the start but not at the summit either,” Prakash said. “That question, what is my hill, sticks with me. And today, I want to talk about how we each find our own.”
He added, “Success is not just about reaching the summit. It is about how we keep moving forward, how we learn from our falls, and how we discover new hills to climb.”
Undergraduate student speaker Jane McCann reflected on the perseverance required to complete an engineering degree.
“We have been learning not just math and science, but how to overcome challenges,” McCann said. “Besides gaining the tools we need to face them, we have been finding our resilience and the strength to get back up.”
Keynote speaker Jonathan Ojany, a Drexel engineering alumnus and business leader, offered advice for navigating careers and setbacks.
“Ambition is what drives you. Hard work gets you ready. Timing gets you seen. Luck opens the door. Courage keeps you in the room,” Ojany said. “Graduates, go forward with courage. Speak your vision. Prepare with purpose. And when your moment comes, step up and shine.”
The ceremony concluded with the conferral of degrees to undergraduate and graduate students across all engineering disciplines. The Class of 2025 now enters the workforce, graduate programs, and new ventures prepared with the education, experience, and support networks they built during their time at Drexel.