At two graduation ceremonies on May 17, Neumann awarded 342 degrees. That concrete number, once confirmed, will live in university annals as an immutable data point. The broader impact of the graduates, however, was captured in the life lessons that were articulated by a few insightful speakers.

“As we leave Neumann, we’re stepping into a world that will measure success in a lot of different ways,” Alyssa Papasodero told her classmates. “Jobs, salaries, titles, achievements. 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.”

The elementary and special education major 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. We came here looking for an education, but we’re leaving with something more. We’re leaving with values, with purpose, with a mission … and 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.”

At the graduate commencement, Thomas Loftus, Jr. managed to weave quotes from Henry Ford, Winnie the Pooh, and Ferris Bueller into his remarks. The Bueller quote is a classic line at graduations: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

A newly minted DPT, Loftus urged 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.”

In his presidential address, Dr. Chris Domes affirmed the students’ optimism.

“My message to you today,” he told the graduates, “is to remind you that you are amazing leaders and you need to keep learning, keep serving, keep caring, and keep lifting up others ... I know in my heart that, because you are Neumann, you will live with integrity and achieve excellence in all that you do. You have the tools to lead others, to inspire, to motivate. Go make a difference in the world.”