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This week, the Class of 2025 enters Gentile Arena in maroon and gold regalia and leaves with diplomas in hand. The Lake Shore campus welcomes families and friends of graduates for a commencement season of celebration and reflection. This week’s activities include 12 ceremonies featuring inspiring speakers, as well as Senior Toast, Graduate Toast and Baccalaureate Mass events where Ramblers connect with their peers before setting forth on their next adventure.
Provost Douglas Woods acknowledged that the end of the ceremonies marked the beginning of a new journey as alumni.
“As a Loyola graduate, you are now part of a global network of nearly 200,000 alumni who lead with purpose, serve with compassion, and inspire with every action,” he says. “Your time as a student may have come to a close, but your lifelong connection to Loyola is just beginning.”
View our favorite photos from each school’s commencement ceremonies below.
Consistent with Pope Francis’ words, we seek to educate and form the next generation of leaders who will be capable of shaping the future with competence, vision, justice, and charity—with a sense of calling, with concern for the entire human family.
— Mark C. Reed, EdD, president, Loyola University Chicago
Loyola is more than just a university—it’s a community like no other. As we walk across this stage, remember the relationships and experiences that have shaped us into who we are today.
— Jake Gabriel A. Bartilad (BS '25), School of Education
A Jesuit education has prepared you not only to live your own life with meaning, but to create meaning in the larger world. Whatever else you have a degree in, you now have a degree in community and a degree in justice.
— Gerald Kellman (MDiv ’99), senior advisor, organizing, National Community Reinvestment Coalition
This degree is not just for me; it belongs to those who came before me, who dreamed of opportunities they could not access, and for every Black and Brown student who has fought to be seen, heard, and valued in spaces like these.
— Sharon Alvarado (MSW '25), School of Social Work
Today, I call on you to stay close to this great institution—to think about how you can remain a part of the living, breathing Loyola community. ... Allowing, if you will, Loyola to remain a living, breathing, and dynamic part of your life.
— Carlos X. Montoya (BA '85), chairman and chief executive officer, I-ON Digital Corporation
Have a fierce determination to learn and to improve every day, even in surroundings that are not familiar to you.
— Pablo Di Si (BBA '94), retired president and chief executive officer, Volkswagen Group of America
The culture of care that runs through every classroom, lab, and hallway in this college—rooted in Loyola’s Jesuit values—gave me something I never expected: space to grow into myself.
— Aarthi Murali (MS ’00), executive vice president, Holman
In seeking my place, I discovered the true value of my unique perspective. My path wasn’t about conforming to the mold but breaking it—not just for me, but for those who would follow.
— Mary L. Smith, JD (BS '84), immediate past president, American Bar Association
The world doesn’t just need your clinical skills; it needs your powerful voice.
— Zaher Sahloul, MD, clinical associate professor, University of Illinois at Chicago
