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Cameras flashed and hollers erupted in Gentile Arena on Wednesday afternoon as Loyola University Chicago graduates in black and maroon gowns and tasseled caps strode across the podium to receive their diplomas, crossing a symbolic threshold to the next chapter in their lives.
In one of 12 emotionally charged commencement ceremonies beginning on Tuesday, May 6, and concluding Saturday, May 10, newly conferred graduates from the Parkinson School of Public Health Sciences and School of Social Work shook hands with President Mark C. Reed, then waved, blew kisses, made heart gestures, and pumped their fists before a live streaming video broadcast to thousands gathered in the audience.
The graduates from the schools are among some 4,780 in the Class of 2025, representing 49 states and 39 countries and including 1,850 students of color and hundreds of first-generation college graduates.
After an opening invocation and remarks from deans, student speakers, and keynote speaker Mary M. McKay (BSW ’85, MSW ’87), Executive Vice President of Washington University in St. Louis, Reed invoked the words of the late Pope Francis, whom he and a Loyola delegation visited in the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City in May 2024.
“We need men and women who are ready to put their skills at the service of others, to work for a future in which each person can achieve his or her potential and live with dignity and respect and in which the world can find peace,” Reed said.
Echoing Francis’s call for academic institutions to educate and form “diligent dreamers” in a world marked by division and conflict, he said “that’s what you are, and that’s what we need you to be. So as you go forth from this ceremony today, make sure you always remember that you are loved. We at Loyola love you, your parents, family, friends here and watching online, they love you too. And never forget that God loves you.”
After thunderous applause and a stirring rendition of Loyola’s alma mater, the triumphant bellow of bagpipes sounded and students spilled from Gentile Arena to the West Quad lawn, where rows of pink tulips, large wooden structures representing graduation caps, and an inflatable LU Wolf, Loyola’s mascot, served as a backdrop for commemorative photos. Joined by family, friends, and loved ones holding bouquets, smiling, adjusting Oxford collars and stoles, and snapping photos, students gathered to celebrate and reflect on a momentous rite of passage.
Andrianne Wrobel (BS ’25), an exercise science major who graduated magna cum laude and plans to pursue her doctorate in physical therapy at Northwestern University, beamed in the afternoon sunlight, expressing the elation shared by many students. “I’m super excited to be graduating, and then I get to go straight into what I’m passionate about,” she said. “And Loyola is the reason I got there, so it’s a huge deal for me.”
Here’s to being difference makers. Here's to being lifelong learners. Here's to being the next generation of leaders, and here's to setting the world on fire.
— Farheen Saiyed (BBA ’25), Quinlan School of Business commencement speaker
It’s a family affair
For many in the graduating Class of 2025, commencement was a family affair, with parents and siblings traveling hundreds and thousands of miles to be in attendance, many of them Loyola alums themselves. Brendan Welka (BS ’25), a health administration major who grew up in Burlington, Wisconsin, says his sister, Emily Welka (BS ’20), who majored in molecular biology, “put Loyola on the radar” for him. Inspired by Jame Munz, an adjunct professor to “never quit on things” after changing his major, he plans to pursue a Master of Science in commerce at the University of Virginia.
Like many parents, Brendan’s mother, Nancy Rofalikos-Welka, a pediatrician at Aurora Advocate in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, was overcome with a mix of joy, pride, love, and sadness as she watched her child cross the stage. “His sister graduated from here in 2020, so I’m thinking to myself, ‘oh my gosh, I don’t have anybody here anymore,’” she shared. “But, more than anything, I’m excited for him. This is the next step and hopefully he’ll make a difference in health care administration because, as a physician, I’d like to see him change a few things.”
Resting atop a loose-fitting headscarf, Hafsa Khan’s (MSW ’25) mortarboard sparkled with sequins that formed the words, “Just a girl in her social work era.” For the social work graduate who plans to apply her education as a children’s mental health therapist, it was an especially thrilling day. “I actually just signed a contract today with Compass, a partial hospitalization clinic in Northbrook, Illinois, so I’m going to be working there,” she said, smiling.
Standing by her side, Jillian Howard, a clinical internship program manager at the Juvenile Protective Association who supervised Khan during her school-based therapy internship in North Lawndale, remarked, “I know she’s going to do great work after this, so I’m just excited to see where she goes and what she does.”
From lands far and wide
The following morning bachelor’s degree candidates in the Quinlan School of Business attended a similar ceremony, punctuated by the words of Farheen Saiyed (BBA ’25), a Muslim finance and information systems and analytics major from Rogers Park graduating with magna cum laude distinction.
“Born and raised in the city of Chicago, the daughter of Indian immigrants,” Saiyed said she was “mesmerized by the skyscrapers and the people in suits.” Though she dreamed of being part of that world, she didn’t see anyone who resembled her. “And just like that, a dream was born to champion diversity in business.”
“So, here’s to being difference makers,” she continued. “Here’s to being lifelong learners. Here’s to being the next generation of leaders, and here’s to setting the world on fire.”
When Pablo Di Si (BBA ’94), a retired president and chief executive officer of Volkswagen Group of North America, took the stage moments later, his voice trembled with emotion. He recalled his childhood in Buenos Aires, where his parents, though financially strapped and “hardly able to read or write, spent what little money they had on [his] immigration.”
He said he came to Loyola, “with limited English, no money, and no friends,” but the University provided him an incredible support ecosystem and set of ethical values that helped him become a successful executive, managing annual corporate revenues of up to $35 billion, while overseeing some 30,000 employees under his watch.
“I’m a direct product of cura personalis, caring for the whole person,” he said, noting the importance of finding purpose through a commitment to service and helping others. “Leading by example made logical sense given the values I learned from parents, at the Catholic schools in Argentina, and at Loyola University Chicago.”
For Mays Almoghrabi (BBA ’25), an international business major born in Amman, Jordan, who joined her visiting family in the West Quad lawn after the ceremony, it was a relatable message. “I remember my first day here, I had culture shock,” she said. “And then I got used to it here and made a lot of friends. Connecting with the professors was very easy too, especially at Quinlan. They were so mindful of me, knowing that English is not my first language.”
Now she’s ready to start the next chapter of her life, planning to pursue a law degree in the years ahead. “And I’m so grateful for Loyola and everyone that was part of this journey.”
Click here to view photo highlights from Commencement Week 2025
