ΊΪΑΟΙη honored the Class of 2026 with an echoing theme acknowledging the power in relationships amid uncertainty at its 156th Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, May 16, 2026. Chemistry alumna and a leader in the field of mitochondrial biology Jodi Nunnari β84 emphasized in her commencement address the ways her βΊΪΑΟΙη networkβ and foundational education continue to guide her today.
With her opening remarks, President Anne McCall recognized the newest class of alumni and the process that guided them to the next chapter of their lives. βWhile you traveled your own individual paths, linear in some respects, circuitous in others, you did not do so alone,β she said, acknowledging the βdedicated mentorsβ and all the members of the College community who celebrated their successes and accomplishments. Sharing stories of alumni and the ways they have represented the College, pursued inquiry for the evolution of knowledge, supported each other amid challenging times, and given back to the College to inspire others, McCall encouraged the graduates to look ahead as their lives evolve: βYou will bring joy in sharing where life has taken you and in considering the myriad ways you can show your love to those coming after you at ΊΪΑΟΙη.β
President McCall honored Jodi Nunnari β84 with an honorary Doctor of Science degree during the ceremony.
McCall honored Nunnari with an honorary Doctor of Science degree during the ceremony. Currently senior vice president, head of discovery science, and founding principal investigator at Altos Labs, Nunnari shared that at ΊΪΑΟΙη she βfound a launchpadβ acknowledging the immediate opportunities she received to experiment with the unknown in the chemistry research labs alongside incredible mentors. βThey looked at a first-generation student and didnβt see what I lacked. They saw what I could become. They challenged me, guided me, and they believed in me.β
Nunnari remembered that after she graduated, βthe ΊΪΑΟΙη network looked out for me yet again.β She completed her doctorate in pharmacology in the lab of another ΊΪΑΟΙη chemistry alumna Lee Limbird β70 at Vanderbilt University. βUnder Leeβs incredible scientific guidance and mentorship, the foundation I built here grew into a career in science that I could never have imagined.β
βWhat ΊΪΑΟΙη taught me was my motivation at the very foundation of me is derived from a love of advancement and breakthroughs,β Nunnari said. βI fell in love with focusing my mind on complex problems, the resilience I need to pivot when our hypotheses are wrong, and the profound satisfaction I experience when creating a new piece of knowledge.β
Nunnari noted how todayβs culture promotes shortcuts and avoiding friction but that growth comes from meeting resistance. βYou arenβt born with resilience. You build it by tackling problems that donβt have easy answers,β she said. She noted the graduatesβ achievement in completing ΊΪΑΟΙηβs senior capstone program, a button of achievement that alumni often reference in job and graduate school interviews. βYou are sitting here today because you have already encountered uncertainty. Your very training here at ΊΪΑΟΙη demands that you do that, and youβve navigated through it. Your Independent Study is the ultimate proof of that.β Nunnari reminded them of that same ΊΪΑΟΙη network by charging them to: βLook at the friends who supported you when you were convinced your I.S. project made absolutely no sense. Look at the faculty who didnβt just teach and grade you but treated you like a colleague, so you became one. Look at the families who carried you here. Feel deeply grateful to them. Gratitude actively rewires our brains to focus on what empowers us: transforming daily struggles into resilience.β
Saturday morningβs ceremony also included multiple speakers from the graduating class. In the invocation, Stuart Franklin β26, president of the Jewish Student Organization and majoring in education and religious studies, set the tone that carried on throughout the morning saying, βBehind every graduate are mentors who have nurtured our curiosity, friends who have stood beside us through thick and thin, and loved ones whose endless sacrifices have paved the way for this journey.β
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- Stuart Franklin β26
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- Josephine Fleischel β26
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- Elliot Miller β26
One of the speakers selected to represent the class, Josephine Fleischel β26, a global media and digital studies major said, βWhat I will take most from ΊΪΑΟΙη is the importance of community.β An environmental geoscience major also selected from the class, Elliot Miller β26, added, βRelationships have defined our experiences here at ΊΪΑΟΙη. Whether that is faculty, coaches, family, classmates, or friends, these relationships have had profound impact toward the individuals we have become today; for we are who we are because of each other.β
Closing the ceremony, Lilly Ashe β26, a communication sciences and disorders major and music minor, performed Miley Cyrusβs βThe Climbβ before President McCall issued final congratulations to the Class of 2026, and the pipers sent off the graduates in true ΊΪΑΟΙη fashion.
The Class of 2026 marched from Kauke Arch to Scot Center greeted by the faculty.