More than 3,200 attendees celebrated Rackham Graduate School graduates at Hill Auditorium Friday morning as part of the Rackham Graduate Exercises, which recognize master’s and doctoral degree recipients.
Following a performance of the national anthem, University Provost Laurie McCauley welcomed graduates and families to the ceremony in a series of opening remarks. McCauley opened with a land acknowledgment and continued by commending the work of the students.
“This is a day of celebration and reflection,” McCauley said. “Through years of dedicated study, you’ve earned the right to pass across that most cherished academic threshold, from student to credentialed professional. It is my hope that this day will stay forever etched in your memory as one of triumph.”
McCauley then introduced the ceremony’s first student speaker, Maribel E. K. Okiye, a graduating Rackham student. In her speech, Okiye emphasized the importance of cultivating compassion while pursuing education.
“While the facts that we learn and the achievements that we accumulate are of significance, the legacy we leave behind is ultimately crafted by the feelings that we invoke in others,” Okiye said. “How we make people feel through our words, our actions and our gestures of kindness become indelibly a mark on the world and our most enduring legacy.”
Robin D. Givhan, senior critic-at-large for the Washington Post and U-M alum, encouraged the graduates to prioritize empathy and open-mindedness as they continue their careers.
“You’re privileged with knowledge and possibilities, and I encourage you to share your expertise with an open heart and an open mind,” Givhan said. “Listen as much as you opine and ask questions as often as you provide answers.”
Givhan also stressed the importance of compromise and accountability, urging the graduates to continue their careers with care for opposing viewpoints.
“Hold yourself to high standards, but don’t demand perfection because you only sow frustration,” Givhan said. “Give others who don’t look like you, think like you or agree with you the grace to be imperfect as well … We spend so much time fighting over who’s right when we should often ask ourselves whether we are wrong.”
The Cerus Quartet, made up of Music, Theatre & Dance students Roberto Campa, Samuel Dishon, Kyle Kato and Laura Ramsay, performed “Pequeña Czarda,” after which Helly Rakesh Patel, Molecular and Integrative Physiology graduating Rackham student was welcomed to the stage. As a first-generation high school and college graduate, Patel said it was important for her to realize her identity is not solely defined by her accomplishments.
“I believe the more important question is, who do you aspire to become?” Patel said. “During my master’s program, I probably wore various labels: researcher, birth doula and graduate student. When asked about my identity, I readily listed these roles. Instead of defining individuals by their professions, I’ve come to appreciate that their true essence lies in their character and attributes.”
Following remarks from Rackham Dean Michael Solomon, University President Santa Ono said he hoped each graduate would recall their experience at the University as a period of personal growth.
“The lessons that you’ve learned, the relationships that you’ve nurtured and the experiences you’ve embraced, have set the stage for your future endeavors,” Ono said. “As we navigate through an increasingly complex world, the expertise that you have earned here will be more important than ever.”
Outside Hill Auditorium, a group of pro-Palestine protesters picketed the commencement ceremonies in front of a row of uniformed police. In an interview with The Michigan Daily before the ceremony, Kathleen Brown, American Culture Ph.D. candidate, said the group stood in support of the Palestinian people and called for the University to divest from companies profiting from the Israeli military campaign in Gaza.
“(We are here) to call attention to the University’s ongoing investments in weapons manufacturers, Israeli companies and organizations that are profiting from genocide and suffering right now in Gaza,” Brown said. “We think it’s important to say that there is no business as usual in a genocide, and that includes commencement.”
In an interview with The Daily after the event, School of Education alum Alanna Hurd said she had conflicting feelings about attending the graduation exercises. Hurd was wearing both a Filipino flag and a keffiyeh, and explained her experience both representing her family and supporting protesters.
“I’m here with my family and I’m celebrating all the ways they’ve supported me and allowed me to pursue higher education,” Hurd said. “It’s important to me to attend the graduation ceremony as the first in my family to get a graduate degree and to represent them in that way. But I, in order to participate, I also need to make sure that I’m also acknowledging the gravity of what’s happening in Gaza, the genocide in Gaza and all over Palestine.”
After the event, in an interview with The Daily, Engineering Ph.D. candidate Moon Bakaya Hazarika said she felt the ceremony was a positive ending to her time at the University.
“It’s a nice culmination of events,” Hazarika said. “It feels good that after so much struggle it’s a kind of a reward, something happening on such a grand scale. It is rewarding and the ecosystem has been so supportive.”
Daily Staff Reporter Isabel Hopson can be reached at ihopson@umich.edu.