05/28/2026
Triple Shark Angelica Barron Maulucci ’17, ’18MSW, ’26DSW served as the graduate student speaker at the afternoon Commencement ceremony! 🦈🦈🦈
Maulucci’s remarks reminded graduates of their interconnected selves. “This is history arriving … today, I do not just see accomplishment. I see devotion. I see a celebration — for our ancestors, for our younger selves, for those in this room, and those in our hearts … And this is what Simmons has taught me: that we do not become alone.”
Maulucci left attendees with a meditation on love: “May we live as the love that brought us here today, and carry it forward into the future waiting for us.”
🔗 Read more about highlights from the 121st Commencement ceremonies at the link in the comments!
📸 Photo by Ivana Lucero, Grad Images.
05/28/2026
Daniella Oyindamola Adeshina ’26, our undergraduate student Commencement speaker, encouraged the Class of 2026 to reflect on who they were when they began their studies at Simmons.
“There were moments when things felt uncertain. Moments when the pressure felt quiet, but heavy. But we still showed up. We smiled. We said we were fine. Because strength does not always look loud. Sometimes strength looks like staying. Sometimes strength looks like trying again.”
As graduates “step back into the unknown,” Adeshina urged them to do so with gratitude and faith, and to remember that “even in uncertainty, there is purpose.”
🔗 Read more about highlights from the 121st Commencement ceremonies at the link in the comments
📸 Photo by Ivana Lucero, Grad Images.
05/28/2026
Rachel “Rae” Ilyce Otero ’26MS, our morning Commencement ceremony graduate student speaker, found unexpected joys at Simmons, including “a diverse set of brilliant professors in my field," and “a community with such creative-minded people."
Otero shared the “early-life crisis” she experienced after completing her undergraduate degree and not knowing what to do next. After quitting her plan to teach middle school English, Otero pivoted to library and information science and found where she was meant to be.
Her reminder to the Class of 2026? “There is always time to grow, to learn, to dream, to quit, to fail, and to start over... know that you are ready, and the world is waiting.” 🌍 💙
🔗 Read more about highlights from the 121st Commencement ceremonies at the link in the comments!
📸 Photo by Ivana Lucero, Grad Images.
05/27/2026
“Lead from where you stand.”
Simmons was honored to have Dr. Anthony Estreet, Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), address the Class of 2026 as our afternoon Commencement speaker!
Conferred with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree, Estreet emphasized that true leadership cannot be reduced to titles and credentials. “Leadership is how you show up, how you treat people, how you carry responsibility.”
🔗 Read more about highlights from the 121st Commencement ceremonies at the link in the comments!
📸 Photos by Ivana Lucero, Grad Images, and Ashley Purvis.
05/27/2026
"Not to be able to anticipate the good as well as the fatal is what gives life savor and the thrill of possibility.” ✨
Simmons was thrilled to welcome back acclaimed author Gregory Maguire '78MA, Simmons alumnus and former professor and associate director of the Center for the Study of Children’s Literature, to address the Class of 2026!
48 years after receiving his own Master’s degree from our Center for the Study of Children's Literature, the "Wicked" author returned to receive an honorary Doctor of Arts.
Maguire urged graduates to “Cherish openly whom you love ..." and to “remember about the movement of time, and that you are HERE YET in every moment."
🔗 Read more about highlights from the 121st Commencement ceremonies at the link in the comments!
📸 Photos by Ivana Lucero, Grad Images, and Ashley Purvis.
05/26/2026
Simmons was honored to welcome Massachusetts Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll as one of our Morning commencement speakers for the Class of 2026!
After receiving an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Lt. Gov. Driscoll congratulated our graduates on their incredible achievements while openly addressing the challenges and uncertainties ahead. She also advised graduates to consider a role in public service.
“This Commonwealth leads because we believe deeply in the power of education, research, creativity, and civic engagement. It’s why people from around the world come here to learn, to innovate, and to build futures. And now you are part of that story.”
🔗 Read more about highlights from the 121st Commencement ceremonies at the link in the comments!
📸 Photos by Ivana Lucero, Grad Images, and Ashley Purvis.
05/26/2026