Hundreds of Graduates Join Hawk Alumni Family at Commencement

More than 450 Rockhurst University students joined the tens of thousands of Hawk alumni around the world as part of the spring commencement ceremony Saturday in Municipal Auditorium.

As always, the proceedings were highlighted by the perspective of two students nominated to speak on behalf of undergraduate and graduate students.

Sarah Wilson, a chemistry and Spanish major, spoke for the undergraduate students. Wilson, who said she hadn’t told her parents about her speech before coming to the podium (but made sure her father had extra tissues), told the graduates that she didn’t know anything about Rockhurst before coming onto campus for Competitive Scholars Day four years ago. But she said she knew in that moment she was home. It was a sentiment in which she said she was likely not alone.

“Rockhurst prides itself in attracting to our campus leaders that learn, and that is exactly what I see,” Wilson said. “Before me sits future doctors, CEOs, business men and women, nurses, occupational therapists, teachers, musicians, parents, friends and most importantly people who have the capacity to make a change in this world.”

Getting here wasn’t easy — Wilson and her fellow classmates’ experience in college was significantly shaped by COVID-19. Luckily, she said the Jesuit education helps not just to embrace the good kinds of change, but to tackle those difficult ones.

“The Rockhurst family and our unique education has prepared us for those moments, and as you reflect on your journey through Rockhurst, I hope that you are proud of the person that you were and the person you are sure to become,” Wilson said.

Nathaniel Graham, a Master of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders degree recipient, in his address on behalf of graduate students summarized a case study about a man whose stroke had caused him to experience aphasia, stripping him for a period of time of his ability to communicate. When he did regain that ability, Graham said the man felt there were two different versions of himself. Offering a metaphor for graduation, Graham said the same could be said for everyone – that every moment, no matter how insignificant, leads one to become a slightly different person.

“Our lives are divisible by countless moments,” he said. “I think even the small ones change us, just a little. They all add up, and sometimes we look up and realize the person we've become is someone remarkably different from the person we were so many moments ago.”

As part of the ceremony, the University honored 10 students with the Senior Medal of Distinction, recognizing the qualifying graduating seniors with the highest cumulative GPA. The recipients of this year’s medals were Derrick Evers, Mary Gregg, Katelyn Kochanowski, Caroline Lynch, Danielle Mabry, Emma Mullendore, Shaili Patel, Brett Portlance, Sophia Salti, and Rachel Thomas.

In her closing address, University President Sandra Cassady, Ph.D., offered four pieces of advice inspired by baseball great Hank Aaron. Though life will throw some curveballs, she told the graduates they will always have a “home base.”

“Your connection with Rockhurst University will not end today,” Cassady said. “Rockhurst will always be a part of you, and you will always be a part of Rockhurst University, something we will hold close to our hearts.”