Commencement 2023
Practical advice, encouragement, humor — the Class of 2023 got the benefit of all that and more at their eagerly awaited commencement ceremony, held on May 18 at the Barclays Center.
Highlights
Speakers
"Engineers doing world-changing work are the real superheroes of modern society, and many of them can be found in this room. And yes, I mean you. You and your peers are becoming superheroes in your own right, creating solutions for tomorrow’s big questions, today. It is you and your fellow Tandon students who are now at the forefront of creating an optimistic future for all of us.”
– Dean Jelena Kovačević
"You have so much to be proud of ... We hear a lot about division and divisiveness but when I look out at you I see a sea of violet and I see an antidote to division and divisiveness. I see unity because you are all united in your innovation, ingenuity, and determination to solve the most pressing problems in the world.”
– NYU President Andrew Hamilton
"Some of you graduated summa cum laude, some magna cum laude, some cum laude, some “thank you laude.” But in all cases, you made it! ... I want you to savor this moment.... I’ll never forget the blueberry pie that my grandmother, the daughter of slaves, made just for me; I thought it was the best thing I had ever tasted. So think of this as your own blueberry pie moment.”
– Guest speaker Freeman Hrabowski, III, President Emeritus of UMBC
“We are the class that overcame a pandemic, that overcame losing nearly two years of our college journey, and still managed to come out just as successful as our predecessors.”
–Valedictorian Joshua Lee
Photos
