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Nazareth University celebrates Commencement on May 16 and 17

Legacy diplomas create special moments

Rochester, NY (05/16/2025) — Nazareth University's commencement ceremonies for the Class of 2025 are May 16 and 17 at the Golisano Training Center on campus. The graduate ceremony is Friday, May 16, at 6 p.m., and two undergraduate ceremonies are Saturday, May 17, at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. All ceremonies will be livestreamed.

Chris Hilderbrant '99, an advocate for people with disabilities for more than two decades, is Nazareth University's Commencement speaker. Nazareth will grant an honorary degree to Hilderbrant during Friday's graduate ceremony.

Nazareth is celebrating a new tradition of legacy diplomas that began last year. Forty Nazareth alumni are signed up to ceremoniously hand their graduating students their diplomas. Family members with their own Naz education - from siblings, parents, and grandparents to cousins, aunts, and uncles - will help create extra special moments on the Commencement stage this weekend as they deliver the diplomas.

Those meaningful moments include: On Friday, Aimee Hawkins graduates with a master's in art education in the same ceremony where her son, Bruce Hawkins III, earns a master's in early inclusive childhood education. Aimee will cross the stage and then present her son's diploma. She says celebrating this milestone with her son is unforgettable. "I am inspired by my son's hard work, perseverance, and compassion. Watching him grow into the dedicated young man he is today has motivated me to pursue my own goals, even when the path felt challenging. Balancing the responsibilities of being an adult learner, a wife, and a mother of four has required creativity and sacrifice. Still, the support and encouragement of my family have made every challenge worthwhile." Watching from the audience will be proud husband and father Bruce Hawkins Jr. '89, who earned his master's in elementary education at Nazareth.

In Saturday morning's ceremony, siblings Erin and Jacob O'Sullivan graduate with bachelor's degrees in social work and sports marketing, respectively, and their older sister Megan O'Sullivan, a 2020 alumna of LifePrep@Naz, will hand them each their diplomas. LifePrep@Naz is an innovative program providing a fully immersive on-campus college experience for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Erin says it's a moment to cherish. "I'm nearly two years older than my brother. I took some time off from school to figure out what I wanted to do and started attending Nazareth in fall 2023 to join the social work program. So it is really special that we both get to walk the stage this weekend, and Megs handing us our diplomas makes it even better!"

Class of 2025 interesting facts:

  • 750 students (both grad and undergrad earned degrees in 2024-25 academic year
  • Hailing from 16 states and four countries
  • Three sets of twins
  • The youngest graduate is 20 years old
  • The oldest graduate is 70 years old

Nazareth's Class of 2025 graduates are heading into careers, such as data scientist, lab technician, music performer, teacher, and social worker, and on to graduate degrees. See some student profiles from the Class of 2025.

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