Worcester State University celebrated its 149th Commencement on May 17th, honoring the achievements of the Class of 2025. The ceremony featured inspiring addresses from distinguished speakers, including Commencement speaker Dr. Debra Maddox, student speaker Daniel Hsu, and special guest speaker United States Senator Elizabeth Warren.
The event celebrated 887 graduating seniors who were enthusiastically cheered on by more than 9,000 friends and family who packed the DCU Center in downtown Worcester. Sen. Warren and Maddox shook the hands of the graduating seniors as they crossed the stage.
Worcester State President Barry Maloney congratulated the graduates on their hard-earned achievements. “From our first graduating class in 1876 to today, Worcester State has a proud history of producing leaders who make a difference in their communities,” Maloney said. “The Class of 2025 now joins that distinguished legacy.”
Commencement speaker Dr. Maddox ’82 emphasized the transformative power of a Worcester State education and encouraged the graduates to apply the values and skills they gained to make a positive impact on the world.
She drew on reflections from her own journey from a single-parent household to earning her doctorate and founding a successful mental health services organization. “Attending Worcester State University shaped my life in the most positive and meaningful way,” she said. “It afforded me the opportunity to form lifelong relationships and taught me invaluable life skills like self-advocacy, assertiveness and leadership.”
She highlighted several impactful professors who demonstrated commitment and dedication to students, going above and beyond to support her academic needs. After graduating, she pursued a career focused on community-based work, including founding two businesses – the Multicultural Wellness Center in Worcester and Multicultural Wellness West in Nevada – to provide mental health services to underserved, diverse communities.
She advised the graduates to be humble and have respect for themselves and others. “Be humble, humility in you is appreciated by others and leads to self-appreciation,” she said. “Have respect for yourself and others.”
Dr. Maddox urged graduates to identify and accept help from mentors. “Identify a mentor and accept the wisdom and guidance that he or she provides,” she said. She also advised students to think big and not settle but instead strive for success and wellness.
Drawing from her own experiences navigating unexpected career changes, Sen. Warren, the first woman elected to the Senate from Massachusetts, encouraged the graduates to embrace flexibility and openness to new opportunities.
“Be open to change,” Sen. Warren advised the students. “Sometimes it comes as a wonderful opportunity already wrapped up with bells and ribbons and sometimes it comes as a punch in the face. Either way, you’ve got to change.” The senator reflected on her own path, recalling how she was fired from her first teaching job after the principal discovered she was pregnant – an all-too-common occurrence in the past. Rather than letting that setback define her, Warren pivoted to new plans, demonstrating the resilience she urged the graduates to cultivate.
“Throw yourself into your work. Take your chance on your dream to become a teacher or an engineer or a chef or a nurse or to start your own business. And then if you discover at some point early on that you don’t wake up every day loving it, then move on,” Warren said. “Embrace the change. You can do something else.”
Acknowledging the challenges the graduates will face in a turbulent political and economic climate, Warren expressed confidence in the class of 2025’s ability to make a positive impact. “It’s tough, but I have high hopes for every single one of you,” she said. “You have already done something that’s tough. You’ve earned your place here today. You’ve shown up, you’ve done the work, you’ve stuck it out, you’ve pushed yourself. And best of all, you have graduated and that is something to celebrate.”
In closing, the senator encouraged the graduates to remain open-minded, resilient, and committed to making the world a better place. “If you work hard, if you persevere, if you leave yourself open to unexpected change, you’ll not only find your way through this world, you will help make this world a better place for all of us,” Warren said.
Student speaker Daniel Hsu shared his personal journey of overcoming setbacks and discovering his true passion. Hsu took a vulnerable and introspective approach, using his own story to encourage his classmates that their “mistakes or regrets do not define” them and that they should not be afraid to embrace unexpected changes in their lives.
He shared some of his personal challenges, describing how he saw himself as a “failure, a disappointment, a sad, washed out athlete” early in his college experience after suffering a serious injury that derailed his soccer ambitions. Hsu focused on how he was able to move past the obstacles and difficulties he faced, showing how they did not define him or his future decisions.
Hsu emphasized the importance of choosing the values and character that graduates want to embody as they move forward. “Our world is full of uncertainties. As today we sit before our future nurses, lawyers, educators, and for the most part we don’t know, but that’s okay because one thing is certain: when we walk out this room today, we might not know what we want to do, but we all can choose who we can be.”
Honorary doctoral degrees were conferred upon Maddox and Warren. Appreciation plaques were presented to departing members of the Worcester State University Board of Trustees, including Kyram Pou, Dina Nichols, Marina Taylor and, in absentia, Karen Lafond. Provost Lois Wims served as Commencement emcee and Dr. Lisa Colombo, chair of the Board of Trustees, delivered the greeting.
“Reaching this milestone today, your graduation, is evidence that you have seized the opportunities placed before you and taken full advantage of all that was offered you in pursuit of academic success,” Colombo told the graduates. “As Trustees, we share the pride that you and your loved ones feel today and are privileged to share with you on this, your special day.”
Photos by Veronica Jay
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