At NJIT's 104th Commencement, Class of 2020 Urged to Make an Impact
“It is an unusual graduation, but what is extraordinary always is the work of this class,” said U.S. Sen. Cory Booker HON ’09, who began NJIT’s 104th Commencement with a pre-ceremony heartfelt greeting thanking the university’s 2020 graduates for their grit, hard work, sacrifice and struggle, and for epitomizing what “Jersey Strong” is all about. The senator’s message of congratulations was one of many during the June 12 ceremony, held virtually this year as the world continues to face disruption and devastation caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Sen. Booker shared a meaningful story with the 2,931 graduates, one of NJIT’s largest classes to date. In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, when he was then mayor of the city of Newark, he came upon a man on a hill amid downed live wires. The man, he said, had shown up with a floodlight to alert other people to the wires, many of whom he did not know. With this tale, the senator urged the graduates to bring love, kindness and decency into every decision they make. “Don’t underestimate your power. Use it every day to make a difference in this world that needs you so much.”
Kicking off with an official announcement of the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral candidates by Nneka Irabor, senior class president and class crier, the ceremony continued with a stirring rendition of the national anthem by Hillary Gillings, administrative assistant, Office of Institutional Effectiveness. All of the virtual Commencement speakers that followed echoed the senator’s sentiments.
NJIT President Joel S. Bloom said, “There is no question that we are living through among one of the most difficult and uncertain times in our history,” but that the graduates are cause for optimism as NJIT sends them “into a world that desperately needs them, maybe now more than ever.”
He also noted their intelligence, inquisitiveness, determination, diversity, collaboration and bravery, and how many stepped up during this unprecedented time of COVID-19 by serving as EMTs, producing personal protective equipment, volunteering in hospitals and food kitchens, and more.
Undergraduate student speaker and Student Senate President Amanda Azer, who received her bachelor’s in biology, started her message with a creative rap song. In addressing her fellow graduates, she commented. “Though we are unable to celebrate in the manner we had hoped for, we must remember that your accomplishment is one of great measures, and you are now the future of society.”
Matthew Joseph Moye, graduate student speaker and a Ph.D. in mathematical sciences, noted, “We are graduating during a truly challenging time. In the years to come, we can reflect on the adversity we’ve had to face, both personal and as a community, and recognize how we embodied the strength needed to overcome it, aided through the lessons and experiences we’ve shared at NJIT.”
Four honorary degrees were presented by Stephen P. DePalma ’72, outgoing NJIT board of trustees president. Vincent L. DeCaprio ’72, president and CEO (retired) of Vyteris, Inc., and past vice chair of NJIT’s board of trustees, and M. Stanley Whittingham, distinguished professor, Binghamton University’s Department of Chemistry and Materials Science and Engineering, and the 2019 Nobel Prize in chemistry recipient for developing the lithium ion battery, each received an honorary Doctor of Science. DeCaprio advised the graduates to “lift people up,” “always make it better” and “don’t forget to give back,” while Whittingham encouraged them to use their imagination and “not be afraid of taking risks.”
Steven B. Kalafer, chairman and CEO of Flemington Car & Truck Country, owner and chairman emeritus of the Somerset Patriots and a member of NJIT's board of overseers, and Sheila Y. Oliver, lieutenant governor of New Jersey, were recipients of honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees. “I’m betting on you, and I’m confident that the future is bright for you if you do and commit to those things that you know are right,” Kalafer told the Class of 2020.
Oliver also delivered the Commencement address, during which she celebrated the graduates for their fortitude. A longtime advocate of the university, she remarked, “We know the success and value of this institution is not only measured in numbers, statistics or rankings. It is first and foremost measured by your success, and your future is bright because you have been very well prepared.
“While we cannot physically be together, we are certainly in this together. We are one New Jersey family.”
Among the ceremony’s other highlights were the presentation of the Hashimoto Prize for high achievement by a doctoral candidate in electrical and computer engineering to Liang Zhang, and the President’s Medal for Academic Excellence to students earning a perfect GPA of 4.0. Additionally, recognition was given to the Golden Highlanders, NJIT alumni who earned their degrees more than 50 years ago — including Stanley Pasternak ’37, 104 “years young.”
Degrees then conferred, Commencement ended with graduates declaring, “We hope that you are ready for us!”
The world awaits them.
For more information about NJIT’s 104th Commencement ceremony, visit commencement.njit.edu.
