Allegheny College held Commencement ceremonies for the Class of 2025 on Saturday, May 10, 2025. The festive celebration featured 307 students walking the traditional path from the David V. Wise Center down to historic Bentley Hall, for the program. There were more than 3,500 attendees.
Also participating in the ceremony was:
- Allegheny Student Government President, Ella DeRose ‘27
- Professor of Media Studies, Dr. Ishita Sinha Roy
- Allegheny College Board of Trustees Chair, Steven Levinsky
- Allegheny College President, Dr. Ron Cole
President Ron Cole addressed the crowd, focusing on the theme of leadership. He said, “Leadership for purpose is empowering, inspiring, and supporting others toward a common goal, for a greater good. Helping to imagine a better future and then planting seeds for that future. To me, that’s part of leading for purpose. In this I’m reminded of the saying that ‘A society grows great when we plant trees in whose shade we will never sit.’ Leaders for purpose do this – plant seeds and nurture growth for future generations. Let’s plant seeds and let’s also have gratitude for those leaders that planted seeds for trees that give us shade today.”
The Commencement address was given by Dr. Daniel Porterfield, President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, a global nonprofit leadership and convening organization founded in 1949.
Dr. Porterfield said, “First, with this Allegheny education, you have developed a boundless power for doing good – ‘boundless,’ I say, because during these years, in and out of class, in creating your senior comp, not only have you learned and grown, but also you’ve learned how to learn and grow, and you’ve learned that you like learning and that you’re good at it. This is called having a growth mindset, first identified by the scholar Carol Dweck, which is the conviction that our talents are not fixed or capped but rather can be expanded based on our efforts and our habits and our will.”
Graduates are headed to a variety of opportunities, just a few of which include:
- Graham Kralic, PNC Bank
- Mya Furbish, International Institute of New England
- Austin Williams, PLS Logistics
- Liz Driscoll, Paper Mill Playhouse
- Matthew Degnan, Disney College Program
- Adrienne Hanas, Glover Farms
- Mitchell Dugan, Emergency Medical Technician
- Walker Cunningham, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Aria Zong, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology
- Sara Karns, University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing
- Matilda Earwood, Glen Helen Outdoor Education Center
- Azary Matsuda, United States Navy
- Ethan Borsh, Northwestern University
- Megan Robare, Duquesne University School of Pharmacy
- Marissa Steury, Buckman & Buckman Law
The ceremony concluded with the singing of the alma mater and a reception for faculty, staff, students, and parents, where they could say goodbyes and share future plans.
On Friday the College held the AYA Rite of Passage Ceremony, which celebrates first-generation and historically underrepresented graduates of Allegheny College.
The celebration was represented by the AYA, an adinkra symbol that represents endurance, resilience and the ability to overcome. Dean of Inclusive Excellence Heather Moore Roberson addressed the students, “It’s important for you to leave this place knowing that we, here at Allegheny, have been lucky, blessed, and privileged to have had you here as students. So when you are asked ‘how does it feel to have attended Allegheny?,’ please tell them, ‘the honor, I assure you, was Allegheny’s.’ ”
Honorary Degrees
The College awarded honorary doctorates of humane letters to two distinguished leaders: Dr. Daniel Porterfield, President and CEO of the Aspen Institute (and Commencement speaker), and Allegheny Alumna Diane Sutter ‘72, President and CEO of ShootingStar Inc. Broadcasting in Los Angeles.
Prior to leading the Aspen Institute, Porterfield served for seven years as the President of Franklin & Marshall College. Porterfield previously served as Senior Vice President for Strategic Development and as an award-winning professor of English at his alma mater, Georgetown University, and as communications director and chief speechwriter for the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Porterfield imparted the idea of a life resume to the graduates, saying, “Most of us find our purpose not by abstract reasoning, but by living in the world and then reflecting upon what feels right and most meaningful. Over time, our purpose emerges from the patterns of our choices, and that section migrates from the bottom of the life resume right to the top, alongside our name, as a core to our identity, and how we and others know who we are.”
Diane Sutter ‘72 told the students, “You, the Class of 2025, are our future. Use your curiosity, talents, and creativity to create a lasting, positive legacy for those that come after you. And don’t run away from change! Your life will be full of it. Embrace it!”
Honored with the Radio Ink Magazine Lifetime Leadership Award for outstanding service to the industry, Ms. Sutter was also recognized as one of the Most Influential Women in Radio for seven consecutive years (2017–2023). Additionally, she was named among the publication’s Top 20 Leaders in Radio. Sutter currently serves as Chair of the Board of Visitors for the Center for Business and Economics.
In closing, President Cole told the graduates, “All of us together in this extraordinary moment are united in community by memories, friendships, achievements in the classroom, in the lab, on the playing field, on the stage, and in the Meadville community.”
Notable
The 2025 Commencement caps a record year at Allegheny College for fundraising, new program launches, significant partnerships with Meadville organizations, the opening of Allegheny branch campus ALIC @Bessemer, and the highest number of applications received for the 2025-2026 school year.
