Excited graduates and their proud families and friends filled Emory’s campus May 9-12 to mark the university’s 180th Commencement, honoring the achievements of thousands of hardworking students in the Class of 2025.
Undeterred by days of drenching rain, graduates celebrated their achievements at diploma ceremonies for each of the university’s nine schools and multiple degree programs.
“Class of 2025, I want you to always remember that you are capable of greatness, and that your time at Emory has prepared you for everything that comes next,” said Emory President Gregory L. Fenves during the main ceremony.
“Years from now, when somebody asks you, ‘What was Emory like?’ you will think of all that it took for you to make it to this graduation day, and you will share your unique story,” Fenves continued. “And in that moment, you will realize that your Emory experience stays with you forever.
“That is what we are celebrating today — an ending that is actually a beginning. The continuation of your Emory story.”
Grammy Award-winning performer and philanthropist Usher Raymond IV created his own new chapter in the Emory story, earning an honorary doctor of humane letters degree during the ceremony and serving as the keynote speaker.
During his address, Usher encouraged members of the Class of 2025 to look beyond what is printed on the degrees that they will receive via mail this summer.
“It’s not the degree that gives the power. It’s you,” he said. “You create the value behind that degree. It is your ambition, your integrity, your hustle, your heart. It’s how you choose to show up when no one is watching.”
Usher also encouraged graduates to follow their passions and be inclined to explore uncharted territory in pursuit of those passions.
“Don’t be afraid to wander into space that you don’t understand, as long as you are bringing passion with you. Be willing to stretch, be a little unrealistic, be a little delusional even in your pursuit of happiness and fulfillment,” he said. “And at the same time, be patient. Be respectful of the process, because life is filled with challenges, and they will either make you or break you. But that’s a choice — and that choice is yours.”
With the official conferral of degrees en masse, Emory welcomed 5,527 new graduates across the university’s nine schools into a dynamic alumni community of more than 176,000 around the world. These new graduates earned a total of 5,629 degrees and hailed from 53 U.S. states and territories, along with 71 other nations.
Speaker: Usher Raymond IV
Usher encouraged graduates to approach their goals — and their lives — with passion and conviction, even in the face of difficult circumstances. After congratulating them on their degrees, the eight-time Grammy Award winner shared his personal framework for success. He said he is guided by four main principles: praise, appreciation, acknowledgement and honor.
“Praise whoever is considered your higher power for giving you the ability to dream,” he said. “Appreciate your highest and your lowest moments because it builds character and it reveals your core. Acknowledge the shortcomings and the triumphs that you will endure, both shaping who you are and who you’re becoming in time. Honor the people who believed in you and invest in your journey. Honor them not by perfection but perseverance.”
He said these principles emerged for him long before a chart-breaking music career that includes nine No. 1 songs on the Billboard Hot 100.
His passion is not limited to music. In 1999, he founded Usher’s New Look, an Atlanta-based nonprofit that helps under-resourced teens develop their interests, finish their education and find their purpose.
It is possible to “blaze a new trail within the system,” he emphasized, and the work of Usher’s New Look is a prime example: “If we refuse to accept the world as it is and start building what we want to see, we can successfully do it.”
Success, he said, is also about how one looks at the world: “Losers take chances. Winners make choices. It’s truly all in the way you choose to think and see things.”
He charged graduates to be leaders in their fields and to use their passion to build a better future.
“This world doesn’t need more followers,” he said. “It needs fearless architects of our future, and that’s exactly who you are. Be a dreamer. Never stop imagining. Be better. Fight for a better life. Fight for a better world.”
Honorary degrees
Emory conferred two additional honorary degrees during the Commencement ceremony:
- Susan B. Hassmiller, a national nursing leader, health educator and mentor, received an honorary doctor of humane letters degree in recognition of her visionary contributions to nursing education and practice, which have elevated health care, addressed disparities in underserved populations and created opportunities for nurses nationwide.
Leonore A. Herzenberg, a pioneering geneticist, researcher and inventor, was awarded an honorary doctor of science for making critical discoveries in the fields of immunology, genetics and cell biology, including the invention of the Florescence Activated Cell Sorter — a technology that revolutionized biomedical research.
