{"id":12512,"date":"2025-05-23T15:37:04","date_gmt":"2025-05-23T19:37:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huangshizhaopin.com\/news\/?p=12512"},"modified":"2025-05-23T18:19:46","modified_gmt":"2025-05-23T22:19:46","slug":"the-class-of-2025-celebrates-achievements-at-saint-peters-134th-commencement-exercises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/huangshizhaopin.com\/news\/2025\/05\/23\/the-class-of-2025-celebrates-achievements-at-saint-peters-134th-commencement-exercises\/","title":{"rendered":"The Class of 2025 Celebrates Achievements at Saint Peter\u2019s 134th Commencement Exercises"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Monday, May 19, Saint Peter\u2019s University held its 2025 commencement exercises, a day filled with inspiring personal stories rooted in humble beginnings. For the graduates, the day was a culmination of hard work and resilience. For University President Hubert Benitez, D.D.S., Ph.D., it was his first commencement as the University\u2019s leader.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shared Stories of Resilience and Roots Inspire the Class of 2025<\/b><\/p>\n

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Commencement speaker Marta Costanzo Youth \u201987 (left) with Saint Peter’s President Hubert Benitez, D.D.S., Ph.D. (right)<\/p><\/div>\n

What resonated deeply with the Saint Peter\u2019s community was the strong connection shared between a number of the speakers at the ceremony and at the events leading up to this special day. The graduates heard from a range of voices, some seasoned leaders, others just beginning their journeys, but many with a shared origin story that began not in distant capitals, but in the Greenville section of Jersey City.<\/span><\/p>\n

Among them was Marta Costanzo Youth \u201987, a global diplomat and this year\u2019s commencement speaker, who returned to her <\/span>alma mater<\/span><\/i> to deliver a deeply personal address. Youth, who was also awarded a degree of doctor of humane letters <\/span>honoris causa,<\/span><\/i> described her journey from a grocer\u2019s daughter in Greenville to becoming a high-ranking U.S. Foreign Service Officer with more than three decades of global service.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn 1987, I sat where you sit now,\u201d Youth began. \u201cAt that time, just like each one of you, I could not have predicted where life would take me. What I did know is that Saint Peter\u2019s gave me gifts, Jesuit values, faculty encouragement and the belief that I could make a difference in the world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Youth\u2019s reflections were equal parts nostalgic and instructive. She shared that while she had dreamed of attending the Georgetown School of Foreign Service, she chose Saint Peter\u2019s instead because it offered a full academic scholarship and allowed her to stay close to home. What once felt like a setback, she said, became a springboard.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSaint Peter\u2019s turned out to be the very best thing for me. The individual interest my professors took in me was extraordinary. This University shaped my worldview, grounded me in service and propelled me into a life of public diplomacy,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Bill Price ’91 (left) with fellow members of the Board of Trustees and University President Hubert Benitez, D.D.S., Ph.D. (center)<\/p><\/div>\n

Youth offered graduates four pieces of advice: Be tenacious, stay true to your values, trust your instincts and define your own happiness. Her message, woven with stories from international assignments and humanitarian missions, was rooted in the understanding that even those who start in modest circumstances, like the streets of Greenville, can shape global policy.<\/span><\/p>\n

This theme was also struck in the week leading up to commencement by Bill Price \u201991, a member of the Saint Peter\u2019s University Board of Trustees, who addressed the Class of 2025 at the John J. Delaney ’50 Graduate Reception, an annual celebration that welcomes graduates into the Saint Peter\u2019s alumni community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During the event, Price reflected on his upbringing in the Greenville section of Jersey City, where he was raised by hard working parents who hoped for a better future for their children. He spoke about how the connections he made at Saint Peter\u2019s shaped him both personally and professionally.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI share my Saint Peter\u2019s story not because it\u2019s unique\u2014but because it\u2019s familiar,\u201d he told the graduates. \u201cMany of us have stories like it. And now, you\u2019re about to begin writing your own.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

His advice was simple but heartfelt: \u201cCome back for games and reunions. Mentor a student. Support a scholarship. However you choose, stay involved. Help the next generation of Peacocks write their own Saint Peter\u2019s stories.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Undergraduate commencement speaker Isabelle Bautista \u201925<\/p><\/div>\n

This thread continued throughout the commencement ceremony in the words of Isabelle Bautista \u201925<\/a>, the undergraduate commencement speaker. A first-generation college student and proud daughter of immigrants, Bautista also grew up just blocks from campus in Greenville.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI remember as a freshman watching commencement and thinking, \u2018I want to be her,\u2019\u201d Bautista said, reflecting on a speaker she once admired. \u201cToday, that dream has come full circle.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Her speech honored not just her own achievements, but the community that helped shape her: her family, friends, professors and the staff members who believed in her even when she struggled to believe in herself. She described her experience as a student in the sciences, a leader in student government and a tutor in the STEM Center, where every failed experiment and every long night turned into lessons in resilience.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bautista\u2019s journey, like those of Youth and Price, illustrates a central theme of this year\u2019s commencement: Saint Peter\u2019s is a place where humble beginnings are honored and bold futures take shape. Together, they offered the Class of 2025 a compelling message: your origin does not define your limits, but serves as a foundation on who you become.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Commencement Marked by Milestones and Meaningful Moment<\/b><\/p>\n

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Graduate commencement speaker Jenny Theroux \u201925<\/p><\/div>\n

The graduates also had the opportunity to hear words of inspiration from Jenny Theroux \u201925<\/a>, graduate of the industrial\/organizational psychology program and this year\u2019s graduate commencement speaker. Theroux, who returned to the classroom after more than two decades in the workforce, delivered a heartfelt speech about transformation and leadership rooted in service.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis moment isn\u2019t just about degrees and accomplishments; it\u2019s about transformation,\u201d she told her fellow graduates. \u201cReinvention doesn\u2019t always happen in a single moment. Sometimes, it\u2019s a quiet shift\u2026 That\u2019s what makes this journey so meaningful: not just the changes we choose, but the courage it takes to choose them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The event also recognized Dakota Pitts \u201925<\/a>, valedictorian of the Class of 2025. Pitts, a native of Abingdon, Maryland, embodies the Jesuit ideals of academic excellence, leadership and service. A double major in biochemistry and mathematics, standout Division I athlete and dedicated campus volunteer, she has made a lasting impact at Saint Peter\u2019s through her achievements in the classroom, on the field and in the community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

President Benitez closed the ceremony by celebrating the graduates, recognizing the support of their families and inspiring them with the words of St. Ignatius of Loyola: \u201cGo forth and set the world on fire.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Monday, May 19, Saint Peter\u2019s University held its 2025 commencement exercises, a day filled with inspiring personal stories rooted in humble beginnings. For the graduates, the day was a culmination of hard work and resilience. For University President Hubert Benitez, D.D.S., Ph.D., it was his first commencement as the University\u2019s leader. Shared Stories of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":12515,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3,5,2],"tags":[24],"class_list":["post-12512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-current-students","category-faculty-staff","category-future-students","tag-featured"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Class of 2025 Celebrates Achievements at Saint Peter\u2019s 134th Commencement Exercises - News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/huangshizhaopin.com\/news\/2025\/05\/23\/the-class-of-2025-celebrates-achievements-at-saint-peters-134th-commencement-exercises\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta 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