As Bryant University's largest graduating class eagerly lined up for their procession to the Commencement tent on the morning of May 16, the weather seemed to celebrate with them as sunny skies, chirping birds, and a slight breeze to keep the seniors cool matched the mood of the day. Fixing each other’s tassels and hoods, sharing laughs with friends and faculty, and securing their caps with bobby pins, the 921 soon-to-be graduates from Bryant’s College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business, and School of Health and Behavioral Sciences prepared to start their next chapter.
“It’s bittersweet,” reflected Marketing major Larissa Lusso ’26, as she prepared for the ceremony and noted that she would be starting a sales position at ADP after graduation. “I loved it here, but I’m really excited to grow and move on.”
But, before they left campus, students experienced a final spirited send-off. Following a performance of the national anthem by Leo Donnelly ’26, Rabbi Steven Jablow delivered an invocation where he encouraged students to “be better every day,” and Board of Trustees Chair D. Ellen Wilson ’79 officially convened the ceremony.
The Class of 2026, Bryant University President Ross Gittell, Ph.D., noted in his remarks, first came to campus in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic but went on to thrive as the university flourished around them. They would now complete their undergraduate journey at another moment of profound change — the early years of the AI revolution.
In this new era, Gittell encouraged graduates to draw upon the resilience, curiosity, sense of purpose, and strong connections they had developed at Bryant.
“You are prepared as a Bryant University graduate — not just with knowledge and skills, but also with the ability to ask better questions, engage in thoughtful and insightful inquiry, take action with clear intention, and then reflect and learn from your experiences,” he advised.
Gittell concluded with a final vote of confidence. “Congratulations, Class of 2026,” he said. “We believe in you, we are proud of you, and we cannot wait to see what you do next.”
Commencement speaker and Honorary Degree recipient Amy C. Edmondson, Novartis professor of leadership and management at Harvard Business School, began her speech by acknowledging that its topic was something not normally addressed at celebratory events like graduation: the concept of failure.
Some failures are the result of preventable mistakes, she acknowledged, while others are the result of complex factors that lead to error. But then, there are failures that are almost magical. She encouraged students to embrace the idea of "intelligent failures" — the first drafts and experiments in new territory that enlarged their world and paved the way to new discoveries.
“The experiments that don't pan out, the ideas that need revision, these will not be holding you back from success. They form your path to success,” shared Edmondson. “These kinds of failures lead you to be wiser, more capable, and more ready for the next try.”
In a world that is astonishingly complex and uncertain, with new technologies reshaping everything around us, she reminded the Class of 2026 that their value would not be in always being right, but in their ability to learn.
Edmonson encouraged the class to embrace the courage to take thoughtful risks, the curiosity to explore and re-examine, and the compassion to accept that others are on their own paths of experimentation.
She concluded her uncommon remarks with an equally uncommon, but heartfelt, wish, “May you seek out more intelligent failures that stretch your abilities and expand the sense of what's possible,” she requested. “May you fail wisely, learn deeply, and contribute courageously.”
Bryant also conferred an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration to Glenn Creamer, co-founder of and senior advisor for Providence Equity Partners for his extraordinary leadership in global finance, longstanding commitment to humanitarian and philanthropic service, and dedication to strengthening communities around the world.
Delivering the Student Charge, Lucas Ketchian, ’26, ’27MBA, a Finance and Business Economics double major who will begin his MBA studies next fall, encouraged his classmates to push the “boundary between who you are now and who you can become.”
An avid mountaineer, Ketchian drew parallels between climbing and the academic journey just completed by the Class of 2026. Relating the story of a winter hike on Mt. Liberty, where he was forced to turn back by minus-55-degree weather, Ketchian said the mountain was not testing his strength, but his willingness to grow.
“There is a moment on every climb when your body asks a familiar question: Why are you still going?” Ketchian said. Reaching one’s full potential is never comfortable, he noted, but is always worth it.
“We are the next generation of leaders, so conquer the mountains that no one thought possible,” he said. “Discover why you are here and have the courage to climb toward it.”
Ketchian’s words resonated with his peers as they prepared to summit their own mountains on a variety of paths.
For Economics major Teddy Lanzaro ’26, that journey was reflected by the many tassels around his shoulders, each signifying a Bryant accomplishment or involvement.
“I worked hard all four years – I found what I wanted to do and who I wanted to be,” says Lanzaro, who has secured a job as a claims adjuster for Hanover Insurance Group.
Even as she celebrated the conclusion of her time at Bryant, Exercise and Movement Science major Julia Bearden ’26, who will be earning her master's in Strength and Conditioning at Merrimack College while working as a strength and conditioning coach at the College of the Holy Cross, couldn’t help but ponder the road ahead.
“I'm excited for my career and getting that started,” says Bearden.
Accounting major Lindsay Mollin ’26, who will be working at Andersen as a COM tax associate, captured the spirit of a day rooted in both jubilation and anticipation.
“My time at Bryant has really shaped who I am and the people that I surround myself with, so I’m looking forward to seeing where life takes me,” said Mollin.