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Fireworks were set off after the end of Drexel's University-wide Commencement at Citizens Bank Park. All photos credited to Kelly & Massa Photography.

During a University-wide Commencement ceremony held June 12 at Citizens Bank Park, ĐÔ°É”Œșœ graduated its Class of 2025 and welcomed another group of Forever Dragons into its worldwide family of more than 185,000 alumni. 

During a year of change and transition, the Dragons prevailed in the tradition of coming together at the ballpark, turning the tassels on their mortarboards and taking in a spectacular fireworks show in front of the city skyline. Once again, Drexel parent and voice of the Philadelphia Phillies Dan Baker served as the Master of Ceremonies and the Phillies’ anthem “High Hopes” and the ringing of the Liberty Bell replica played students off to the new start of their lives.

For one Drexel graduate, this year’s ceremony was extra special. The University-wide Commencement speaker, Olympic gold medalist and investment banker Justin Best, graduated from Drexel with a degree in business and engineering in December 2019 — but his year’s planned graduation at Citizens Bank Park was made virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Five years later, Best not only attended a ceremony at the stadium but spoke on stage wearing his Drexel regalia — which he paired with his Olympic gold medal hanging around his neck with a blue ribbon, for extra blue and gold.

Another Drexel alumnus also experienced a meaningful Commencement this year: ĐÔ°É”Œșœ Interim President Denis O’Brien, MBA ‘87. He led the University during this 2024–2025 academic year before the July 1 start of Incoming President Antonio Merlo, PhD, who attended this year’s ceremony 

“If you told me 40 years ago — when I was taking night classes at LeBow, chugging along in my full-time job while taking an MBA at night — that I would be up here today, I would never have believed you. Take it from me: With a Drexel degree in hand, the future is limitless,” he said.

Honorary degree recipient Richard Greenawalt was formally recognized at the ceremony by Interim President Denis O'Brien.

The value of a Drexel education — throughout the University’s 134-year history and into the unknown future that the Class of 2025 has graduated into — was a recurring topic for many of the event’s speakers. Those two aforementioned alumni spoke to graduates along with representatives of the Class of 2025 and University leaders with decades of experience at Drexel. 

Experiential learning, as gained by these graduates after years with the University’s cooperative education system, civic engagement opportunities, research and external partnerships, is something that does not stop after graduation, according to O’Brien. 

“[Anthony] A.J. Drexel, the founder of our great University, said, ‘An education should not only be good, but good for something,’” he said. “You have proven time and again that your education is good for something — for many things: for building, for healing, for leading and for changing lives.”

O’Brien added, “So when today’s hustle and bustle ends, and tomorrow comes: Remember, life — in its complex glory — is experiential learning. The journey will challenge you to your core, but it will also fill you with purpose and inner strength. You have put in the work, earned the credibility and proven your resilience and determination.”

Katie Moorcones addressed the crowd as the outgoing vice president of the Undergraduate Student Government Association.

That uniquely Drexel experience, tied with a guiding formula of “work equals force times distance,” as Best shared in his speech, will come into play for the rest of the graduates’ lives, the alumnus said.

“The question isn’t whether you’re capable. You’ve already proven that by being here. The question is: Will you? ...Will you manage your ambition or unleash it? Will you play it safe or will you chase what scares you? The choice is yours,” Best told graduates.

Already, the Class of 2025 has overcome unique challenges both on campus, through the COVID-19 pandemic and the change in University leadership this year, as well as in the world at large. 

“From making it through Covid to conquering the Drexel quarter system, I can say confidently there isn’t much, if anything, this class cannot do,” said Katie Moorcones, political science and sociology ’25, who addressed the crowd as outgoing vice president of the

“We’ve already made such a mark on this society, either through our political activism, community engagement and even research contributions despite it being early in our careers. Time will only tell how we change the world. Despite what people may say about us being naive, stubborn or dreamers, may we one day be the ones who see true peace and equality,” she added.

Commencement speaker Justin Best '19 posed on the field at Citizens Bank Park before the ceremony began.

Now fully equipped for the workforce, graduate school and other opportunities, the Class of 2025 has equally left its mark on their alma mater. 

“Just as you have evolved, so has this university. You’ve challenged us to be better, to think differently, to expand our deep connections to the organizations and communities we serve to ensure Drexel remains at the forefront. We’ll be proud to welcome you back as alumni, to show you the impact you’ve had here — and prouder still to watch all the ways you’ll shape the world for the better,” said Executive Vice President and Nina Henderson Provost Paul E. Jensen, PhD. 

The event also conferred an honorary degree — Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa — to an alumnus who has also shaped the University’s modern trajectory: Richard Greenawalt, a 1966 College of Engineering alumnus. He has served on Drexel’s Board of Trustees for 30 years, leading as chair for more than half of that time when Drexel was led by two different presidents and two different interim presidents. This year, Greenawalt stepped down after 17 years as the Board’s chair and is succeeded by longtime Trustee Mike Lawrie, who also attended Commencement this year. Lawrie earned his graduate degree in marketing and finance from the LeBow College of Business in 1977. 

Executive Vice President and Nina Henderson Provost Paul Jensen led a round of applause for the Class of 2025.

“There is no doubt about it: Drexel looks much different than it did two decades ago. We are more attractive than ever before to students, faculty and professional staff from around the world, and that’s in large part thanks to the many years of steady leadership Mr. Greenawalt has provided,” said Elisabeth van Bockstaele, chief strategy officer, senior vice provost for graduate studies and dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professional Studies.

During the ceremony, Best was also celebrated for contributing to the success of the University as a student-athlete and later representing it as an alumnus. He helped lead the Drexel rowing program to its highest ever ranking in the national polls, three straight overall titles at the Dad Vail Regatta competition and the varsity men’s eight first-ever win at the Henley Royal Regatta. Shortly after his own Drexel graduation, Best competed at the pandemic-delayed 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan, where he finished in fourth place as part of the men’s eight team.

In his Commencement address, he detailed the lessons learned from that experience as well as his second Olympic Games in Paris this past summer, where he achieved a historic victory in the men’s four, capturing Team USA’s first gold medal in that event in 64 years.

“You think you deserve success because of that hard work you have done. The universe doesn't care about deserve. Failure will find you. It will shock you. It will make you question your pursuit of that goal. Do not fear it. Do your best to avoid it, yes, but learn from it when it happens. Own it. Look in the mirror and ask: What will I do differently as a result of this? Don't blame circumstances and do not point fingers,” he said. 

Anil Kumar Karapa on stage while addressing the crowd as executive vice president of the Graduate Student Association.

Best also led the entire stadium in an exercise in becoming intentionally present, through closing their eyes and taking big breaths and remembering this exact moment, as he thought to himself when he knew he would win at the Olympics. He also urged the Class of 2025 to take the time to recognize and thank their support systems, highlighting his family, his fiancée (another Drexel graduate!) and his teammates.

“Nobody achieves greatness alone. Nobody. Your support system is what propels you beyond where you could have gotten yourself. Some of you have a family and have been given a support system by default. Others have built theirs from nothing. You’ve created it yourselves, through engaging in the communities that brought you to Drexel, and the ones on campus that you are graduating from,” he said. 

Anil Kumar Karapa, MS cybersecurity ’25, executive vice president of the Graduate Student Association (GSA), also shared the importance of appreciating the people who have stood by “on this journey called life,” as he described it. He also paid tribute to “a true friend and a wonderful leader” Ash Karale, a physics PhD candidate and GSA president who passed away in April.

“So, if there’s one thing I would ask of you today, it’s this: Cherish those incredible moments you get to spend with [friends and family members]. I repeat: Cherish those lingering moments you get to spend with your loved ones because life, as we know, is unpredictable,” he said.