2025 Commencement

Interim President Denis O’Brien kicks off Commencement 2025 at Citizens Bank Park.

Hello and welcome.

Congratulations to our incredible Class of 2025!

It is a pleasure to celebrate all together today at the iconic Citizens Bank Park.

I am Denis O’Brien, and I have had the honor of serving as interim president this past academic year.

I am thrilled to say Drexel’s sixteenth President, Antonio Merlo, who will begin his duties in July, is here on stage with us today. Let’s give him a big, Dragon-family applause.

And let’s hear it for our amazing graduates as well as family members, friends, faculty, and professional staff in the stands and tuning in online.

Thank you all for being here; this support system is truly unmatched.

If you told me 40 years ago when I was taking night classes at LeBow, chugging along after my full-time job to earn an MBA, that I would be up here today, I would never have believed you. Take it from me: With a Drexel degree in hand, the future really is limitless.

We joyously gather this evening to celebrate not just an important milestone in your lives, but a journey.

A several-year journey shaped by long hours in the classroom and late nights at the library, as well as experience in the field — at co-ops and internships: at the studio, at the lab, in the neighborhood, at the hospital, at the nonprofit, at the startup.

Because you chose Drexel, where you had the opportunity to have an experiential education, you are well-equipped for the real world — mainly because you’re already in it.

You have already begun making your mark.

And now, as you prepare to leave this campus — though I encourage you to visit often — know that you are not stepping away from experiential learning, you are stepping into its next chapter.

But before we look too far ahead, let’s take a moment to reflect.

How did you get here today?

And no, I don’t mean via train or rideshare.

What has your higher education journey looked like?

Chances are, it took courage. It took grit. It took overcoming obstacles, and facing challenges head on.

Most of you probably started here at Drexel in the shadows of the pandemic. It was a time marked by keeping our distance. Staying apart. Avoiding social events.

It was uncertain, and sometimes painful. Plans came to an abrupt halt.

We all grappled with a new normal.

But you — all of you here today — seized the moment. You found opportunity in adversity. And you are here.

Soak it in.

Some of you wrote application essays about how you dealt with the pandemic — you managed food banks during lockdowns, you volunteered to aid your community. And some of you had a very bewildering campus move-in experience: It was delayed, or disjointed.

And at times life just felt unfair.

But you still managed to see the good. You chose how you responded to the moment.

In time, you felt the joy of finally learning in a college classroom together. The joy of your first day of in-person work for co-op or your internship. The joy of having an “aha-moment” in a science lab with your professor. The joy of attending your first meeting for a club, or the joy of stepping onto the stage at the theater. The joy of taking the subway to a different neighborhood in the city, for maybe the first time.

And yes, the joy of going to your first college party.

You’ve thoughtfully designed water sanitation systems for people in need, you’ve used your creativity to beautify spaces in Philadelphia, and you’ve made our very own campus cleaner and greener. You’ve assisted faculty who are leading the charge in research surrounding artificial intelligence, health care, autism, functional fabrics, legal ethics, environmental science, and nanomaterials. You have made this University, this city, and this world better.

A.J. Drexel, the founder of our great University, said, “An education should not only be good, but good for something.” You have proven time and again that your education is good for something — for many things. For building, for healing, for leading, and for changing lives.

So when today’s hustle and bustle ends, and tomorrow comes: Remember, life — in all its complex glory — is experiential learning.

This journey will challenge you to your core, but it will also fill you with purpose and inner strength. You have put in the work, earned the credibility, and proven your resilience and determination.

Now, you are ready to turn the page and step into your next chapter with confidence.

This pride you feel today? Always remember it.

All the experiences you have confronted these past few years? Carry them forward.

And this community that helped you get here? Keep it close.

Graduates, we are incredibly proud of all you have accomplished. Today is a celebration of your hard work and perseverance. Savor every moment — you have earned it.

Congratulations.