Marquette University’s 141st Commencement was held on Sunday, May 22, with 1,942 undergraduates, 837 Master’s recipients and 76 Ph.D. recipients celebrating at Summerfest’s American Family Insurance Amphitheater.
Watch a 60-second recap of the undergraduate Commencement ceremony:
The festivities were split into two ceremonies, with an undergraduate event in the morning and a graduate event in the afternoon.
Below are some highlights of the speeches shared during Commencement weekend:
President Lovell’s remarks
“At the 2018 Freshman Convocation, I asked you a simple question: ‘If you had a magic wand and could change one thing in the world, what would it be?’ I then gave you a challenge: ‘Over the next four years at Marquette, prepare yourself, gain experiences and work every day to make the change in the world that you want to see.’ To be honest, with all the activities of new student orientation and the stress of starting college, I wasn’t sure how many of you were listening and would take up that challenge. As I stand before you today, it is clear you were listening. So many of you have used your time at Marquette to transform both yourselves and the lives of others. I’ve witnessed and heard stories from you about the ways you’ve personally grown and the ways you’ve changed the world. ”
Click here to view and read President Lovell’s full undergraduate address.
Dwyane Wade, 2022 undergraduate Commencement speaker
“Will your journey have some highlights? Yes. Will your journey have some lowlights? Yes. And if you continue to build on your discoveries and experiences, if you establish your moments of solitude, and allow yourself the space for self-awareness, you will arrive at a place where you can grow, not on the terms of what someone else has planned for you, but living life on your own terms.”
Click here to view and read Wade’s full address.
Thelma A. Sias, 2022 graduate Commencement speaker
“My message today is titled, ‘How will you?’ How will you make a nation different than what it is today? How will you have the courage to stand up and say enough is enough? How will you be the leaders educated and framed by this incredible institution? How will you be the ones to say it is time for us as a nation to learn how to love and respect each other? The time of hate is over with. How will you make that happen? … How will you be the ones that will stand up every day and say it is now time for us to respect everyone?”
Click here to view and read Sias’ full address.
Maxwell Dixon, Opus College of Engineering graduate and 2022 undergraduate student speaker
“Not everyone has taken the same path to get here, and we’ve all had our fair share of challenges along the way. I believe that everyone carries some sort of weight with them, and to be completely honest, my baggage was my sense of imposter syndrome. I set a lot of high expectations for myself, and the pressure to achieve a certain level really loomed over me. At times, I didn’t know if I even deserved to be in the position I was in or if I was good enough to be great. But I’ll never forget the words my mom told me one night my freshman year, and I’d like for you guys to carry these with you as well. ‘You are smart. You are talented. You are unique. And you are willing to grow. That’s all you’ll ever need.’”
Stephanie Boedecker, College of Education graduate and 2022 graduate student speaker
“As we prepare to close the door on this chapter of life, we will experience excitement, hesitation and maybe a few worries. Having been at this crossroads many a time before, I urge you not to fret. The path will come as we walk it. We may waver or have doubts, wondering if we’re making the right choices, choosing the right moves, jobs and partners. But as you go, be unafraid to venture off route. One of my favorite Rumi quotes is, ‘Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.’ Had I not listened to this pull 10 years ago, I would not be here with you today nor have a passport full of stamps, priceless experiences, friendships and communities around the world.”
Brigid Hughes, Opus College of Engineering graduate and Baccalaureate Mass student speaker
“With all that you have been given, how will you go out into the world and live as Jesus taught? How will you be a light in the darkness that can sometimes be our world? Today’s Gospel is a sending forth for the disciples, and Jesus tells them, ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.’ These words address the anxieties that the disciples likely felt as they transitioned to a new way of life, just as we soon will. As we leave this institution that has challenged us, shaped us, and loved us, we are similarly sent with God’s peace to ‘go forth and set the world on fire’ with God’s love, knowing that the spirit of this community will support us every step of the way.”
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Undergraduate ceremony
Graduate ceremony
