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For Loyola University Chicago students and their friends and families, graduation is a time of pride, reflection, and hope for the future. With cherry blossoms blooming and an exciting week of Commencement ceremonies and programming planned from Sunday, May 3, through Saturday, May 9, 2026, thousands of expectant graduates of the Class of 2026 will soon take their first steps from their academic lives at Loyola into the wide world that awaits them.
We spoke with several students about their most vivid college memories, the friends and places they’ll miss, and their plans for what lies ahead. Their responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Nathan Dhablania (MD ’26, MPH ’26)
Stritch School of Medicine
Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health
Degrees: Doctor of Medicine, Master of Public Health
Hometown: San Jose, California
Honors: Alpha Sigma Nu, Alpha Omega Alpha, and Gold Humanism Honor Society
What is your favorite memory from Loyola?
My favorite Loyola memory was Match Day, a nationwide tradition in which medical students are matched into residency programs where they continue their training. I remember standing in the gym on Loyola University Chicago’s Health Sciences Campus, surrounded by my friends, family, and mentors, as we celebrated the announcement that I’d been placed into Loyola Medicine’s ophthalmology residency program.
What are you most proud of accomplishing?
Now that I’m a graduate of the 2026 class, or soon to be, it feels surreal to have gone through 10-plus years of training. And what I’m most proud of, much like my classmates, is the amount of hard work, dedication, and sacrifice we’ve all given of ourselves to be where we are. I couldn’t be prouder to be joining the field of medicine with so many amazing physicians.
It feels like an accomplishment I’ve been working toward my whole life. I chose to pursue medicine because, at the age of 2-and-a-half, I underwent a childhood accident and injured my ring finger. The physician who treated me really embodied the Jesuit principle of cura personalis and cared for me as a whole person. Loyola’s parallel emphasis on caring for the whole person is really important to me and what I hope to practice with my future patients.
What excites you about post-graduate life?
As a future resident, the thing I’m most excited about is the opportunity to mentor medical students, continue to do public health research, and care for the patients I fell in love with during my rotations. I’m also very excited to be staying within this department, which is clinically strong and highly collaborative. The team here—attendings, residents, even staff—helped me fall in love with ophthalmology, and over the next four years, I’m hoping to pay forward the knowledge I gained.
Jack Herwig (BS ’26)
School of Environmental Sustainability
Major: Environmental Studies
Minors: Chemistry, German Studies
Hometown: Kirkwood, Missouri
What is your favorite memory from Loyola?
What will stick with me the most is going to the Loyola University Retreat and Ecology Campus (LUREC) to take care of the land and plant communities. A close second is the summer I spent working in the School of Environmental Sustainability Greenhouse Lab, where I grew mushrooms and became close with my co-workers in the urban agriculture program. It’s very unique to grow food in a city in an urban setting. I mean, what other University gives you the opportunity to grow mushrooms as a part of your job?
What does being a Rambler mean to you?
I transferred to Loyola because it has a really great program for environmental sustainability. I also wanted to gain an education that would benefit me as a whole person rather than being something vocational or simply job training. During my time at Loyola, I was privileged to be elected president of Loyola’s Restoration Club and perform with the tenor and bass vocal group the Acafellas. I’m very happy with my choice to transfer.
What excites you most about post-graduate life?
I was recently accepted to graduate school at Central Michigan University, studying wetland nutrition dynamics. I’m really excited to apply what Loyola has taught me, not just for my career but for my whole life.
Rianne Fujinaga (BBA ’26)
Quinlan School of Business
Major: Marketing and Information Systems, Cum Laude
Minor: Public Relations
Hometown: Arcadia, California
What is your favorite memory from Loyola?
My favorite memory is Senior Night. In the men’s basketball game between St. Louis University and Loyola on February 13, the seniors on the Loyola Dance Team got to do a routine in the front row of Gentile Arena to show off what we’ve done during the season. Being surrounded by my coaches, my family, and my friends is something I will always remember. We also got to go to the Universal Dance Association national competition in Florida this year. We placed ninth in the Division 1 Pom category, and I’m very proud of myself and the team for the accomplishment.
What are you going to miss the most about your time here?
I’ve been dancing since I was 3 years old. It’s definitely been a big passion of mine. I’m clearly going to miss game day since it’s a very big deal at Loyola, but I’m so grateful to have had the privilege of being on the sidelines and cheering on the teams. I’m also going to miss hanging out with my friends every day, seeing everyone at practice, and making memories with my teammates and my friends in the crowd.
What excites you about post-graduate life?
I love Chicago, so I will be staying here in the city looking for a job in marketing. I want to go into event planning or brand activation, so I’m super excited that Chicago has so many opportunities with great companies. I’m definitely looking forward to getting out there in the workforce.
Blair Zigler (JD ’26)
School of Law
Degree: Juris Doctor
Hometown: Channahon, Illinois
What is your favorite memory from Loyola?
Two come to mind. The first is standing at the lectern to speak during Legal Writing and giving an oral argument. The second is advocating on behalf of my client during trial intensives [Trial Practice 1] in the courtroom. There’s something quite magical about when preparation gives way to performance, and you start feeling less like a law student and more like a lawyer.
What are you going to miss the most about your time here?
The community here at Loyola is what I’ll miss most. I mean, so many close connections. I’m really going to miss seeing all my friends every day.
What excites you most about post-graduate life?
I came to law school later in life. I knew it was going to be demanding. I will graduate at age 42 with six children, and it’s been a marathon.
What I didn’t expect was to fall in love with the craft of litigation. I currently run a plaintiff’s class-action firm, and I planned to continue doing that through law school. But through my coursework—in particular, Evidence, Advanced Evidence, and Trial Practice 1—I really fell in love with being in the courtroom. That changed the trajectory of my post-graduation plans.
Shane Lee (BSN ’26)
Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing
Degree: Bachelor of Science in Nursing
Hometown: Queens, New York
What is your favorite memory from Loyola?
The friends I made, for sure. My first day at Loyola when I walked out of my room in Mertz Hall, I saw everyone on my floor sitting around and talking. I ended up meeting four of my closest friends, whom I plan on living with post-graduation.
What does graduation mean to you?
My parents are both immigrants from Ireland. So being a first-generation American and seeing what they sacrificed to provide for me to go to high school and college really means the world to me. Walking across that stage, I’m going to feel great. But I’ll feel even more proud that I was able to do it for them.
Academically, what did you enjoy the most about Loyola?
I’m a nursing major at Loyola. The nursing academic side of Loyola is pretty rigorous, but it inspires a lot of confidence in you. Every professor I had here was extremely knowledgeable and more than willing to accommodate anything I needed, whether it was extra help or a taste of what I was getting myself into. The real point of Loyola nursing was teaching you how to care for people and the people that care for them.
