Bright futures incoming: David Coleman ’25 shows off his hard-earned degree. For Coleman, that’s one with a double major in Computer Science and Data Science. / Photo by Richard Trinh
Saint Mary’s Undergraduate Commencement: A Vibrant Class of 2025 Charges into the Future, ‘Eyes Forward’
Hundreds of graduating seniors, friends, and family gathered for the ceremony in Saint Mary’s Stadium on May 24. The themes of the day were hope, perseverance—and bringing an ethic of community to a world that badly needs it.
This is part of a series of stories on Saint Mary’s Commencement 2025. Check out Graduate & Professional Studies Commencement 2025 and watch for video highlights.
From the moment they entered Saint Mary’s Stadium on May 24, each member of the Class of 2025 told a story all their own. No words required, either; the nearly 400 graduates wore those narratives on their sleeves—and shoulders, and shoes, and hats.
As graduating Gaels settled into their seats, the sun illuminated a sea of black robes punctuated by color. Vibrant stoles—representing the different schools of Saint Mary’s, clubs, personal heritage, and beyond—were layered beneath blue hibiscus leis and pink feather boas, medallions and koa wood necklaces. Mortarboards were another canvas. One Theatre major adorned hers with flowers from every bouquet she had received after performances. Another student had a fresh take on an old classic: “KARMA IS A GAEL,” their grad cap proclaimed.
The Class of 2025—earning bachelor’s degrees from the School of Liberal Arts, the School of Science, and the School of Economics and Business Administration—brought dynamism aplenty to Saint Mary’s College. One of the College’s most diverse classes ever, the class also continued a growing trend: Around a quarter of graduating Gaels identify as first-generation college students.
They are no stranger to adversity, either. Many of these new graduates arrived at SMC amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, attending classes virtually or socially distanced and masked. Today, Acting Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Carol Ann Gittens acknowledged, students will enter a world “grappling with the intertwined crises of war, violence, hunger, unrest, and uncertainty.”
All the more reason, President Roger Thompson exhorted in his first Commencement address at Saint Mary’s, for graduating Gaels to hold tight to hope and perseverance. “It empowers us to believe in a better world—and then take steps toward building it,” Thompson said. “As you write your future chapters,” he concluded, “remember this: Hope and perseverance will help shape the plot. They are the themes that will carry you forward.”
The Power of We
The Class of 2025 has certainly written memorable chapters in the Saint Mary’s story. They helped propel Men’s Basketball, Women’s Softball, and now Men’s Baseball to their respective West Coast Conference Championships. They built cutting-edge AI models, won a top prize at the College’s annual startup competition, and made the most of a full-ride performing arts scholarship. And they shaped connections across cultures and histories, creating new organizations like the Middle Eastern and North African Club and helping establish the College’s official land acknowledgment.
Now, those graduates will be setting out to make contributions beyond this tight-knit community. In his address, Valedictorian Dominic Fleming ’25 noted that, while SMC wasn’t what he initially envisioned for his college years, it was precisely what he needed. “Here at Saint Mary’s, I’ve come to understand what real community looks like,” Fleming said, “Not just friendships with classmates, but something so much more valuable: family.”
In many ways, Fleming noted, that emphasis on “We” over “I” is at odds in the wider world with what he calls “toxic individualism” that is so prevalent. Upon leaving Saint Mary’s, he said, “we’ll face a world where the myth of self-sufficiency is the only answer.” All the more reason, he continued, to “stay connected with one another… Foster the community you worked so hard to create."
Horizon-Bound
Commencement speaker Toussaint Bailey ’02, JD knew precisely what graduates were feeling that morning. More than two decades earlier, he sat in those seats himself. He went on to earn his law degree at UCLA and establish a career as an entrepreneur and investment professional guided by the principle that uplifting others is a good investment. He is the managing partner and founder of Uplifting Capital, a minority-owned and majority women-led investment firm that makes financially compelling investments that positively impact pressing global challenges, including climate change, housing, and accessible education.
Reflecting on his own college graduation, Bailey noted that much of what made that day meaningful was knowing what it meant to his family. For his father, who had come to California at age nine aboard a segregated train from Louisiana, watching Toussaint cross the Saint Mary’s commencement stage in 2002 “was magic.” The same was true for their loved ones, too, he told the Class of 2025.
“Remember this place, this very moment, anchor to it, when you need to rest,” Bailey said. At the same time, he said, the word commencement signifies a beginning, not an ending. “For now,” he said, “eyes forward, get up, and go.”
Soon, the Class of 2025 would do just that. But for a few hours, at least, graduates and their families reveled in a day of celebrations throughout campus, taking part in the grad grounds traditions. Barbecues sizzled, mariachi bands played, cameras flashed, and friends and family embraced. They raised toasts and they laughed and they danced in the brilliant California sun.
This, too, would be a moment to anchor in, for years and decades to come.
Hayden Royster is Staff Writer at Saint Mary’s Office of Marketing & Communications. Write him.
Undergraduate Commencement 2025: Highlights, Memories, and Moments
Photos by Bryan Navarro, Richard Trinh, and Francis Tatem
