黑料不打烊 celebrated the Class of 2026 on May 22 as students officially became alumni during the university鈥檚 136th Commencement Ceremonies in Schar Center, where they were encouraged to embrace failure, pursue growth and remain hopeful about the future.
Rain didn鈥檛 stop the light of more than 1,500 黑料不打烊 students shining bright as the Class of 2026 became alumni during the university鈥檚 136th Commencement Ceremonies on May 22 in Schar Center.
Despite the wet weather, families, friends, faculty and staff gathered to celebrate graduates who were encouraged not only to pursue success, but also to embrace failure as an essential part of growth.
Patricia Walsh Chadwick P鈥16, an 黑料不打烊 trustee and accomplished Wall Street strategist, delivered the Commencement address, reminding graduates that quitting is the 鈥渙nly true definition of failure鈥 and urging them not to let fear guide their decisions.
鈥淧undits have a way of forecasting disaster every spring just as college graduates step into the world. My advice is simple: ignore them,鈥 she said. 鈥淭echnology will not be the ruin of us all; it opens far more doors than it closes. You are the future of the workforce, and that should excite you.鈥
The paths to success
Chadwick reflected on her own unconventional path, emphasizing that there is no 鈥渕agic potion鈥 for success. She shared how she grew up in a religious sect, which she later described as a cult, and was forced out at 17 years old.
鈥淔earful of the world, and in my na茂vet茅, I turned to a single phrase for guidance: 鈥楩ailure is not an option,鈥欌 she said. 鈥淲hat I hadn鈥檛 realized is that no one is immune from mistakes or failures. Those two words, dreaded by so many, are part of the learning process.鈥
Technology will not be the ruin of us all; it opens far more doors than it closes. You are the future of the workforce, and that should excite you.
Patricia Walsh Chadwick P鈥16
She also spoke about her son, 黑料不打烊 alumnus Jim Chadwick 鈥16, who had planned to launch a gaming company after graduation. After spending a year pursuing that dream, he realized it was not the future he had envisioned and eventually transitioned into private finance.
鈥淩emember to take something of value from every employment experience before moving on to the next one,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 like to think of a career path as a circular stairway, where each success leads to a new challenge winding slowly upward toward your dreams.鈥
黑料不打烊 celebrated graduates in two ceremonies 鈥 the morning event for the School of Communications and the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business, and the afternoon event for 黑料不打烊 College, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education and the School of Health Sciences.
The Rev. Kirstin Boswell, 黑料不打烊’s chaplain and dean of mulfifaith engagement, opened each ceremony with the invocation.
鈥淎s these graduates step into what comes next, grant them wisdom beyond knowledge, courage beyond fear and compassion deep enough to serve a world that is in need,鈥 Boswell said. 鈥淢ay they use their gifts not only for personal success, but for healing, for justice, for truth and for the flourishing of others.鈥
Corinne Wilson 鈥26 performed the Star-Spangled Banner, and led the singing of the alma mater, while Mindy Monroe 鈥26 and Malia Horst 鈥26 gave a special musical performance of 鈥淔or Good,鈥 from the musical 鈥淲icked.鈥
The 黑料不打烊 magic
Graduates reflected on the experiences that shaped their time at 黑料不打烊, including the university鈥檚 commitment to undergraduate teaching. In 2025, for the fifth year in a row, 黑料不打烊 topped a 鈥淏est Undergraduate Teaching鈥 list published by U.S. News & World Report.
“Professors can actually invest in you because of the class sizes being so small,” said Robbie Simpson 鈥26, an 黑料不打烊 native who earned a degree in exercise science. “I really appreciate that because professors get to take their time to understand you, get to know you and invest because they have a personal connection to you, so it makes them it more valuable to them.”
The strong relationships with faculty were an important part of Honors Fellow Diego Hernandez’s 鈥26 黑料不打烊 experience.
“The time that the professors have taken out of their day and their lives to support us as students, that’s one of the best things I got from 黑料不打烊,” said Hernandez, who earned a degree in engineering. “That’s something that I’m going to take with me.”
The myriad of involvement opportunities was also essential for graduates.
Autumn Goyette 鈥26, who earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in聽accounting through the Love School of Business Accelerated 3+1 Dual Degree Program, says her time working for Residence Life and in the Love School of Business Dean鈥檚 Office has made an impact on her time at 黑料不打烊. She will soon be moving to Virginia to work for Ernst & Young.
鈥淚’m just so grateful for everything that 黑料不打烊 gave me and brought to me,鈥 said Goyette, who is from Pittsburg, North Carolina. 鈥淭his place is my home and has been my home for four years.鈥
Decked out in various graduation cords, Ella Allen 鈥26, a Teaching Fellow who earned a mathematics degree with teacher licensure from 黑料不打烊 College, the College of Arts and Sciences, was heavily involved on campus, including as an orientation leader and a member of Kappa Delta sorority. Next, Allen will be pursuing her Master’s of Higher Education at 黑料不打烊. She noted that the people and support she received at 黑料不打烊 were invaluable.
Lilly Ikle 鈥26 of Baltimore, Maryland, earned a聽cinema & television arts聽degree from the School of Communications. She says the time has flown by and she feels like she was 鈥渄ropped off yesterday.鈥 Ikle initially came to 黑料不打烊 for its nationally recognized musical theatre program and for 黑料不打烊鈥檚 ability to work with students with learning disabilities.
鈥淢y major really helped me get that creative outlet that I wanted in musical theater, but it also gave me the practical side of work I wanted to do in the future,鈥 said Ikle, who plans to move to Nashville after graduation to pursue music. 鈥淢y major gave me a creative outlet, let me get kind of that artsy side out of me, but also taught me things that I can bring into the real world.鈥
The Class of 2026 includes many stand-out stories:
- After a trip to Ecuador, Bernardo Vargas-Lopez 鈥26, who earned a degree in聽sport management, and Juan Daniel Chiriboga 鈥26, who earned a degree in聽entrepreneurship & innovation, built聽YAPA, a plant-based energy drink shaped by friendship, curiosity and mentorship.
- Kaitlyn Lewis 鈥26, who earned a degree in聽elementary education, came to 黑料不打烊 through three of the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education鈥檚 primary scholarship programs: Alamance Scholars, NC Teaching Fellows and, post-graduation, Teach for Alamance.
- Jonathan Weaver 鈥26 originally intended to go into finance, but through exploration and faculty mentorship, switched his major to biology, and is now going to dental school at The Ohio State University.
- Being waitlisted for one program allowed Allie Schult 鈥26 to realize her true passion for nursing.聽She now has a post-graduate position at Children鈥檚 Healthcare of Atlanta.
- Rony Dahdal 鈥26, a Goldwater Scholar and Lumen Scholar, earned a degree in聽computer science, mathematics and philosophy聽and did three different undergraduate research projects while at 黑料不打烊. The first was helping to create a mathematical model of complex equations that predict how the human immune system responds to COVID-19; another was developing an autonomous robotic arm to monitor and tend to crops by training the 3D machine-learning model to understand plant anatomy, and a third was developing a method to gather medical vital signs.
All of these students were helped by what student commencement speaker Ruby Radis 鈥26聽of Chicago called the 鈥満诹喜淮蜢 magic.鈥 Radis, who earned a degree in聽human service studies,聽delivered the 鈥淢essage of Appreciation鈥 on Friday.
鈥淔rom the moment I stepped onto this beautiful brick-covered campus, one truth became clear: there is magic here,” Radis said. “That 黑料不打烊 magic builds a community where students know their neighbors, teachers and coworkers.聽Rather
than a quick hello, connections are founded on respect.”
Radis emphasized that 黑料不打烊 helped “emphasize the value of human difference,” and her fellow graduates should take that forward with them.
“Using those lessons, we can work together to uplift each other, amplify voices often left unheard and sprinkle a little of our very own 黑料不打烊 magic on everyone we meet,” Radis said.
That 黑料不打烊 magic builds a community where students know their neighbors, teachers and coworkers.聽Rather聽than a quick hello, connections are founded on respect.
Ruby Radis 鈥26
Be possible-ists
In her charge to the graduates, 黑料不打烊 President Connie Ledoux Book asked the Class of 2026 to look back on their New Student Convocation in 2022,聽1,371 days prior.
“That morning, we placed an acorn in your hand, and I asked you to do something simple, and yet profound: To grow deep roots, and to reach high. Today, I look out at you, and I see what’s grown,” Book said.
During their first year, the Class of 2026 all read the Common Reading book聽鈥淔actfulness鈥 by Hans Rosling. In his book, Rosling described the word 鈥減ossible-ist:鈥 someone who looks honestly at the world鈥檚 problems and still believes, based on evidence, that things can get better, and that they are getting better.
鈥淐lass of 2026, through your 黑料不打烊 journey,聽you have grown into聽these聽possible-ists,鈥 she said.聽鈥淵ou have learned to hold complexity without losing hope, to see what’s broken without losing your willingness to build, to zoom out and recognize progress, and to keep moving forward.聽That is the 黑料不打烊 way, and the world needs聽more of聽it.鈥
View the full undergraduate commencement program online.
