IU Kokomo celebrates Class of 2026 at Commencement

KOKOMO, Ind. - The Indiana University Kokomo Class of 2026 could not have ordered a more picture-perfect day for Commencement.

With sunshine, blue skies, and temperature in the mid-60s, the campus celebrated its graduating class with a burst of red and white confetti and festive brass music at its 57^th Commencement.

More than 400 graduates in black caps and gowns, with red IU stoles, processed from the Main Building through the Quad, where faculty cheered and applauded from both sides as they continued to the ceremony at the Pavilion, accompanied by the IU Brass Quintet.

"It's a beautiful day to graduate. Are you ready?" IU President Pamela Whitten said, to cheers from the graduates.

Chancellor Mark Canada congratulated the class and welcomed them to the IU alumni family.

"Today is all about you," he said. "Thousands of family members, friends, professors, staff members, and others are here to celebrate your wonderful accomplishment: graduation from IU Kokomo."

He asked, though, if today was about them, what about tomorrow?

"Let me make a suggestion," he said. "Tomorrow, and for that matter, the day after that and the day after that, can be about the world, namely the world that you can serve with your college education. No matter what you chose to study here - health sciences, art, criminal justice, radiography, business, history, or something else - you have skills and knowledge you can put to work to elevate the people and the natural world around you.

Canada said while war, poverty, oppression, intolerance, disease, climate change, and other problems are discouraging, there is good news: Education is the tool to overcome those problems.

"Now you have this tool, and I encourage you to use it - not only in your careers, but in your families and in your communities," he said. "I hope you will use your knowledge and critical thinking skills to nurture your loved ones, to cast informed votes, and to work for positive change in the world."

Canada continued a campus tradition of sharing success stories from the graduating class, and inviting groups and individuals to stand for recognition.

He congratulated first generation college students like Tristan and Sam Robinson, brothers who earned degrees in chemistry and education, and criminal justice, respectively. He applauded student athletes like Breanna Koester, who played tennis while earning a degree in exercise science, and will begin a Doctor of Physical Therapy program in August. He highlighted students who have been involved in campus life, including Elisabeth Pennington, who participated in Cougar Choir, Student Government Association, and traveled to England with the Innovation Symposium.

"Today, graduates, we celebrate all of you," he concluded. "Tomorrow, you change the world."

Lucy Ponce, who earned a degree in education, represented graduates as class speaker. She commended them on taking a chance on earning a degree, knowing it would not be easy. Her own journey was difficult, as she juggled raising three small children, working two jobs, and enduring the death of her father. There were times she wanted to quit, and she knows other graduates faced their own obstacles.

"While we all fought different battles to get here, we didn't give up. Even when it felt easier to," the Logansport resident said. "Because sometimes the world says something is impossible. And then you have two choices. You can believe it, or say, 'Watch me. Watch me keep going when things get hard. Watch me overcome obstacles that once felt impossible. Watch me reach goals I once thought were out of reach."

The degrees being received were proof they didn't give up, she said, encouraging her classmates to remember the moments they overcame to get where they are.

"When the world says it cannot be done, answer it the same way we did," she said. "With determination. With courage. And with two simple words: Watch me."

Whitten said IU Kokomo, and the Class of 2026, have shown what is possible, noting that skeptics expressed doubt that a regional campus could deliver life-changing education and experiences, make a difference for the state, and offer community on a campus without residence halls. IU Kokomo and its students prove them wrong.

"But the most important example is not a program or a statistic," she said. "It is you. For many of you, the path here was not a straight line. Some of you were told you weren't ready, that the timing was wrong, or that the odds were too long. Yet, you are here today because you refused to let old narratives define your potential."

Whitten shared wisdom from physician and former NASA astronaut Mae Jemison, who said, "Never be limited by other people's limited imaginations," and urged them not to let others' small vision define their lives.

"As you enter this next chapter of your life, carry gratitude for everyone who helped you reach this day," she said. "Carry pride in what you have achieved. And carry a willingness to meet every 'that can't be done,' with determination, courage, and proof that it can. The world you enter needs that spirit … Doubt is not destiny. Limits are often failures of imagination. And your charge now is to build, to lead, to serve, and to show the world what is possible."

The highlight of the ceremony was introduction of graduates, with each name called and a moment to cross the stage to shake hands with the chancellor and deans. Then, Whitten conferred degrees, inviting them to turn their tassels from left to right to show they had graduated, and to toss their caps high.

Grace Briney, a humanities major from Kokomo, led the singing of the National Anthem and alma mater. Business graduate Dean Stoll, Peru, represented the class during induction into the IU Alumni Association.

Education is KEY at Indiana University Kokomo.

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