At Drexel University’s 2026 Commencement, A New Era Begins

All photos in this story credited to Kelly & Massa Photography.

Though Commencement is usually seen as the end of a Drexel University student’s educational experience, it really represents a fresh start for the newest group of Forever Dragons moving on after their graduation.

Drexel’s 139^th Commencement this year was a new beginning for another reason: It was the first to occur during the presidency of Drexel University President Antonio Merlo, PhD. 

“To this wonderful Class of 2026: Congratulations! I have been president of Drexel University only since July. You are leaving just as I am arriving. So, the question naturally occurs: Was it something I said?” he joked to the crowd of graduating students and their families and friends at the University-wide Commencement held June 11.

“We all know the answer to that. It was not something I said. It was something you did,” Merlo continued before referencing the achievements and accomplishments of the 6,000 undergraduate and graduate members of the Class of 2026 that he’s observed during more than 11 months as president.

This year’s Commencement upheld several of Drexel’s traditions. The Class of 2026 came together at Citizens Bank Park for the University’s largest commencement ceremony, held on a hot summer night. Dan Baker, a Drexel parent and voice of the Philadelphia Phillies, served as the Master of Ceremonies. The ceremony ended with a fireworks display with the Philadelphia skyline in the background. Across the city, Philadelphia’s famed Boathouse Row also lit up with Drexel blue and gold lights outlining the iconic buildings along the Schuylkill River. Student leaders addressed their peers from the stage, remembering their shared Drexel memories and offering words of encouragement. 

And for the second year in a row, the keynote speaker at the University-wide ceremony was an accomplished alumnus.

Drexel University President Antonio Merlo as he walked to the Commencement stage at the University-wide ceremony.

Moogega “Moo” Cooper, MS ’08, PhD ’09, Planetary Protection Lead for the Mars rover Perseverance and group supervisor at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, addressed the crowd at the University-wide ceremony. She spoke about her personal journey before and after Drexel, from idolizing Carl Sagan as a child to the work and determination to study, research and ultimately land not only a fellowship but also a full-time job from NASA. Cooper also shared some of her favorite Drexel and Philadelphia memories, including attending the annual Diwali lights celebration in Drexel’s Main Building and watching the Philadelphia Phillies in that same Citizens Bank Park stadium during their 2008 World Series Championship season.

Cooper also gave advice to these new graduates at this pivotal point in their lives, both from having been there herself as a new Drexel alumna as well as life lessons she’s learned since then.

During her speech, Cooper framed this moment as not the finish line but one of many upcoming finish lines of life. As she said, “this power of a finish line … it’s a trick.” Your brain triggers feelings of exhaustion and energy to protect the body during moments of endurance, only to let up when a perceived end is in sight, she explained; and even when the time comes for an end, physically or mentally, there’s always something else coming up right after. Endings come before beginnings, and beginnings themselves have an ending.

Moogega "Moo" Cooper, MS '08, PhD '09, addressed the crowd at the University-wide Commencement.

Cooper shared a personal anecdote that put things into perspective for her: While watching the successful launch of NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover into space, it seemed like the end of her more than seven years of work on the mission; instead, as a colleague told her, they were only just beginning.

“So, as you experience the crossing of a major finish line, first of all, we should stop and really celebrate you, and the years upon years to get you to where you are today. I would also like to thank your brain, which preserved and protected your vessel up until this point and allowed itself to trick your body to see these finish lines and do this one final push to get you here,” she said.

That wasn’t the only tried-and-true life hack shared at Commencement. Cooper also told Dragons that they, like everyone, will experience challenges that they “see coming from miles away” as well as those that will come out of nowhere, but there are ways to “tackle those unknown unknowns.” Dragons can look inwards, for the knowledge they have, built upon the foundation created through their Drexel education. They can lean on their community, like friends, coworkers, families and mentors. And then there’s the “toolkit” of experiences and expertise, and what has been learned directly and indirectly.

Merlo shared another tactic that came from a very personal place: something his parents said to him, and something that required what he called a “speak-and-repeat” Italian lesson.

“Literally, ‘olio di gomito’ translates to ‘oil of the elbow.’ Or as we say here in America, good old fashioned elbow grease. When I was a child growing up, my parents would say to me, just as all Italian parents say to their children — ‘Mettici un po’ di olio di gomito!’ — put some elbow grease into it! Do the hard work,” he said. 

Joelyne Jacob, left, computer science and mathematics ’26 and former president of the Undergraudate Student Government Association, and Rohit Varma Nadimpalli, former president of the Graduate Student Association, who graduated with a master’s degree from the College of Computing and Informatics, as they walked to the stage at the University-wide Commencement.

The Dragons have already put in the “olio di gomito” to get to this point of their lives, including the 30% of the class graduating as first-generation college students, just like Merlo did. But the hard work doesn’t end there. As noted by Merlo, the Class of 2026 is “graduating into a challenging economy and a difficult job market,” but the president, whose academic background is in economics, shared some encouraging statistics with the graduating students.

“Historically, within a year of graduation, 96%of our graduates are employed or enrolled in graduate school. Those who go into the job market find their situations not just satisfying but rewarding, and they are already making measurably more than the national average. As any good economist will tell you, early gains of this nature are particularly powerful because they compound across a lifetime of earnings. This is why our graduates, Drexel graduates, are among the top 3% in lifetime earnings of all university students across the country,” he said.

The two student speakers who addressed the crowd at Commencement similarly spoke about how they — and all Dragons — have been prepared and ready to move on to their next steps, whatever that may be, and should recognize the importance of that very moment at graduation.

Addressing the crowd on behalf of the undergraduate Class of 2026 was Joelyne Jacob, computer science and mathematics ’26 from the College of Arts and Sciences and School of Computer and Information Sciences and former president of the Undergraduate Student Government Association. She similarly shared a personal journey and experience at Drexel while connecting it to the broader, shared characteristics that Dragons will face, collectively and individually.

“We are graduating into a world that is moving quickly, where we can generate, automate and optimize more than ever. But what cannot be replicated so easily is the lived experience behind our ideas — the communities that shaped us, the questions we carry, the humor, doubt, courage and care that make our voices uniquely our own,” said Jacob.

Jacob, along with graduate student speaker Rohit Vama Nadimpalli, MS information systems ’26, highlighted the importance of community and the gratitude to be shared with the people who helped Dragons get to this point.

“Here we are. Still standing. Because being a Dragon was never about being fearless. It’s about refusing to quit. And none of us did this alone. So, to the mentors, the managers, the faculty, who pushed as exactly as hard as we needed, thank you,” said Nadimpalli, a student in the School of Computer and Information Sciences and the former president of the Graduate Student Association.

As noted by Bernard F. Greene III, ’99, ’14, chair of the Board of Governors for the Drexel Alumni Association, these Dragons now have joined another community of more than 200,000 Drexel alumni around the world.

“Drexel alumni serve a unique role as Drexel’s link to the past and support for the future. So, volunteer, attend an alumni event in your area, and become a lifelong supporter of this great institution … so that many more generations can continue to benefit from what Drexel has to offer,” said Greene, who led Dragons in the switch of their tassels from right to left, officially marking their ending as Drexel students and their beginnings as Drexel alumni.