KINGSTON, R.I. – Dec. 16, 2025 – As he looked out to the more than 550 graduates seated on the Ryan Center floor during Saturday’s fall commencement, University of Rhode Island President Marc Parlange didn’t just see the University’s new alumni reach a pivotal milestone in their respective journeys.

He also saw a class of graduates—representing Rhode Island and dozens of countries around the world—that was shaped at URI by perseverance, curiosity and community.

“You arrived with different goals and different responsibilities, but each of you found a purpose that has helped define this chapter in the University’s history,” Parlange said. “We could feel the energy of a University on the rise. And whether you realized it or not, you helped build that momentum. But today is not just about where URI is going. It’s about where you are headed next.”

Parlange, URI faculty and trustees, and student commencement speakers Abby Forget of Newark, Delaware, and Iris Ribeiro of East Greenwich, Rhode Island, all offered words of encouragement and guidance amidst the pomp and circumstance. More than 3,000 family and friends cheered on the graduates, many of them wearing decorated caps, as URI’s new alums turned both their tassels and a new chapter in their lives.

Parlange reiterated why education and universities matter and pointed to the graduates inside the Ryan Center as URI’s “why.” They are the reason URI feels alive, Parlange said, and their “why” is now woven into the University’s history.

“As you sit here ready to cross this stage, I hope you can look back and see not only what you’ve learned, but who you’ve become. A degree marks knowledge, of course. But more importantly, it marks purpose,” Parlange said. “You leave URI not only with skills, but with a clearer sense of what matters to you and how you want to carry that with you wherever you go.”

Forget, who double-majored in sports media and communications and public relations in the URI Harrington School of Communication and Media, said in her address—which was a pleasant surprise to her family in attendance—she experienced some of her proudest moments and learned how to face adversity.

But Forget was regularly reminded by the URI community—her professors and fellow students—of her purpose, she said. As she became more involved in campus organizations and clubs, Forget said she learned the University’s true value and everyone who is part of it by living in the moment every day.

“I am absolutely sure that beyond here will bring more of both the good and bad, but my advice to you all, whether you’re a professor, graduate, or guest, is to remember to live and love through everything,” Forget said. “Be intentional and kind in all that you do, and just keep loving. It will give you purpose and be the best decision you’ve ever made.

“Keep shining your light and big things will come,” she continued. “Because I knew all of you, I have been changed for good. Now let’s go change the world.”

Ribeiro, who earned a Master of Arts degree in English at URI more than a decade after receiving her bachelor’s degree from the University of Hawaii, told graduates in her speech that her academic journey, according to society’s unwritten rules, was “all out of order.” She thrust herself into the workforce, juggling life as a single mother of twin daughters, before she decided two years ago to “shut out the naysayers” and pursue her master’s at URI, Ribeiro said.

The second she first walked onto the URI campus, Ribeiro knew her master’s journey would be a new, eye-opening experience. That journey, Ribeiro said, surrounded her with big thinkers of all ages and backgrounds with a common goal to “advance ourselves from the inside out.”

“Your degree, the extracurricular activities, and the time you spent writing lengthy essays and prepping for challenging tests are all great achievements; they are sure to help open doors and get you into the places and spaces you can only hope to be,” Ribeiro said. “But it is the relationships you build—the people you inspire, and the people who inspire you—that makes this journey called life so special.”

Along with thanking her family and professors for supporting her experiences at URI, Ribeiro also reminded her fellow graduates that they are more than just their resumes. She said it is important to provide positive, uplifting environments that make people feel grateful to have been in their presence.

“Ultimately, that is the lasting effect that your family, friends, coworkers, cohorts, bosses, business partners, and your own children, will remember,” Ribeiro said. “So, find your people, make them feel good, and remember that every minute is a moment; a chance to smile, to laugh, to make a new friend, to make someone feel seen, to tell someone you appreciate them, and to put down your phone and be present with the people who are standing right here, right now with you today.”

URI Board of Trustees member Maria Ducharme ’96, president of The Miriam Hospital in Providence and chief quality executive for Brown University Health System, welcomed the graduates to the more than 140,000-member University alumni family “who will carry Rhody pride wherever they go.”

“As life unfolds, new people and experiences will continue to shape your path. Cherish those connections,” she said. “Let your values guide you. When your goals align with your principles, you gain the courage to take risks, the confidence to persevere, and the wisdom to recognize what truly matters.”

In closing, Parlange reminded the graduates that public universities such as URI were founded on a simple idea: That knowledge should serve the public good. He noted many of the world’s most significant advancements were driven by public universities.

“You are now part of the long, proud story of public higher education—a story of opening doors, expanding opportunity, and pursuing knowledge with purpose,” Parlange said. “Stay open to the unexpected. Build a life that reflects your values. And remember that your work, in ways large and small, has the potential to change lives.”