Drew’s 158th Commencement Ceremony honors more than 450 students
May 2026 – In a beautiful ceremony on Mead Hall Lawn, Drew University returned to its longstanding tradition of holding a single ceremony celebrating graduates across the entire University.
More than 450 students from the College of Liberal Arts, Caspersen School of Graduate Studies, and Drew Theological School were officially awarded their degrees.
President Hilary L. Link, PhD, began the ceremony honoring the graduates’ work and impact on the University.
“Today is about celebrating each and every one of you, for your hard work, your successes in the classroom, in the field, in research, at the pulpit, internships or service, on the stage or athletic field, and it is about your successful completion of your Drew degree,” said Link. “But it is really about so much more than that—about what each of you has contributed to Drew during your time here, what you take from here, and what makes this such a special and vibrant community.”
Link ceded the stage to honorary doctor of humane letters degree recipient and Commencement speaker Marc Freedman, the founder and co-CEO of CoGenerate, a nonprofit organization that works to bridge generational divides by uniting younger and older people to solve social issues.
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Freedman’s address focused on the future of learning as a continuous lifelong process, the graduating generation’s role in shaping what that future looks like, and how graduates can expect to define and exist within it. Amid the uncertainty of the future, Freedman called to lean on making meaningful connections and relationships and finding one’s place in the world.
“In these confusing and tumultuous times, my call to you—graduates, parents, grandparents, and friends—is simply this: put two things together. Two things, not all things,” Freedman said. “For me, it has been the young and the old. For you, it might be something different, something at the intersection of your unique skills and what the world requires. Which leads me to a question…What is the need that needs you most?”
In a Drew Commencement tradition, Link announced the University’s teachers of the year, slowly revealing the winners using words of student submissions praising their mentors. Lauren Kearns, the John Fletcher Hurst Professor of Ecology, Religion and Society, was named the Theological School Scholar/Teacher of the Year, while Sangay Mishra, Associate Professor and Chair of Political Science and International Relations, received the Arts & Sciences Distinguished Teaching Award.
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Graduates also heard from their peers, starting with Yeongrok Choi T’26 representing Drew Theological School. A Native of South Korea, Choi used his platform to address the challenges facing international students throughout the country during his time at Drew.
“I want to express my deepest gratitude to this Drew community. Whenever the news brought heavy hearts and real fear to immigrants and international students, you did not look away. You raised your voices with us, you checked in on us, and you made space for us. Thank you for your radical hospitality and solidarity,” said Choi.
Choi, leaning into his nickname “Rok-star of the Theological School,” closed his address by breaking out into “Defying Gravity” from Wicked, a solo that quickly became a joyous impromptu sing-along featuring the entire audience.
Juanita Navas Espinal C’26, representing the arts and sciences, followed with words affirming the confidence her Drew education instilled in her to step into the unknown “boldly, courageously” while echoing Freedman’s earlier sentiments.
“We are not just graduating with degrees—we are leaving with perspectives, with awareness, and with the ability to engage with a world that is often so hard to comprehend,” said Navas Espinal. “Drew has challenged us to think critically, to engage across differences, and to see ourselves as part of something larger than our individual paths. And because of that, we are uniquely positioned—not because we have all the answers, but because we have learned how to ask better questions, how to listen, and how to care.”
Following these inspiring words, Drew graduates were ready to hear their names called.
They were ready to cross the Commencement stage.
They were ready to receive the degrees they had so thoroughly earned.
They were ready to step into the unknown and find the need that needed them.
