Stern School of Business Commencement

Click on the image above for more photos.

Thursday, May 22
10 a.m.
Radio City Music Hall
1260 Avenue of the Americas
664 bachelor degree graduates

At the Stern commencement ceremony, held in the dazzling Radio City Music Hall, a major theme was the celebration of individuality and innovation. Undergraduate dean Geeta Menon set the mood with her affirmation that despite the many “shared commonalities,” each student brought their own personal experience. From there, between keynote speaker Craig Hatkoff, co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival, imploring graduates to engage in “the informal daily practice of lifelong learning” to student speaker Kim Pham asking graduates to “celebrate the unorthodox,” there was an overarching thread of honoring idiosyncrasy and education. Hatkoff, who brought along one of the hammers that are given as part of the Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Awards, told graduates that they all would certainly fail at something, but their reaction to failure would define them. Pham, who referred to her classmates as “blindingly bright and beautifully complex,” encouraged them to cherish what made them individuals. Following the presentation of the graduates, the auditorium was played out to the tune of “New York, New York” on the organ.

Felipe De La Hoz is multimedia editor. Email him at [email protected]