Search | Menu 2025 spring graduates celebrate triumphs, overcoming obstacles
Madison College graduate speaker Annette Crowder spoke truth to her fellow graduates at Friday's commencement ceremony, honoring their shared journey of perseverance and triumph.
After years in the workforce and as a first-generation college graduate, she returned to education determined to elevate her career and earn a degree in the Human Services and Addiction Studies program.
"Your success is not the same as the person next to you," Crowder said, greeted with roaring applause. "Yours is carved, chiseled by the trembling hands of risk, honed by the steady grind of persistence, etched with the scars of struggle, or painted with the light strokes of luck. Every mark, every step, every misstep is a testament to the path only you could walk."
Clad in blue caps and gowns, graduates emerged from Friday's ceremony at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum, with degrees and diplomas in hand and futures waiting.
The most significant number of the 2025 spring graduates came from nursing assistants, university transfers, and EMT programs, ready to enter high-demand careers. Approximately 2,310 graduates earned 2,577 degrees or diplomas this spring.
Cultivate the power of curiosity
Interim President Tim Casper praised graduates for seizing the opportunity to fulfill possibilities while juggling commitments, including jobs, family, and community obligations. He acknowledged each grad's "cheering section" in the audience.
Casper enthusiastically urged 2025 spring grads to cultivate “the power of curiosity” and build bonds with others, emphasizing that "Finding something in common with others builds and strengthens relationships. It supports us in pursuing possibilities that improve our lives, the lives of family and neighbors, and the lives of those who will come after us." Casper told graduates that this connection makes our college community so special.
The 2025 spring graduating class, a diverse mix of returning students, first-generation students, international students, military veterans, and those who arrived just out of high school, truly strengthened the college community, Casper said.
Strive to make a positive impact
Student speaker Crowder emphasized this beneficial mix of ages, experiences, and cultures, saying that each student's distinct story was exactly what the world needed. She urged fellow graduates to positively impact their own lives and the lives of others in the workplace, classrooms, boardrooms, hospitals, and communities.
"Now, we carry what we've learned into the world, not just facts, but faith in our ability to rise," Crowder said. "We walk forward with more than diplomas. We walk with voice, with agency, with a fire that says: We did this. We belong. We're not done. Because Madison College doesn't just hand out degrees. They light torches."
She shared joy with her fellow graduates as they anticipated stepping on stage to get their degrees.
"So, take your bow for your triumphs, a breath for your challenge, and a step into the unknown," Crowder encouraged. “You've earned this moment, but the best is still ahead. Now, go walk your path.”
