Five hundred members of the Class of 2025 were celebrated Sunday on Roger Hull Plaza during Union’s 231st commencement.
When she arrived at Union four years ago, Sage Stinson ’25 charted a path to make the most of her college experience: Get involved.
She did just that. She was president of Student Forum, where she had a speaking role in a number of the College’s signature events such as Convocation and Founders Day.
Stinson was a founder of ACE (Association of Campus Events), an organization responsible for the majority of late-night, weekend programs on campus.
She was active in the dance program, performing in multiple concerts throughout her four years. She also performed with her classmates at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland.
“I tried to be a part of everything,” said Stinson, a psychology major with minors in dance and anthropology from Palatine Bridge, N.Y. She plans to pursue a master’s in applied behavioral analysis at Western New England University.
“I’m going to miss Union. It feels like family here.”
Stinson was among the 500 members of the Class of 2025 who were celebrated Sunday on Roger Hull Plaza during Union’s 231st commencement.
In his remarks, the student speaker, Aiden Markoff, shared a deeply personal and compelling story, and the profound impact it had on his time as a student.
The featured speaker was Emmy Award-winning journalist Joanna Stern ’06, senior personal technology columnist at the Wall Street Journal. Stern has spent nearly two decades covering the tech industry with a focus on consumer impact, helping readers navigate trends and make smarter tech decisions.
Currently, Stern is diving into the artificial intelligence-powered future with an upcoming book exploring how A.I., robots and smart machines have infiltrated every aspect of her life. With A.I. expected to be the most transformative technology in a generation, it was an appropriate theme for her address.
Stern reflected on her time at Union, where she was a political science major and co-editor of Concordiensis, the student newspaper. A year after she graduated, the iPhone was introduced, and technology would change the world in ways never imagined.
“You are about to enter a world in an even deeper transition,” Stern told the class. “The political climate? Tumultuous. The actual climate? Same. The economy? The general state of the world? Same and same. And now artificial intelligence is poised to reshape our lives in far bigger ways than the iPhone and the mobile revolution that it kicked off.
The featured speaker was Emmy Award-winning journalist Joanna Stern ’06.
“Just this week I was out in Silicon Valley and the message was clear: A.I. is the most important technological change in a century or more. It’s going to change jobs. It's going to take jobs. It’s going to make new jobs. And artificial general intelligence—the idea that machines will be smarter than us isn’t a matter of if, but when.”
Stern touched on the challenges and opportunities A.I. brings and reassured students that Union has prepared them to meet the moment.
“Union has always created thinkers, inventors, creators and problem-solvers,” she said. “I can confidently say Union prepared me for the twists, the challenges, the completely unexpected paths I’ve had in the last 19 years. And it’s prepared all of us for a future where A.I. and machines might be just as smart—or smarter—than we are.”
She offered the class her five rules for living and thriving in an A.I. world: These include: be a creative human; be an adaptable, lifelong learner; be a truth seeker; be a hard worker; and be a collaborator.
While A.I. is a useful tool, Stern cautioned that it lacks human soul and experience. To illustrate her point, she played an A.I.---created song, then introduced Ashley Sofia '11. A Nashville-based folk-rock singer, Sofia performed “Ten Years Time,” a song she wrote while at Union.
“That A.I song was missing the hurt, the nuance, the truth of real storytelling,” Stern said. “What set us apart from artificial intelligence is our emotion, creativity and vulnerability. So, lean into that.”
Despite the powerful presence of AI, Stern reminded the class that its greatest collaborators remain other humans.
“My best, most creative work over the years, the stuff that won me awards and accolades, came because I had people who challenged, inspired and supported me,” she said. “At the end of the day, it’s not the machines that will define your future. It’s the relationships you build, the values you carry, and the curiosity and creativity you bring to everything you do.
As part of her Commencement remarks, Joanna Stern '06 brought out Ashley Sofia '11, a Nashville-based folk-rock singer, to perform.
“It’s about the power of connection, community and showing up for one another. Let’s face it, when the robots come for us, our best bet… is to lean on each other.”
With that, Stern brought back Sofia to lead the audience in a singalong of “Lean on Me.”
Stern received an honorary doctorate of letters degree.
The College also awarded an honorary doctorate of science degree to Jon Fewell Harrison, the Virginia M. Ullman Professor of Ecology in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University in Tempe.
Harrison is an environmental physiologist who studies how insects function, interact with their environment and evolve. He was nominated for the honorary degree by Scott Kirkton, professor of biological sciences.
In his remarks, the student speaker, Aiden Markoff, shared a deeply personal and compelling story, and the profound impact it had on his time as a student. During the spring of his first year at Union. Markoff received a call from his mother: she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Two months later, Markoff’s father suffered a heart attack on his 66th birthday while biking around the lake near their New Hampshire home and died.
“These experiences shook me to my core,” said Markoff, an English and economics major. “I was tasked with the challenges of trying to support my mom as she recovered, as well as trying my best to take over the helm of the family ship as we navigated uncharted waters. All of this, without my greatest mentor, my dad. I wish you could be here today. Happy Father’s Day, old man.”
Markoff paused his Union story, taking a term off to be at home with family. He did some substitute teaching and coached his younger sister’s middle school ski team. He also realized his calling in life was not the finance job he thought Union was preparing him for, but instead to inspire young people through a shared love of learning, sports and stories.
“I’ve spent the last four years analyzing stories, frequently unmoved by the titans of the canon, and brought to tears by the unassuming members of my writer’s workshops,” he said. “My main takeaway from these stories is that the who, what, when, and where of a story don’t end up mattering all that much; they change to make each story unique but aren’t what drives them. The how and why are the core of each story.
“Class of 2025, we are all storytellers. Not only are we heroes in our own stories, no different than Odysseus or Katniss Everdeen, we get to write the story of our lives every day through our choices. Whether we studied anthropology, biology or civil engineering, we’ll all be telling our stories as we move out into the world. Our actions will be our words, the world around us, our pages.”
This was the final Union commencement for President David R. Harris. Last fall, Harris announced he would be stepping down at the end of the academic year after seven years. He was presented with an honorary doctorate of letters by Julie Greifer Swidler ’79, chair of the College’s Board of Trustees.
This was the final Union commencement for President David R. Harris. Last fall, Harris announced he would be stepping down at the end of the academic year after seven years. Elizabeth Kiss, chief executive of the Rhodes Trust and former president of Agnes Scott College, assumes the presidency July 1.
Harris was presented with an honorary doctorate of letters by Julie Greifer Swidler ’79, chair of the College’s Board of Trustees. Swidler praised his exceptional leadership, including steering the College through a global pandemic, making every student feel special and securing the two largest gifts in Union's history.
In his charge to the graduates, Harris reminded them that they are leaving Union at a time of tremendous uncertainty and transition, and when leadership is desperately needed. He then leaned into parts of the College's vision statement that he has repeated often throughout his presidency.
"I ask that you commit to continuing to develop as leaders," he said. "I ask that you never forget that leading requires wisdom, empathy and courage. I ask that you lead in ways large and small. I ask that you continue to lead across the multiple tomorrows that await you."
The world, Harris noted, needs leaders who operate at the Union of liberal arts, engineering and computer science, at the Union of theory and practice, and at the Union of commonalities and differences, among other traits.
“Our world needs you, Union College Class of 2025," Harris said. "You are bright lights. May your lights forever shine, shine, shine.”
Ten members of the Class of 2025 received special recognition during the ceremony.
A record seven students of the Class of 2025 earned the distinction of valedictorian: Gabriella Baratier, Maren Friday, Gabriella Gatto, Taryn LaFontaine, Trevor Smick, Abby Wilder and Michael York. All seven graduate with a perfect 4.0 grade point average.
Three students earned the distinction of salutatorian as a result of achieving the second highest grade point average in the class: Viraj Brahmbhatt, Sara Davis and Ariana Rogowski.
The celebration opened with remarks from Stacie Raucci, College marshal and the Frank Bailey Professor of Classics. Swidler offered welcoming remarks.
Following “Ode to Old Union," the ceremony concluded with a performance by Mollyjane Boyle ’26 and the Union College Japanese Drumming and Global Fusion Band of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “How Far I’ll Go” from the Disney movie “Moana.”
To learn more about Commencement, visit the website.