Reflection Amid the Celebration for LeBow’s 2024 Graduates
There was no sense in rushing through the more than 1,000 names of graduates in the LeBow College of Business Class of 2024. At the College’s commencement ceremony at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, the graduating students and their families soaked up every second of a joyous, celebratory morning.
After all, why hurry through such a landmark moment? As student speaker Samantha Gedeon, BS behavioral economics, business and organizations ‘24, put it in her address on behalf of the entire graduating class: “Time: We have it, and there is no need to rush. Your timeline is yours, and honestly, I believe it’ll play out exactly how it’s supposed to.“
Leading up to the awarding of diplomas to nearly 700 undergraduates and over 300 graduate students, as well as doctoral hoods to candidates from the PhD in Business, PhD in Economics and Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) programs, Gedeon and other speakers paid tribute to the qualities that helped the graduates reach this milestone and will continue to serve them well in their careers.
Keynote speaker Christine Dorfler, MBA ’09, and executive vice president and CFO of the National Football League, drew stories and inspiration from the sports world — not just from football. Spurred by an Instagram post by British marathon runner Anya Culling, who made a vast improvement in her finish time in just over two years, Dorfler encouraged the graduates to “pursue fearlessness” and considered how her own pursuit has helped her to overcome doubts and obstacles of all kinds.
“Anya Culling didn’t think she’d be one of the fastest women in the UK only three years after leaning into distance running simply to get through the mental challenges of the pandemic. When I was a graduate student at LeBow, I never dreamed of being the CFO of the NFL.
“Who knows what all of you will accomplish? Dream big and don’t limit yourselves — the possibilities are endless.”
In his remarks, Drexel President John Fry emphasized the need to be adaptable and embrace diverse viewpoints as the pace of change, both in business and the world at large, accelerates: “As Drexel-educated graduates with advanced practical skills and experiences, you are equipped not just to adapt to changes in our economy, but to thrive in industries yet to be invented — assuming you don’t invent them yourselves.”
In contrast, Dean and R. John Chapel Jr. Dean’s Chair Vibhas Madan, PhD, marked the occasion by celebrating patience and deliberation as undervalued virtues.
“Given the many challenges and opportunities ahead, and the increasing pace of change, there is an urgency to adapt quickly and avoid being left behind, driven by the fear of missing out,” he says. “An extremely powerful trait in such an environment is patience. I urge all of our graduates to think about the power of patience and the clarity it can lend to understanding the implication of choices you make and the paths you follow.”
This perspective was also reflected in student speaker Gedeon’s address, as she invited her fellow graduates to take time to reflect and to be grateful.
“Think about how much we’ve evolved over the past one to five years. Think about how adaptable we have been … There have probably been some amazing highs and way too many lows, but guess what? We did it!”
The procession of graduates across the stage in their caps and gowns to the cheers and applause of their friends and families is no doubt a high point. They took selfies, broke out dance moves and embraced one another as they closed out this stage of their lives and began another.
