Magic hours: Joy—and a shower of bubbles—filled Saint Mary’s Stadium on a beautiful spring evening as members of the Graduate and Professional Studies Class of 2026 celebrated Commencement. / Photo by Bryan Navarro
‘Get a Little Bit Better Each Day’: Saint Mary’s Celebrates Graduate and Professional Studies Class of 2026
From perseverance to purpose, the evening honored lifelong learners, veterans, and graduates stepping into new chapters of their professional and personal journeys—with advice and encouragement from a Gael legend who served as commencement speaker.
This is part of a series of stories on Saint Mary’s Commencement 2026. Look for our Undergraduate Commencement 2026 recap in coming days. Watch for video recaps of both ceremonies here or on our YouTube channel.
On a clear, warm evening at Saint Mary’s College Stadium, the Class of 2026 gathered to celebrate the culmination of years of dedication, study, and personal growth. The Graduate and Professional Studies (GPS) Commencement, held on May 21, welcomed more than 350 students who earned certificates, credentials, and advanced degrees, including doctoral candidates who participated in the traditional hooding ceremony. Shielding themselves from the late-day sun, families, friends, faculty, and administrators filled the shaded bleachers, creating an atmosphere of pride, joy, and anticipation for the graduates’ next chapters.
Among the proud graduates were those from the School of Science, the School of Liberal Arts, the School of Economics and Business Administration, and the Kalmanovitz School of Education, representing the breadth and diversity of Saint Mary’s and its commitment to academic excellence and innovation.
The ceremony opened with the Saint Mary’s land acknowledgment read by Rebecca Jabbour, PhD, Chair of the Academic Senate, honoring the Saclan/Jalquin/Huchiun/Muwekma Bay Miwok and Ohlone ancestral territory. Following the processional march, Lasallian Scholar Caledonia Sailor Buchanan ’24, MA ’26 offered the invocation, emphasizing faith, social justice, respect, quality education, and inclusive community—principles the graduates carry forward from their Saint Mary’s journey.
Provost Carol Ann Gittens, PhD, MBA welcomed the sun-drenched graduates and, after recognizing the College’s faculty, administrators, Trustees, and De La Salle Christian Brothers, acknowledged the depth of support and mentorship that helped make the graduates’ accomplishments possible. “We celebrate each of you—not just for what you’ve accomplished but for the impact you have had on our College community,” she said.
Underscoring that the world needs the positive influence that graduates are poised to deliver to their communities, President Roger J. Thompson, EdD reminded those receiving their degrees of the perseverance and adaptability required to succeed in life and in their careers.
“Graduate and professional education is a unique journey,” he said. “For many of you, earning this degree required balancing coursework alongside careers, family responsibilities, and, for some, military service. No matter the path, each of you demonstrated extraordinary commitment in reaching this moment.” He encouraged graduates to continue writing their personal stories with courage, curiosity, and ethical leadership.
Turning experience into empathy
After spending 25 years leading a successful Bay Area staffing agency, Ginny Velasquez, MA ’26 decided to pursue a new path centered on helping others. Inspired in part by the struggles she witnessed among young people during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, she enrolled in Saint Mary’s Kalmanovitz School of Education to pursue a master’s degree in Clinical Counseling.
Though family obligations extended her academic journey to four years, Velasquez embraced the experience and found the program transformative both professionally and personally. “You spend so much time thinking about the human mind and relationships that you really get to know yourself better,” she said. “That has been phenomenal.”
Now interning at local schools and a community mental health clinic in Contra Costa County, Velasquez hopes to continue working with families and young people. Her research has focused on “ecotherapy,” an emerging field exploring the healing connection between mental health and time spent in nature.
Velasquez also praised the close-knit atmosphere at Saint Mary’s and the support she received from her professors and classmates. “When they ask, ‘How are you?’” she said about her fellow counseling students, “they actually mean it.”
Building communities and career growth
After earning an undergraduate degree in urban planning from the University of Colorado, Boulder, Andrew Durham, MBA ’26, came to Saint Mary’s seeking the business expertise needed to grow his career in home development and construction management.
While completing the program, Durham balanced coursework alongside full-time work responsibilities, including a year spent managing a job site in Palm Springs.
Since beginning the School of Economics and Business Administration’s MBA program, Durham has already seen the professional growth he hoped for, moving from customer service into project management with a Bay Area development company. He said the program strengthened his financial literacy and gave him the confidence to contribute more fully in high-level business discussions. “It really brought me up to speed with the lingo,” he said. “Now I can be in those meetings and feel confident about sharing my opinion and knowing it’s coming from a good place.”
Originally from the Seattle area and now living in the Bay Area community of Pleasanton, Durham described Saint Mary’s as a “nestled little gem” and praised the flexibility and support of the faculty throughout his academic journey. “They were really understanding,” he said. “They helped me get through and make the changes I needed along the way.”
Advancing science across borders
Thalia Brittany Singh, PSM ’26 hails from Trinidad and Tobago, and she came to the Bay Area in 2023 with a goal of advancing her career in biotechnology and cancer research. After earning undergraduate degrees in chemistry in her home country and working in the food and beverage industry, she enrolled in Saint Mary’s Professional Science Master’s program in Biotechnology, drawn both by the College’s affordability and the growing biotech hub in nearby South San Francisco.
“The pandemic really put into perspective how fragile life can be,” Singh said. “I really wanted to make a difference in biotechnology and cancer research.” During her final semester, she completed an internship with the South San Francisco offices of Kanvas Biosciences, where she gained hands-on experience in cancer-related research and deepened her interest in the field.
Singh said the diversity and support within Saint Mary’s relatively new Biotechnology program helped make her feel at home. As part of the program’s first cohort to include international students, she built friendships with classmates from around the world and praised the faculty for their encouragement and mentorship throughout her academic journey. She quietly noted that she graduated with a 4.0 GPA, “so I feel like I’m on top.”
WATCH: 2026 Graduate & Professional Studies Commencement
Connecting cultures and communications
Originally from Kauai, Hawai’i, first-generation college student Jaden DeSouza ’25, MA ’26, first came to Saint Mary’s as a student-athlete and Environmental Science major after discovering the College through the book Colleges That Change Lives. After earning her undergraduate degree last year—as well as the top award presented to a female student-athlete—she returned to Moraga for a fifth year to pursue a Master of Arts in Communication while continuing her track and field career.
DeSouza said the Communications program unexpectedly aligned with her long-term goal of helping bridge Indigenous knowledge and Western science, particularly in her native Hawai’i. Her graduate research explored Native Hawaiian perspectives on using modern mapping technology to preserve traditional cultural knowledge. “There’s not a lot of communication between those two worlds,” she said. “I really want to help that come together.”
Now balancing graduate coursework, multiple jobs, collegiate athletics, and a daily commute from San Francisco, DeSouza praised the close-knit culture and mentorship she found at Saint Mary’s. She said the one-year Communications cohort deepened her understanding of how thoughtful, strategic communication can build engagement and connection across cultures and communities.
From Moraga to the world stage
As the sun began to set, NBA champion and Saint Mary’s alumnus Matthew “Delly” Dellavedova ’13, this year’s Commencement speaker, strode to the podium and spoke to the core theme of continuous growth.
Drawing on his experiences navigating professional basketball, Olympic competition, and a post-athletic career in venture capital, he told graduates: “Get a little bit better each day.” He shared lessons about taking ownership of one’s development, embracing setbacks as opportunities for learning, and staying curious through reinvention. His reflections on perseverance and resilience resonated deeply with an audience of adult learners, many balancing multiple professional and personal responsibilities.
Among the graduates were eight military veterans, honored for their service and commitment. And a special part of the ceremony was the awarding of a posthumous Teacher Credential in Special Education to Mauricio Tijero, accepted on his behalf by his sister Laura Tobin. These, too, highlight the breadth of achievement and the enduring legacy of Saint Mary’s community.
The evening concluded with the conferral of degrees by Eric Flowers, EMBA ’04, Chair of the Saint Mary’s Board of Trustees, followed by the tassel-turning ceremony and singing of the Alma Mater. As the sun set over a perfect 70-degree evening, graduates embraced the milestone, ready to carry forward the skills, values, and lessons gained at Saint Mary’s into their next chapters of professional and personal growth.
Congratulations to the Saint Mary’s College Graduate and Professional Studies Class of 2026.
Graduate and Professional Studies Commencement 2026: The Evening in Photos
Photos by Bryan Navarro
