Family, friends, faculty and graduates of the Ford School of Public Policy gathered at Hill Auditorium Sunday afternoon to celebrate this year’s graduating classes. The school awarded four doctorate degrees, 107 Master’s degrees and 78 Bachelor’s degrees.
The commencement ceremony opened with remarks from Celeste Watkins-Hayes, interim dean of the Public Policy School. Watkins-Hayes began by commending graduates for their achievements.
“We gather here today in this beautiful space to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of our 189 outstanding graduates,” Watkins-Hayes said. “Smart, resilient, public-minded people who will be leading — and more importantly serving — our communities.”
Watkins-Hayes then described the mission of the Public Policy School and said she hopes the graduates continue to embody the University’s values after graduation. She highlighted the achievements of former President Gerald Ford, for whom the Public Policy School is named, as a source of inspiration for students.
“We inspire and prepare diverse leaders grounded in service, conduct transformational research and collaborate on evidence-based policymaking to take on our communities and our world’s most difficult challenges,” Watkins-Hayes said. “Service is at the core of the legacy of our nation’s 38th president and one of the University of Michigan’s most distinguished graduates.”
U-M alum Annie Maxwell delivered an address to the graduating classes on how a U-M education will prepare them for the shifting nature of the current political landscape. Maxwell said she admires graduates for choosing a public policy degree during a time of political unrest and turmoil.
“When I applied (to the Public Policy School) in the spring of 2000, the world was a very different place, and, in many ways, a more stable place,” Maxwell said. “I decided on a public policy degree in about as optimistic and naive a way as possible. But you, as a class, made a very different decision. The world is a much more dynamic and, dare I say, chaotic place than it was 20 years ago.”
The undergraduate and graduate student classes at the Public Policy School each elected a student speaker to represent them at commencement. Graduating Public Policy senior Joe Timmer represented the undergraduate class of 2023 and said he enjoyed watching himself and his classmates grow into the people they are today.
“Our graduation is a big deal, worthy of the pomp and circumstance of this ceremony and all the celebrations with family and friends that happen after, but the ceremony isn’t really about anything we actually did today,” Timmer said. “Every day leading up to this day is the reason that we got here. I hope today can be a celebration beyond your graduation. I hope that it can be a celebration of the person who walked in your shoes every day leading up to it.”
Public Policy graduate student Aissa Wandarama, speaker for the Master’s graduating classes, said despite struggling during her time at the Public Policy School, she came out the other side a stronger person.
“I hold a sense of pride and accomplishment for the personal growth and learning experiences I have gained here,” Wandarama said. “I recognize that this moment would not be possible without overcoming the challenges that I face as a woman, a woman of Color, an African, a Muslim and an immigrant. I felt the demands of grad school on top of the demands of being a full-time parent.”
At the closing of the ceremony, Watkins-Hayes presented the 2023 graduates of the Public Policy School.
“Graduates, we’re grateful to have served you and we know that you’ll continue to serve others.,” Watkins-Hayes said. “I believe in you, I’m proud of you and I know that what we taught here will serve you well. Never forget that the Ford School is your home in Ann Arbor. Go forward and go blue.”
Summer Managing News Editor Mary Corey can be reached at mcorey@umich.edu.