Bid farewell to the traditional valedictorian commencement speech.
This year, Neumann initiated a new approach, inviting all graduating students to apply and audition for student speaker roles at three events: the academic awards convocation, graduate commencement, and undergraduate commencement.
According to Dr. Eric Wellington, “Every year, we have a collection of very capable students who are eager to address their classmates at commencement. This new process gives three of them the opportunity to reflect on their experiences at Neumann and share those memories.”
Alyssa Papasodero ’26, an elementary and special education major, won the speaking role for the undergraduate ceremony on May 17.
“As we leave Neumann, we’re stepping into a world that will measure success in a lot of different ways: jobs, salaries, titles, achievements,” Papasodero told her classmates. “And those things matter. But what we’ve come to understand is that success goes far beyond that. Success is how you treat people. It’s the way you show up in someone else’s life. It’s the impact you leave behind long after the moment is over.”
She then challenged her peers to use success as a pathway to a higher calling.
“The most important thing we take from Neumann isn’t just a degree,” she continued. “It’s the responsibility to live out what we’ve learned. If we carry these values with us, if we choose service, lead with integrity, and care for others the way this community has cared for us, then wherever we go next, we won’t just be successful. We’ll be the difference.”
“Success is how you treat people. It’s the way you show up in someone else’s life.”
— Alyssa Papasodero ’26
Thomas Loftus, Jr. ’26 DPT captured the speaker’s slot for the graduate commencement ceremony, at which he received a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree.
Loftus managed to weave quotes from Henry Ford, Winnie the Pooh, and Ferris Bueller into his remarks, urging his postbaccalaureate colleagues to enjoy life’s journey.
“Life is not just a sequence of future achievements,” he said. “It is something unfolding, continuously, in the present. So yeah, go chase the dream. Build the career. Buy the house. Fall in love. Raise the kids. Change the world. But for God’s sake, stop once in a while.
“Take a breath. Watch the sunrise like it’s the first one you’ve ever seen. Call your people and tell them you love them. Laugh until your face hurts. Cry when you need to. Feel it, all of it.
“You did not survive grad school just to arrive at a future you’re too busy to actually live in. Your life—this one, brief, unpredictable, unrepeatable life—is happening, right now.”
Jenna Calchi ’26, a business administration major who earned her bachelor’s degree in three years, addressed the academic awards convocation on May 16.
Characterizing her classmates as diamonds formed by pressure, she reminded them that “pressure is not the enemy but rather what has helped to shape us, strengthen our integrity, and push us to grow throughout our college years.”
“May we never forget the loving community, life lessons, generous amounts of support, and the growth we found here at Neumann University,” she concluded.