Over a weekend peppered with inopportune rain showers, the Colgate University community celebrated the accomplishments of the graduating Class of 2025, May 16–18. Working around the downpours and drizzle exemplified this class’s personality, whose arrival — having applied to college during the global COVID-19 pandemic, University President Brian Casey reminded them — was a “great and unique act of optimism and hope.”
“There is something in you that is deeply optimistic and prepared for wonder,” Casey said during Saturday’s baccalaureate service. “Keep your sense of wonder. In my estimation, the way you do this is to slow down and look, to consider what is happening, and to accept the possibility of awe and gratitude.”
Commencement ceremony keynote speaker Julianne Smith, former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, expressed three hopes for the graduates. First, “At a time of considerable global uncertainty…I hope your plans don’t go as planned,” she said.
“My plans have been derailed many, many times, and each time they were, what initially felt like disappointment or shock or worry turned into a real opportunity and left me with an important toolkit that has helped me navigate many complex challenges over the years,” Smith explained. “Each time those best-laid plans go awry — as they sometimes do, you’re actually building an arsenal of important skills and traits that only come with experience: like adaptability, resilience, humility, and crisis management. These are the traits that will define who you are as a leader, a colleague, or a member of a team, and shape how you will respond to sudden changes, failure, or a crisis.”
At the Sunday commencement exercises in Andy Kerr Stadium, 830 undergraduates were recognized for earning the AB degree and 6 graduate students were awarded a master of arts in teaching.
Smith’s second hope for the graduates was finding time for service. “I’d like you to consider public service in the government. At the moment, public service is being reviled, depicted as waste or as being carried out by people who are unproductive. That’s not what I’ve seen,” she said. “The years I have spent serving at the White House, the State Department, and the Pentagon have been the most rewarding of my career. Those years gave me an overwhelming sense of purpose and pride. Nothing compares to the first time you help solve an intractable problem or get asked by a senior-level official to brief them on an issue you know well.”
For those not interested in public service, she suggested, “Volunteer for a cause close to your heart, join a local board, or mentor someone who’s a few years behind you. Service is not about the size of the stage. It’s about using your skills and energy to lift others up. It’s about choosing purpose over prestige, and impact over credit.”
Smith’s final exhortation: “Find ways to remain authentic and your true selves… the power, the wealth, and the stature that often accompany success can sometimes reshape how you see yourself and how you treat others. Please don’t lose sight of who you are at your core. The most effective leaders I’ve worked with these past thirty years are those who radiate authenticity, leaders like Mark Rutte, the current Secretary General of NATO, who used to bike to work as the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, or Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who got up on stage one evening at a formal reception in Washington and played the drums.
“These small but authentic gestures build trust. It gives others permission to show up fully as themselves. And in a world that’s increasingly shaped by performance, image, and noise, being genuine is not just refreshing — it’s powerful. Above all,” Smith said, “strive to be the leaders we need right now — leaders who listen with empathy, act with integrity, lift others up, and aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo. The world needs your voice, your vision, your commitment. I’m counting on you. We all are.”
Class of 2025
- 830 undergraduates recognized for earning a bachelor of arts (AB) degree
- 6 awarded a master of arts in teaching (MAT), four with distinction
- Valedictorian: Jackson Kustell, of Barrington, R.I., summa cum laude, physics major; high honors in physics
- Salutatorian: Paul Schulze, of Austin, Texas, summa cum laude, mathematics and philosophy majors; high honors in mathematics
- 39 elected to Phi Beta Kappa
- 162 Summa cum laude
- 295 Magna cum laude
- 152 Cum laude