Something about graduation stirs up a strange mix of emotions, especially now that I have my own kids. In recent years, I’ve sat on stage and watched every student cross it, studying their faces as they walk. Most wear a blend of genuine excitement and quiet anxiety.

And I’m reminded—despite how obvious it sounds—that each one is someone’s child. For all the frustration or stress some may have caused their teachers, coaches, or administrators, they’re still the center of someone’s world.

There’s a tendency to downplay graduation, to call it "just the beginning" and not something worth celebrating. But when I look at the grads pictured below, I don’t feel that way. I feel grateful to have known them, and to have played a small role in the arc of their lives.

And now it’s their turn to do that for someone else.

Congratulations, Eagle Scholars Class of 2025.

See you on LinkedIn.

Aquinas College

• Matthew Busch

Ball State University

• KeAnna Mills

Eastern Michigan University

• Antoneo Wofford

Grand Valley State University

• Damiya Reid

Henry Ford College

• Naima Nettles

• Sydney Okeke

Lawrence Technological University

• Jason Ambrose

Michigan State University

• Kendall Black

• Darielle Floyd

• Chase McFarlin

• Adriana Ratliff

• Gabrielle Strange

• Ariana Strong

• Trinity Walker-Boyd

Olivet College

• Emori Jones

Schoolcraft College

• Kayla Frazier

• Marcus Hampton

• Leo Mello

• Justin Wardwell

Texas Southern University

• Jada Collins-Henderson

University of Michigan – Ann Arbor

• Skyy Arnold

• Lailah Jallah

• Avah Poynter

University of Michigan – Dearborn

• Arlo Boyd

• Angelina Martin

Wayne State University

• Jesse Acquah

• Micah Jennings

• Mariam Sillah

• Zola Smith

Western Michigan University

• Kadence Meah

Atkinson, Karina
Babich, Alexandra
Balogun, Samuel
Bello, Miracle
Blakely, Mercy
Bradley, Madisyn
Bray, Khaleesi
Butler, Aiden
Cancel, Elijah
Chandler, Tristan
Cheeks, Konnor
Coney, Leila
Copeland, Makayla
Cox-Spencer, Mason
Darby, Aiden
Denham, Candice
Dunlap, Dorian
Fuhrman, Charles
Gagin, Emery
Grant, Kennedi
Gray, Jeremiah
Hall, Lauren
Harris, Emery
Hauenstein, Violet
Henderson, Chaise
Henderson, Jayden
Hill, Cydney
Holland, Sahnai
Howard, Austin
Howard, Raven
Hubbard, Victoria
Humphrey, Amaya
Jackson, Edgar
Jackson, Zachariah
Jackson, Zyeir
Jamerson, Selena
Jones, Kah’lan
Jones, Morgan
Knight, Jordan
Latimer, Christian
Lyons, Aaliyah
Maddox, Keonna
McNeil, Kameron
Morton, Braylynn
Murrey, Dorian
Nzums, Davin
Peeples, London
Philapy, Cholenna
Pringle, Kamille
Robinson, Lauren
Rojowski, Olivia
Rubalcava, Daisy
Scales, Dwayne
Smith, Kelsey Kaylee
Smith, Royal
Thomas, Tequan
Thompson, Dashiel
Thompson-Nelson, Kaly
Tomiak, Skylar
Townsel, Deandre
Tyner, Rae'Lyn
Ugochukwu, Onyinyechukwu
Waller, Rayleigh
Warren, Braelyn
Webb, Kaya
Willis, Kalonyi
Wilson, Kaylah
Wright, Haidyn

Musician Nick Cave on cynicism and hopefulness:

“Cynicism is not a neutral position — and although it asks almost nothing of us, it is highly infectious and unbelievably destructive. In my view, it is the most common and easy of evils. I know this because much of my early life was spent holding the world and the people in it in contempt. It was a position both seductive and indulgent…

Unlike cynicism, hopefulness is hard-earned, makes demands upon us, and can often feel like the most indefensible and lonely place on Earth. Hopefulness is not a neutral position either. It is adversarial. It is the warrior emotion that can lay waste to cynicism. Each redemptive or loving act, as small as you like… keeps the devil down in the hole. It says the world and its inhabitants have value and are worth defending. It says the world is worth believing in. In time, we come to find that it is so.”

Source: ​The Red Hand Files, Issue #190 via jamesclear.com

-Rory