2025 Winter Commencement

Members of the Class of 2025, welcome to the one-hundred-and-ninety-sixth (196th) Commencement ceremony of Indiana University.

Earning a college degree is an unparalleled accomplishment.

During your time at IU, you have learned how to learn; how to inhabit the life of the mind.

This life-changing skill will empower you to conquer new heights and master new challenges. 

It is an invaluable asset and a point of pride, and we have been looking forward to celebrating this moment with you.

Indiana University is proud of its long and distinguished history. As a public university, we are deeply grateful for the support we receive from the people of Indiana. 

We are proud of the university’s service to our state, our country, and the world for more than 200 years.

We are particularly pleased to have members of the Board of Trustees of Indiana University with us this morning.

I ask them to stand as I introduce them, and could you please hold your applause until both are standing?

Joining us today are Brian Eagle, of Fishers, and Isaac White, our student trustee, of Fountain City, Indiana.

Please join me in greeting our trustees.

Also with us today are senior members of our administration, including the vice presidents of Indiana University and the vice chancellors of the Bloomington campus. Their names are listed in your printed and digital programs. We are grateful for their work to support your academic success.

We are also joined by members of our faculty, whose outstanding scholarship and dedication to teaching make this Commencement possible, and members of our dedicated staff, whose work has also contributed to the success of our graduates.

I ask our senior leaders, faculty, and staff to stand, and would you please give them all a round of applause?

And there is one last group to acknowledge—and I hope that you acknowledge them from the heart today. 

I have three grown children, all of whom have graduated from college.

So, I speak from personal experience when I say that as special as this day is to all of you… your mothers are really happy today. 

So, could our graduates please applaud the mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, grandparents, and friends who are with us this morning? 

Thank you.

Graduates, today we not only celebrate your amazing accomplishments, but also the important rite of passage of becoming a member of Indiana University’s global family of more than 806,000 alumni.

And now a message from our alumni. 

Thank you, Julia.

To you, and to everyone in the Class of 2025, congratulations!

Now, it is my pleasure to introduce our student speaker. 

Shreyansh Gala is from Mumbai, India.

He is graduating today with highest distinction, with a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the Kelley School of Business.

A recipient of the Global Engagement Scholarship, Shreyansh came to IU after successfully launching and managing several ventures of his own in Mumbai. Since arriving he has completed internships at Nirmata-ai Ventures, KPMG, and Bank of America.

Beyond the classroom, he served as analyst for the Financial Investment Review, a mentor for the Kelley Investment Banking Workshop, and president of the Jain Student Association at IU.

Shreyansh will soon complete his Master of Science in Finance joining Bank of America as an investment banking analyst.

Please welcome Shreyansh Gala to the podium.

Thank you, Shreyansh, for your inspiring words. Please accept our sincere best wishes to you in your future endeavors.

Trustees, Chancellor Reingold, Provost Shrivastav, faculty and staff colleagues, family and friends, and members of the Class of 2025: 

We gather here in December, a season often associated with reflection and with the quiet before the new year. 

But looking out at this arena, I don’t see a quiet ending. I see a powerful beginning. I see the energy and ambition of a class that is graduating at one of the most electric moments in the history of Indiana University. You are entering the world at a time when the very definition of "possible" is being rewritten here in Bloomington. 

Commencement is, first and foremost, a celebration of academic achievement. We are here to celebrate your intellect, your discipline, and the diplomas you have earned. 

But we cannot ignore the energy that has pulsed through this campus all semester. 
This fall, we all witnessed something extraordinary at IU—a turnaround no one could ignore. Yes, you saw it on the football field. But it wasn’t really about football. It was about what happens when people commit to excellence, believe in each other, and decide that “good enough” is never the goal. 

That spirit of possibility—the belief that the improbable can become inevitable—has defined this campus all year. And it is precisely the mindset that will define your careers. 

Though it may seem to have happened rapidly, IU’s football program success didn’t happen overnight. It is the result of years of hard work and intentional investment in coaching, player development, and academic support.  

In the same way, the investment that will serve as the foundation for your own success is the one you have made in earning a quality education at Indiana University. 

This shared reality proves a fundamental truth: Reputations are not destiny. History is not a cage. And a monumental turnaround is always within reach if you dare to aim for the best. It demonstrates that you can change the narrative faster than anyone expects if you put in the work and refuse to accept mediocrity.  

It represents the very best of the Hoosier spirit—a spirit that is now undeniably yours. 

You are a formidable group. The nearly 2,000 students graduating today come from 64 countries, 43 states, and 75 of Indiana's 92 counties. Our youngest graduate is 20, and our oldest is 67.

Regardless of where you are from, you all share a proven excellence in the classroom. One hundred and forty-five of you are graduating with double majors. And two overachievers are graduating today with triple majors! 

This graduating class is filled with students who have aimed for the best, not only on the field, but in the lab, the classroom, and the community. 

Take Abigail Huelsmann from the College of Arts and Sciences. A Hutton Honors student graduating with highest distinction with a degree in biology, Abigail didn’t just study science; she practiced it. 

Through teaching and research, she laid the foundation for her future in optometry. She put in the grueling hours when no one was watching to ensure she was ready for the next level. 

We see that same standard of professional mastery in the arts. Caleb Allison, graduating with a doctorate from the Media School, didn’t wait for his degree to make his mark on cinema. He served as cinematographer for a film written and directed by Oscar-nominated actor Jesse Eisenberg—proving that our students are already operating at the highest level of their industries.  

You have also proved that you can succeed by balancing multiple elite pursuits. Jack Wagoner from the Kelley School of Business is graduating with high distinction with a double major in finance and accounting. But he also knows a thing or two about winning for Indiana. As a captain of the men’s soccer team, he helped lead the program to three Big Ten titles and four NCAA Tournament berths. Jack proves that you don’t have to choose between being an elite athlete and an elite scholar—you can aim to be the best at both. 

Your ambition extends beyond our campus to the global stage. Sofia Balashvili, a dual master’s student in the O’Neill School, is already tackling the climate crisis. From representing IU at the UN Climate Summit to collaborating with the U.S. State Department on energy solutions in Central Asia, Sofia has applied the knowledge gained in our classrooms directly to the world's most pressing challenges. 

We also see this commitment to excellence in how you care for others. Members of the Class of 2025 have helped raise significant amounts of money to support Riley Hospital for Children through their participation in one of the nation’s largest student-led philanthropic events—the IU Dance Marathon. This fall, IU students raised more than $3.1 million for Riley, a powerful demonstration of hope that every member of the Class of 2025 can take great pride in.  

Whether you are from the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering, finding solutions to tomorrow's tech challenges, or the Jacobs School of Music, performing on the world's biggest stages, you are all part of a university that has decided it is done waiting for "someday."  

We are winning now. You are winning now. As you turn your tassels today, I want you to cherish this specific moment in history. You are the class that graduates with the Hoosiers on top of the world. You are the class that saw the impossible become reality. 

And speaking of that reality, I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge a graduate who helped script one of the most thrilling moments of this miraculous year. Wide receiver Omar Cooper, Jr., is graduating today with a degree in kinesiology from the School of Public Health. 

Omar is a proud 2022 graduate of Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis, and he’s been a Hoosier ever since.  

How many of you remember the game on November 8th against Penn State? 

That last-minute, toe-tapping touchdown catch in the back of the endzone was a statement. It was the moment we knew that this time, things were different. Omar and his teammates demonstrated what it means to seize the moment when the pressure is at its highest. 

Class of 2025, that is your charge. 

The world may tell you that certain problems are unsolvable, that certain careers are out of reach, or that you are the underdog. When you hear that, I want you to remember this autumn in Bloomington. I want you to remember that with the right team, exemplary leadership, and an unwavering belief in yourselves, you can turn any situation around. 

Don’t just hope for a promising career. Aim to be the undisputed number one. 

As you venture into the world, I encourage you to return to Bloomington often. Each visit will bring a renewed appreciation for the beauty of our campus, and cherished spots like the Sample Gates and the Indiana Memorial Union that have become part of your IU experience. 

You will feel deeply connected to this place, knowing you always have a home at Indiana University. The bonds you have formed here, the memories you have created, and the growth you have experienced will forever be a part of you. 

Your journey at IU may be coming to an end, but your connection to this university will endure. 

You are always welcome here, and we look forward to seeing the incredible paths you will forge. 

Congratulations to the Class of 2025. 

Go out there and win! 

It is now my pleasure to invite David Reingold, Chancellor of the Bloomington campus and Executive Vice President of Indiana University, to assist in the conferral of degrees.

Today, you are graduating into a world where complexity and change are the norm. 

In this environment you will face unique challenges, and be granted a broad array of opportunities. 

We cannot say for certain what awaits, but what we can say is this:

The world needs principled leaders. The world needs thoughtful, tenacious, and imaginative innovators.

Which is to say…the world needs you.

And you are ready.

You are prepared because, today, you cross a threshold.

Today, you become an Indiana Graduate.

The Indiana Graduate stands where the best of what we have been—meets the unwritten story of what we can be.  

You will write that story. 

Write it in your own words and in the authentic, wonderful way you express yourselves.

Your actions — in your careers, in your family life, as you build your community, and as you better our world — will create an amazing story. One that is unique. One that no one else can write. 

You will not write it alone. And it will not stand alone, but alongside those of more than 806,000 fellow Indiana University alumni.

Your story will inspire others, the future generations of IU graduates who too will sit where you are right now, ready to embrace the opportunities of their own extraordinary time. 

Today is your day. 

Remember this, and remember each other. All of Indiana University is proud of you—for everything you have done, and for everything you are about to do. 

Now, will ALL candidates for degrees please stand once again?

Candidates, by the authority vested in me by the Trustees of Indiana University, I am proud to confer upon you the degrees recommended by the faculty, with all attendant rights and responsibilities. 

For those of you earning your first college degree, I now invite you to move your tassels from the right side to the left side of your caps.

Congratulations! 

Now it’s time to toss those caps!

At the conclusion of today’s ceremony, please remain seated until the platform party and faculty have exited. Our staff and marshals will assist in directing you to the appropriate exits. 

Now, would all who are able please stand as we join in our tradition of linking arms and singing “Hail to Old IU” and “Indiana, Our Indiana.” 

Again, congratulations!