Marquette University’s 144th Commencement was held Saturday, May 10, with 1,553 undergraduates, 813 master’s degree recipients, 383 professional studies graduates and 96 Ph.D. recipients celebrating at Fiserv Forum.
Facts about the undergraduate Class of 2025:
- 21.3% of graduates are first-generation students
- 29.7% of graduates are students of color
- Graduates represent 39 states
- Most popular majors, by size of graduating class: biomedical sciences, nursing, finance, psychology, accounting
Below are some highlights of the speeches shared during Commencement weekend and photo galleries from each of the ceremonies:
President Kimo Ah Yun
“We are first and foremost called to serve God, and we do that by transforming the lives of our students. I hope you have felt it, I hope you have experienced it, and I hope that you have grown because of it. The transformational journey that you’ve got through is different for each of you. For some, it has been the deepening of your faith. This might have happened during Mass or other formal services, reflection on your own or prayer with your friends. For others, it is the relationships that you’ve formed during your time at Marquette. These are relationships of which people will be along you for every important part of your life.”
Diane Foley, 2025 undergraduate Commencement speaker
“Today I challenge you to find your purpose. What injustice do you want to correct? Listen to the movements of your heart. As St. Ignatius teaches us, notice what disturbs you, what gives you joy. These are God’s clue to your life’s purpose.
“Dear graduates, expect that life will challenge you. You too will have setbacks and losses. When you do, remember you always have a choice. You have the choice to bring good into this world, or not. Pope Francis challenged us to be pilgrims of love, hope and mercy.”
Anne Basting, 2025 graduate Commencement speaker
“From the view at the far edge of life, memories are stories built of attention, emotion and human connection. And from here on out, you can make those moments. Moment after moment after moment, you can fill your life with them, for your friends, your neighbors, your colleagues at meetings, your children, should you be blessed with them. What stories do my children tell? Not about the expensive trips that we busted our bank accounts to give them but the silly scavenger hunt I made up out of total desperation on the rainy vacation.”
Justice Osondu, double major in public relations and theology and 2025 undergraduate student speaker
“Today, we also celebrate life. The people in the seats around us, the strangers who became friends and the friends who became family. The moments of laughter while trying to be what we Marquette students call an ‘academic weapon’ and the late-night talks that shifted our mindsets. Life here at Marquette gave us not only a path to knowledge but the gift of human connection, from 9th to 21st Street and beyond.”
Vitus Freiherr von Hirschberg, MBA graduate and 2024 graduate student Commencement speaker
“In a society that is more fragile than ever before, we can use our power to mentor, to advocate and to build bridges for others. The world doesn’t need more leaders chasing status but leaders who commit their time to others.”
Jacob DiNicola, College of Nursing graduate and Baccalaureate Mass student speaker
“As children of Christ, we are reminded that we are both many and one. Just as we look out for ourselves, we are called to do so for the voiceless and the marginalized. When we live as servant leaders, we serve our neighbors and God together. My hope is that although our time at Marquette is coming to an end, our commitment to its mission will be everlasting. I hope that we can all look at each other and recognize each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, and I hope that our Catholic, Jesuit education drives us to action and reminds us of our own identity.
“Marquette has reminded us many times to Be The Difference. Knowing that, let’s ask ourselves this: how are we called to be in service to others? How are we called to go forth and set the world on fire?”
