WELLESLEY, Mass., May 15, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Babson College celebrated the achievements of the Class of 2023 during its 104th undergraduate and 71st graduate commencement ceremonies held on Saturday, May 13. Approximately 5,000 people attended the ceremonies at the Wellesley campus where close to 750 undergraduate and 650 graduate students were conferred with their degrees.
President Stephen Spinelli Jr. MBA’92, Ph.D., congratulated the graduates for their hard work and perseverance, saying, “At Babson, we teach you how to be entrepreneurial leaders, to be problem solvers and innovators who know how to get things done, no matter what the circumstances. And over the last four years, you’ve done just that. You passed the test. You proved you are ready for whatever life throws at you.”
Tim Ryan ’88, H’23, the U.S. chair and senior partner at PwC, addressed the undergraduate ceremony, and Dr. Reshma Kewalramani H’23, CEO and president at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, addressed the graduate ceremony. They were awarded Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees for their outstanding contributions to the entrepreneurial community.
The core theme of Ryan’s speech was focused on people and love—real love—which he said encompasses empathy, humility, understanding, and caring. He shared a story about the kindness he experienced on his first day at PwC, and how it has shaped him. The person who showed Ryan that empathy was an alumnus of Babson, a lesson he says he’s forever grateful for. Ryan told the graduates to emphasize the importance of considering the impact of your plans on others “My advice to you is the same advice I give to CEOs today. I know you have great plans—I did—but just remember the people you’re counting on to help you achieve those great plans,” he said. “Business is about people, and leading people is about love. And, so my simple message for the Class for 2023, I want you to lead with love,” said Ryan.
Kewalramani’s speech centered around “seizing the unremarkable.” She told the graduates the biggest moments in life aren’t always the most advertised, referencing her own personal journey of moving to the U.S. from India as a child, working in her dad’s small garment and electronics business in New York City, and then going to medical school.
Kewalramani said she did not follow a linear path, and never imagined she would become CEO, and certainly not the first woman CEO, of a large biotech company.
“Much of life is filled with seemingly unremarkable, seemingly mundane, and seemingly random moments. Nobody sits you down, lays it all out, and tells you how those disparate experiences can be connected to win the grand prize and the love of your life. My wish for you is that you seize your powers of observation, curiosity, and learning. And, train those powers on the seemingly unremarkable and unrelated body of life experiences, because it will drive your success,” said Kewalramani.
The commencement ceremonies also featured two student speakers chosen for their demonstrated leadership on campus, Divya Achanta ’23, and Kkhush Aggarwal MSEL’23, who addressed the undergraduate and graduate classes, respectively.
Martha DiMatteo Vorlicek ’81, H’23, senior advisor at HarbourVest Partners LLC, received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree during the undergraduate ceremony. Vorlicek is a current Babson Trustee Emeritus after an earlier stint on the Alumni Association Board. She also served on the Babson Connect Worldwide Advisory Board for the College’s Centennial in 2019, and was an inaugural member of the Circle of Distinction in 2019.
Richard W. Sorenson MBA’68, H’23, P’97 ’00, former president of Carling Technologies Inc., was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree during the graduate ceremony. Sorenson served as a member of the Babson Corporation (1996–1998) and as a trustee (1996–2001) and was an inaugural member of the Circle of Distinction in 2019. Both the Sorenson Center for the Visual Arts and the Carling-Sorenson Theater were named in his honor.
Additionally, two faculty were also named “Faculty of the Year” by the undergraduate and graduate classes of 2023. Glenn Migliozzi, Assistant Professor of Practice in the Finance Division, was chosen as the Undergraduate Faculty Member of the Year. Migliozzi has received this honor twice in the past three years, the previous one given by the Class of 2021. Richard Goulding, Associate Professor of Practice in the Operations and Information Management Division, has been named the 2023 winner of the prestigious Thomas Kennedy Award for Teaching Excellence. This award is given to a graduate professor nominated by a graduating student and voted upon by the graduating class.
About Babson College:
Based in Wellesley, MA, Babson College specializes in providing a premier business education through a unique entrepreneurial lens to produce highly effective leaders across all industries. Babson College has been revolutionizing business education since its founding in 1919 and is credited as the creator of entrepreneurship education. With a world-class alumni network that includes some of the most impactful executives in organizations of all kinds, Babson College prepares and empowers its students to become entrepreneurial leaders who add sustainable, economic, and social value everywhere. For more information visit: http://babson.edu/.
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