{"id":105953,"date":"2025-12-16T20:01:56","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T20:01:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/?p=105953"},"modified":"2026-01-07T17:35:39","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T17:35:39","slug":"uri-fall-graduates-encouraged-to-keep-shining-your-light-change-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2025\/12\/uri-fall-graduates-encouraged-to-keep-shining-your-light-change-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"URI fall graduates encouraged to \u2018keep shining your light, change the world\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Dec. 16, 2025 \u2013 As he looked out to the more than 550 graduates seated on the Ryan Center floor during Saturday\u2019s fall commencement<\/a>, University of Rhode Island President Marc Parlange didn\u2019t just see the University\u2019s new alumni reach a pivotal milestone in their respective journeys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also saw a class of graduates\u2014representing Rhode Island and dozens of countries around the world\u2014that was shaped at URI by perseverance, curiosity and community.<\/p>\n\n\n

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University of Rhode Island President Marc Parlange addresses the graduates during the University\u2019s 2025 Fall Commencement ceremony on Dec. 13 at the Ryan Center.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cYou arrived with different goals and different responsibilities, but each of you found a purpose that has helped define this chapter in the University\u2019s history,\u201d Parlange said. \u201cWe 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\u2019s about where you are headed next.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parlange, URI faculty and trustees, and student commencement speakers Abby Forget of Newark, Delaware, and Iris Ribeiro of East Greenwich, Rhode Island<\/a>, 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\u2019s new alums turned both their tassels and a new chapter in their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Abby Forget, who double-majored in sports media and communications and public relations in the URI Harrington School of Communication and Media, addressed her fellow graduates and family in her speech.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Parlange reiterated why education and universities matter and pointed to the graduates inside the Ryan Center as URI\u2019s \u201cwhy.\u201d They are the reason URI feels alive, Parlange said, and their \u201cwhy\u201d is now woven into the University\u2019s history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs you sit here ready to cross this stage, I hope you can look back and see not only what you\u2019ve learned, but who you\u2019ve become. A degree marks knowledge, of course. But more importantly, it marks purpose,\u201d Parlange said. \u201cYou 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2014which was a pleasant surprise to her family in attendance\u2014she experienced some of her proudest moments and learned how to face adversity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Forget was regularly reminded by the URI community\u2014her professors and fellow students\u2014of her purpose, she said. As she became more involved in campus organizations and clubs, Forget said she learned the University\u2019s true value and everyone who is part of it by living in the moment every day.<\/p>\n\n\n

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More than 550 graduates received their diplomas on Dec. 13 during the University of Rhode Island\u2019s 2025 Fall Commencement Ceremony.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cI am absolutely sure that beyond here will bring more of both the good and bad, but my advice to you all, whether you\u2019re a professor, graduate, or guest, is to remember to live and love through everything,\u201d Forget said. \u201cBe intentional and kind in all that you do, and just keep loving. It will give you purpose and be the best decision you\u2019ve ever made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKeep shining your light and big things will come,\u201d she continued. \u201cBecause I knew all of you, I have been changed for good. Now let\u2019s go change the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Graduates celebrate during the 2025 Fall Commencement Ceremony.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Ribeiro, who earned a Master of Arts degree in English at URI more than a decade after receiving her bachelor\u2019s degree from the University of Hawaii, told graduates in her speech that her academic journey, according to society\u2019s unwritten rules, was \u201call out of order.\u201d She thrust herself into the workforce, juggling life as a single mother of twin daughters, before she decided two years ago to \u201cshut out the naysayers\u201d and pursue her master\u2019s at URI, Ribeiro said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second she first walked onto the URI campus, Ribeiro knew her master\u2019s 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 \u201cadvance ourselves from the inside out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYour 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,\u201d Ribeiro said. \u201cBut it is the relationships you build\u2014the people you inspire, and the people who inspire you\u2014that makes this journey called life so special.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Some University of Rhode Island graduates wore decorative caps during the 2025 Fall Commencement Ceremony.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUltimately, that is the lasting effect that your family, friends, coworkers, cohorts, bosses, business partners, and your own children, will remember,\u201d Ribeiro said. \u201cSo, 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

URI Board of Trustees member Maria Ducharme \u201996, 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 \u201cwho will carry Rhody pride wherever they go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs life unfolds, new people and experiences will continue to shape your path. Cherish those connections,\u201d she said. \u201cLet 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s most significant advancements were driven by public universities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou are now part of the long, proud story of public higher education\u2014a story of opening doors, expanding opportunity, and pursuing knowledge with purpose,\u201d Parlange said. \u201cStay 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.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Dec. 16, 2025 \u2013 As he looked out to the more than 550 graduates seated on the Ryan Center floor during Saturday\u2019s fall commencement, University of Rhode Island President Marc Parlange didn\u2019t just see the University\u2019s new alumni reach a pivotal milestone in their respective journeys. He also saw a class of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":105954,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[12,88,30,25,4,56,41,5,1914,127,18,1912,1915],"class_list":["post-105953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","tag-college-of-arts-and-sciences","tag-college-of-business","tag-college-of-education","tag-college-of-engineering","tag-college-of-health-sciences","tag-college-of-nursing","tag-college-of-pharmacy","tag-college-of-the-environment-and-life-sciences","tag-graduate","tag-graduate-school-of-oceanography","tag-harrington-school-of-communication-and-media","tag-special-events","tag-undergraduate"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105953"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105983,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105953\/revisions\/105983"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}