In his keynote address, Bastian charged graduates to embrace the challenges that await them. The world, he said, is full of uncertainties — from AI to social polarization — and it will be looking for leaders to navigate such uncharted waters.

These uncertainties also present exciting opportunities, he explained, telling graduates that they are uniquely positioned to make a positive difference as they pursue their passions in life after college.

“You are stepping into a world that needs your energy, your compassion and creativity,” he said. “Our world is ready to be led by those who don’t run from their fears but lead through them. It’s in times like this, at critical junctures, that great leaders emerge. This is your time.

“As you prepare for what’s next, understand this: The world needs leaders shaped by Emory values, now more than ever,” he said.

Bastian has served as CEO of Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines for the last 10 years, and has been a Delta employee for nearly 30 years. Through his decades at Delta, he has seen his own share of challenges, including 9/11, bankruptcy, fluctuations in fuel, geopolitical uncertainty and COVID-19.

He has also seen Delta sustain its success by responding to crises with conviction — and with belief in humanity. He has described his job in five words: “Taking care of our people.”

Looking to the sea of graduates, he said he believes Emory — and Emory students — share that same conviction.

“For generations, [Emory and Delta] have been committed to service, innovation and global impact,” he said. “Institutions don’t endure that long by accident. They endure because they put values first. … We both passionately believe in the power of humanity.”

As graduates reflect on their time at Emory, Bastian encouraged them to consider four important life lessons he has learned from his illustrious career.

1. Put the people who matter to you first.

“I really believe success in life is determined not by what you do, but who you do it with. No one has ever accomplished anything great on their own. Life truly is a team sport — no matter what field you are playing on.”

2. Learning is a lifelong pursuit.

“My first airplane trip was when I was 25 years old. My own family still isn’t sure how I got this job,” he joked. “But I did start my professional journey knowing that my education was only beginning, not ending. And in seeking opportunities to learn new roles, acquire new skills, meet new and different people and develop talents I never knew I had, doors started to open. Small successes led to even greater ones.”

3. Character matters.

“Many times, doing the right thing comes at a cost. But I always prefer to think of it as an investment — a smart investment. I have had many important decisions to make over the course of my career. And I must admit: taking a short cut or pushing the easy button can sometimes be quite tempting. But they never yield an enduring result or an effective solution.”

4. Embrace your community, both home and abroad.

“In my Delta career, I’ve seen firsthand the power of global citizenship. … In the years ahead, explore the world. Seek out new and different lands. Be a citizen of the globe. Knock down barriers in order to bring understanding. Learn about different cultures. Look at the world through someone else’s lens.”

Bastian then called upon Emory graduates to step into their role as the next generation of leaders.

“You have been shaped not only by academic rigor, but by a deep commitment to service, inquiry and moral responsibility,” he said. “You have been prepared not just to exceed, but to lead. So, here’s my challenge to you: Don’t wait for leadership to be assigned. Claim it; earn it; live it. Every day, every role, every decision. Hold yourself to the highest standard.”

To conclude his remarks, Bastian shared a final note of congratulations to graduates and their families.

“You have so much to be proud of,” he said. “I wish you courage in times of challenge, humility in times of success and purpose in all you do.

“And remember, as we all say at Delta, ‘Keep climbing.’”

Honorary degrees and President’s Medal

During the Commencement ceremony, Emory also awarded honorary doctor of humane letters degrees to education pioneers Ruth J. Simmons and Susan E. Stone.

• Ruth Simmons, a transformational leader in higher education for decades, is president emerita of Prairie View A&M University, Brown University and Smith College. She was the first Black president of an Ivy League institution and established the first accredited engineering program at an all-women’s college. She currently serves as President’s Distinguished Fellow at Rice University and as adviser to Harvard University’s president on HBCU initiatives. She became only the seventh person in Emory’s history to receive both of the university’s highest honors: the honorary degree and the President’s Medal, which she was awarded in 2006.

• Susan Stone, a certified nurse-midwife, served for more than 20 years as president of Frontier Nursing University in Versailles, Kentucky, home to the oldest and largest continually operating nurse-midwifery program in the United States. During her tenure, the institution evolved from a certificate-granting program with approximately 200 students into a fully accredited university offering master’s and doctoral degrees in advanced nursing practice, including nurse-midwifery. She currently holds the titles of president emerita and Distinguished Chair of Midwifery and Nursing at Frontier and remains actively engaged in advancing nursing and midwifery practice globally.

Also during the ceremony, Sears presented the President’s Medal to the three Emory biomedical researchers who co-developed the antivirals that transformed HIV from a fatal disease into a manageable chronic condition: Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Chemistry Dennis Liotta, an academic drug discovery expert; Frances Winship Walters Professor of Pediatrics Raymond Schinazi, an infectious disease and antiviral expert; and former Emory post-doctoral research associate Woo-Baeg Choi.

By the time Emory students turn their tassels and officially become alumni, all have received a well-rounded, rigorous education — and made wonderful memories and life-long friends, too.

The combination of support and rigor is what Seth Zissette said he will miss most. Zissette, who earned a PhD in epidemiology from the James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies, focused his research on using real-world data to determine the effectiveness of treatment and prevention methods for HIV and tuberculosis around the world.

“It’s such a collaborative environment, and I’ve been able to do really great research here,” said Zissette, from Barnwell, South Carolina.

Working on his dissertation, he traveled the world and had meaningful conversations about improving public health, including a trip to Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls.

“We had a collaborative meeting with a team of people from six different countries working on the same project together. We got to do a lot of cool science, talk about the research we were all doing and have a lot of fun along the way.”

Isaiah Paris started his Emory experience on the Oxford College campus, where his academic journey changed course. “During my time there, I created two undergraduate chemistry labs that were implemented into the curriculum,” said Paris, who planned to major in human health.

“I figured out that [human health] wasn’t for me, but I wasn’t great at chemistry in the beginning,” he recalled. “I started TA’ing for those classes, which gave me a deeper knowledge and understanding.” On Monday, Paris, who grew up in Macon, Georgia, received his bachelor of science in chemistry from Emory College.

“Most of my undergraduate training has been in pedagogy, but I want to pursue an MD/PhD. To have a more well-rounded application, I’m taking two gap years to expand my clinical research experience,” said Paris.

When Maureen McNamara of Denver was considering medical schools, Emory was at the top of her list. “I loved that I would be able to train at multiple hospitals and see different patient populations,” she said. “Everyone seemed so tightly knit when I visited, and I found that to be true when I officially got here. Everyone was so supportive.”

Now that she has earned her MD from Emory School of Medicine, McNamara gets to enjoy being at Emory a bit longer while completing her one-year internship. Then she’ll be moving to Maryland, where she matched for her residency in anesthesiology at Johns Hopkins.   

Finding instant community

Cheers erupted when Gabriel Marrero checked in on graduation day. Turns out, he had been Emory’s eagle mascot Swoop, signified by the heavy, taloned feet he wore with his Commencement robe.

Mascots keep their identity a secret until graduation, which Marrero said felt like “having two people in one body. But to reveal myself on such a momentous occasion is awesome.”

Marrero, who grew up in the Bronx, New York, graduated from Emory College with a double major in psychology and philosophy.

“Songfest as Swoop is a favorite memory,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to welcome new students to campus and be part of such a large event with such spirit and energy. That’s probably my favorite of the last three years.”

Next, Marrero will take that energy to his position with Teach for America in Connecticut for two years before pursuing law school.

Songfest is also where friends Jeff Halfacre-Buie and Cameron Hall met.

Halfacre-Buie, who grew up in Lake Havasu, Arizona, came to Emory through the QuestBridge National College Match. 

“Songfest was so fun,” said Halfacre-Buie, who graduated from Emory College with a degree in physics and plans to pursue aerospace engineering graduate studies. “It throws you into talking to other first years and has you all hang out.”

While the two were teammates for the event, Hall said, “We didn’t live in the same building, but we were right next door to each other, so that was nice.”

Hall, who grew up in Long Island, New York, and majored in biology, didn’t originally set out to come to Emory College. He “accidentally toured” Emory while intending to visit another Atlanta school, and knew it was the right fit. “It was a pretty campus, I knew it had good academics and it was far from home – I wanted to go someplace new,” Hall said.

Although Bisrat Dessalegn came to Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health for its sterling academic reputation, it was “the human element” of everyday life that she loved the most, including accessible faculty and friendships she’s found amidst a tight-knit community of classmates.

Dessalegn said the day after she arrived on campus — traveling from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as an international student — a faculty member took her out to lunch. “That really made me think, ‘Oh, wow. They really do care,’” said Dessalegn, who earned her master’s degree in public health with a focus in global health.

When Steven Ditelberg arrived at Emory from Fairfield, Connecticut, as a first-year student, he missed many orientation activities due to being sick. “But the track team gave me instant friends and an instant base,” said Ditelberg, a pole vaulter who majored in finance and real estate through Goizueta Business School. “That was one of the most important aspects of my time here, and there’s such a sense of connection on the team. I’m going to miss the guys a ton.”

At his last meet, just the day before, Ditelberg won in the men’s pole vault, capping off his collegiate athletics career, which includes setting Emory’s indoor and outdoor records for pole vault.

His father, Jeremy Ditelberg, said watching Steven graduate made him “extremely proud,” and added that his son’s Emory education has “prepared him well for the future.”

 

Inspired by family

Goizueta graduate Ali Salman is paving the way for his two younger brothers.

“I’m the oldest child and first to graduate,” said the finance major, who grew up in California’s Bay Area. “My family supported me a lot. Even in the car today, my brothers were like, ‘Wow, you’re really graduating.’ It’s kind of a surreal moment, not only for me but for everyone.”

But Salman wasn’t always on the path to an Emory degree. He transferred in from another university in 2024 after completing his sophomore year.

“I wanted a new environment to learn, grow and develop myself on a personal and professional level,” he said. “It was a huge shift for me in terms of the classes and professors and environment, and all those things combined really helped prepare me for my future.”

Before Salman embarks on those new adventures, which include joining the Bay Area’s start-up scene, he said he’ll be taking family pictures — especially with his two younger brothers — with his diploma in hand.

Chelsea Reid, who graduated with her master of divinity degree from Candler School of Theology, was inspired to pursue that path due to “some pretty huge life changes,” she said.

“I had a close family member pass away and helped her through the end of her life. At the same time, I was pregnant,” said Reid, a first-generation student from Dahlonega, Georgia. “It was this very holy time of seeing the beginning and end of life, and this calling to be part of something bigger than myself.” After graduation, she’ll be working as a chaplain at a hospital in northeast Georgia and pursuing ministry.

For Cristhofer Moreira, from Newark, New Jersey, graduating with his master’s degree in public health from Rollins came with some poignancy.

“This is a very proud moment for me and my family, because I am a first-generation graduate,” said Moreira, who was born in Ecuador. He is the first in his family to earn a master’s degree, which he hopes inspires his younger brothers to “keep going and see what is possible” in their educational journeys.

Emory College graduate Rahima Mumed echoed those feelings. “I’m literally the first in my entire family to graduate from college,” said Mumed, who grew up in Hickory, North Carolina, as the oldest of four. “It hasn’t really sunk in yet.”

Next, the neuroscience and behavioral biology major is taking a gap year to work in a research lab. She plans to pursue pediatric clinical psychology.

Jess Arciniegas and Chris Rivera-Bonilla met during their first year at Emory and have remained a couple through the rigors of nursing school.

“My mom is a home health nurse,” said Arciniegas, who grew up in Los Angeles but will remain in Atlanta as a VA Hospital nurse. “I saw all that she did for her patients while still always being there for me despite being a single mom. She is why I wanted to be a nurse.”

For Rivera-Bonilla, nursing held appeal because it gives him “a degree that opens doors,” he said. “You have so many options for how and where to work, plus you have lots of opportunities for advanced education and professional development.” The Woodstock, Georgia, native will begin his career as a cardiovascular ICU nurse at Emory University Hospital. That will bring plenty of challenges, but he’s already looking down the road to someday becoming a certified registered nurse anesthetist.

Frederic “Mac” Guintu — an Emory QuestBridge Scholar as an undergraduate — was part of the four-plus-one computer science program, which allows students to leave with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in five years.

Guintu is from the island Saipan, a United States territory in the Northern Mariana Islands. He was joined at the festivities by friends and family who took a 16-hour flight from their home in the western Pacific Ocean to cheer him across the stage.

Guintu, who has already landed a job in software development, was easily spotted across the room at the Laney Graduate School diploma ceremony; he had a ring of bright flowers around his graduation cap. His mother brought the crown, called a mor mor, all the way from Saipan.

“It’s the flower crown of the indigenous people of Saipan,” he explained. “So, I wanted to have a piece of [home] with me for graduation.”

“I moved here from a tiny island not knowing anybody,” Guintu added. “Now, I have so many people from Emory who care about me and where I’m headed. I’ll never forget my college experiences here.”

 

An Emory tradition

Some Eagles love Emory so much that they make a kind of tradition out of attending commencements.

Keenan Davis earned his third Emory degree, surrounded by supportive family — including his four young children. The Atlanta native previously earned his master’s in bioethics at Emory and has now completed his MD at the School of Medicine and a PhD through the Department of Religion and the Laney Graduate School. His research involved studying deep brain stimulation to treat refractory depression, including the theology associated with the procedure.

“I’ve always been interested in the brain,” he said, “especially the overlap between psychology and medicine.” He’ll continue that path during his neurology residency at Emory.

Emory Law graduate Sara Weitz already held an Emory bachelor’s degree in political science, but comes from an Emory family, too. Her parents, who met as Emory students, flew in from Los Angeles to see her graduate with her JD degree as well as her brother, Ben Weitz, who received an undergraduate business degree from Goizueta.

“People think of law as really competitive, but at Emory, people help each other,” said Weitz, who is headed back to Los Angeles to work in transactional law.

Shanise Palmer, who graduated with a PhD in religion from Laney, is also celebrating her second Emory degree. In 2020, she earned a master’s from Candler School of Theology. 

“This really is like home,” she said of Emory. “I’ve been here for several years and have great friendships and professors who have become amazing mentors. I’m extremely grateful and excited; it feels a little surreal.”

Palmer studied the scholarship, pedagogy and leadership of Black women preachers — a topic she knows well as an ordained pastor for her church in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where she trains the ministerial staff. The degree is an extension of her work “to tie the worlds of the church and academy together.”

Angie Corley-Demery attended the university-wide Commencement ceremony to celebrate her husband, Vergil Demery, who donned a golden robe for his induction into the Society of Corpus Cordis Aureum, an alumni organization honoring those who graduated from Emory at least 50 years ago. She said the day was a “joyous” occasion. 

Demery, from North Carolina, graduated in 1976 as a chemistry major, and he left a lasting legacy at Emory. 

“It means a lot because he was one of the charter members of starting Alpha Phi Alpha, which was the first Black fraternity on campus,” Corley-Demery said. “Seeing him come out in the gold robe will be a wonderful sight. Emory has done so much for my husband.”