Utica University Celebrates the Class of 2026 at 77th Commencement Ceremonies
“Find joy in learning and working, even when it’s difficult.”
Change was in the air, but the ties that bind were abundant as hundreds gathered at the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium Sunday, May 3 to walk the stage and celebrate Utica University’s class of 2026 as they moved onward to the next chapter.
At each ceremony, it began as it always does – with the entrance of the Mace Bearer, Dr. Thomas Rossi. More than 700 undergraduates and graduates participated in Utica University’s 77th Commencement exercises, giving everything they’ve got to make their way to the finish line like a car at the speedway, an analogy not lost on Utica University President Stephanie Nesbitt, who loves cars.
“You have spent years learning the rules of the road,” President Nesbitt told the undergraduate class. “Professors taught you how to read the signs, navigate the curves, and anticipate what might come next. But now, graduates, you hold the keys, and you must begin driving.”
Though undergraduates walking the stage may be heading out to their career knowing exactly what gear they belong in, President Nesbitt warned that life will throw uphill stretches where “a lower gear is necessary.”
“Don’t be afraid to down-shift,” she reminded them. “There will be moments when the gear that once felt powerful and just right for the road no longer fits. That does not mean you have failed. It means you are growing and continuing to move forward.”
She also asked graduates as they go through life to remember that the joy of driving even the fastest and sportiest of cars and careers isn’t just where they’re going, but all the feelings and moments along the way.
“Find joy in learning and working, even when it’s difficult,” she told them. “Find peace in relationships, not just accomplishments. Allow yourself to appreciate where you are, not just where you hope to be someday. Take it from me, someone who has shifted a lot of gears in her days: success without presence feels empty. Purpose without joy is heavy. A destination without understanding why you have chosen to go there will leave you feeling lost.”
And like many trips, she pointed out that detours are just part of the drive through life.
“Some of the most rewarding roads are ones we never planned to take,” President Nesbitt said. “It’s the job you didn’t expect, the relationship you didn’t anticipate, the interest that grew into a passion—or, the thing or person you walked away from completely that you once couldn’t imagine living without.”
Keeping in mind that they aren’t the only ones on the road, President Nesbitt asked graduates to be sure and stay connected to those who remind them of who they are and where they started – that on a long trip, no one drives well entirely alone.
“Graduates, you leave Utica University not just with degrees, but with boundless potential, with responsibility, and with the freedom to choose how you will drive forward,” she said. “The road ahead will challenge you. It will thrill you. It will disappoint and surprise you. And through it all, I hope you remember: you don’t need to have the entire journey figured out to begin.”
Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente Jr., a 1994 graduate of Utica University, addressed the graduating Class of 2026 as Keynote Speaker at Utica’s Undergraduate Commencement.
“You graduate today from an institution grounded in great history and intellectual creativity, and it has been a constant in preparing generations to grow, to learn and to lead an ever-changing world—a world that is so very different from what was founded 250 years ago,” Picente told the graduates. “A world that today changes by the minute.”
Looking to the future, Picente reminded graduates that they are the ones who will carry the world there.
“For the class of 2026, you are now that next generation that we will be looking at to solve problems, create new strategies, build new communities, or improve the old ones. Perhaps find a cure for one of the thousands of diseases that plague us. Or develop technology that helps us understand the technology that we don’t understand. Maybe it will be as simple as one of you finding a solution for peace. All of it is possible.”
He offered students a few suggestions, no matter what their next steps post-commencement – to never be afraid to ask for help, never be afraid to fail, to get involved in your communities, and not to hate.
“We’re imperfect,” he said. “We are a nation built on dialog, debate, and the peaceful exchange of ideas—not fear, and certainly not hatred. Here in Oneida County, we work together, because we respect each other. Where we worship, where we shop, who we socialize with, should not come with conditions from anyone. Many of you started four years ago not knowing anyone in your class, yet here you are together. It can be done. Somewhere we lost our way. Some of the people in my profession have forgotten that we are servants to the people, not masters.”
It was at the undergraduate ceremony that Utica honored not one, but two valedictorians for 2026 - Makayla Arnold and Tess Barrett. Arnold, of Marcy, New York, is a health sciences major and psychology minor who will now be entering Utica's Physical Therapy Doctorate program. Barrett, from Tewksbury, Massachusetts, is a biology major with a pre-med focus, currently working as a medical assistant at Central New York Brain and Spine, where she will continue as she studies for the MCAT and begins the application process for medical school. The two share the highest academic honor in the graduating class, with each having earned a perfect 4.0 grade-point average.
Professor of Mathematics Dr. Brad Emmons was honored at the undergraduate ceremony as the 2026 recipient of the Dr. Virgil Crisafulli Teaching Award. The Virgil Crisafulli Distinguished Teaching Award is bestowed annually at Utica University. Instituted in 1974 through a gift from a friend of the college, the Crisafulli Award is considered Utica University’s finest tribute to a faculty member. The recipient is chosen through nominations made by faculty colleagues and through a rigorous review by past recipients of the honor along with this year’s valedictorians.
Earlier that morning on Sunday, May 3, hundreds of Pioneers earned certificates, masters and doctoral degrees at the Graduate Commencement Ceremony, also held in the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. It was there that President Nesbitt asked the Graduate Class of 2026 to keep in mind their roles as guiding lights for the world.
“I see you all as leaders,” President Nesbitt told them. “Not leadership limited solely to titles or offices, but the kind that shapes teams, organizations, families, and communities. The kind of leaders the world needs now more than ever.”
Using the example of one of her favorite leaders – Major Richard “Dick” Winters, World War II, Korean War veteran, and Commander of E Company (better known as Easy Company), 2nd Battalion of the 506th Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, President Nesbitt talked of leadership not as something exercised from a distance, but developed and earned through action and presence.
“Leading from the front means taking responsibility when things go wrong,” she explained. “It means sharing credit when things go right. And it means having the courage to act when standing still would be easier. And, when you lead from the front, lead with authenticity and kindness.”
That authenticity means knowing both who you are, she told the crowd, and leading from that place honestly.
“It means not pretending to have all the answers, being secure enough to admit mistakes and strong and smart enough to grow from them,” she said. “And kindness, far from being a weakness, is one of the most powerful leadership tools you possess. Kindness builds trust. It creates psychological safety. It allows people to take risks, to innovate, to do their best work, and be the best version of themselves.”
As graduates, they trained their minds and began the journey of developing their competence. Now, President Nesbitt explained, she encourages them to lead with their humanity as well.
“The world does not need more leaders who are impressive,” she explained. “It needs leaders who are genuine and humane. This is true because success is built through teams and communities. We live in a world that often celebrates individual achievement. But no meaningful success—none— happens alone.”
It was a reminder to graduates that they did not reach this moment by themselves, but with the support of mentors who challenged them, peers who encouraged them, and friends and family who believed in them, even when they doubted themselves.
“Wherever your path leads, whether you command companies, classrooms, clinics, laboratories, families, or communities lead in a way that others are proud to follow,” she said. “Lead in a way that allows you to say, as the scene goes dark on the story that will be your life, that you served in the company of heroes.”
The graduate keynote address was given by Harold Coleman, a 2017 alumna of Utica’s graduate program and now the Senior Vice President of Information Services at Upstate Caring Partners, a non-profit agency that for more than 75 years has offered programs and services to people of all abilities and become a leader in special education, residential and community services, and behavioral health support.
“You didn’t earn these degrees by avoiding fear,” Coleman reminded the graduates. “You earned them by facing it—by researching, defending ideas, revising your work, failing forward, and showing up again.”
Coleman asked those in the crowd to remember that freedom begins when they realize fear doesn’t get to decide their future.
“For a long time, I wanted to be recognized for what I could do, hoping that recognition would finally make me feel “enough.” What I didn’t realize was that chasing approval was quietly stealing my joy and clarity,” he said. “Life has a way of layering stress, expectations, disappointments, and unspoken burdens onto us. If we’re not careful, we carry those weights into every new season. Freedom comes when we give ourselves permission to heal.”
Raised in Port Byron, New York, the proud husband and father of two daughters currently lives in Oriskany Falls, New York and serves on the boards of his church, the Center for Leadership Excellence, David’s KidZ International, and Camp Shiloh Ministries.
“Your education, insight, voice, and influence are not personal trophies. They are responsibilities,” Coleman reminded graduates. “You will shape systems, organizations, research, policies, and lives. Some of you will teach. Some will heal. Some will lead. Some will innovate. In every role, you will have opportunities—big and small—to lift others.”
