Salve celebrates the Class of 2026 at 76th Commencement

May 17, on the oceanside campus of Salve Regina University, Dr. Kelli J. Armstrong, president, conferred 525 bachelor's degrees upon the Class of 2026 at the University's 76th Commencement. A separate ceremony was held Thursday, May 14 for recipients of graduate degrees—204 master's degrees, 25 doctoral degrees and five Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees.

Keynote Ray Suarez inspires a call to action

In a powerful keynote address, award-winning broadcast journalist and author Ray Suarez drew from his 50-year career in newsrooms to contrast the climate graduates entered in the 1990s, where they were "fielding multiple job offers and signing bonuses" to the world the current generation enters; significantly more challenging socially, economically and politically. He urged them to "be creative, bold, risk-taking and serious" in this transformative time.

"You, who right now don't feel very powerful, or influential, will have a lot to say about how that New America feels about itself," he told the graduates. "As part of the vanguard members of that generation of transformation…educated, trained, lifetime citizens of that changed America, you will tell your countrymen and women, and the world, how it's going to be."

Suarez shared his hope for students as they work to repair the world they inherited while also building lives for themselves in it. "I hope your time here has helped you see your way to having a soul that's in good shape, even if you're still working out what it means to have one. Because when times are rough, having your soul in good working order is going to get you through times of no money, much better than money is going to get you through times of no soul."

"Light up every room you're in,” Suarez told the graduates, "Don't be bored and don't be boring. Be salt… be bread…be light…be a gift to everyone you meet."

Suarez has spent decades as a broadcaster, hosting NPR's "Talk of the Nation" and "On Shifting Ground," "The PBS NewsHour," Al Jazeera America's "Inside Story" and PBS' "Wisdom Keepers." His journalism has been recognized with multiple duPont-Columbia and Webby Awards, an Overseas Press Club Award, UCLA's Public Policy Leadership Award for his reporting on urban America and others. Equally celebrated as a writer, Suarez has authored several books including "We Are Home: Becoming American in the 21st Century," "Truth Has a Power of Its Own: Conversations About a People's History," "Latino Americans: The 500-Year Legacy That Shaped a Nation," "The Holy Vote: The Politics of Faith in America" and "The Old Neighborhood: What We Lost in the Great Suburban Migration."

Suarez was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. The University also awarded honorary degrees to James J. O'Connell, M.D, president of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP) and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and to Helen Ryan, Ed.D., a lifelong educator and nurse who established an endowment to enable the transformational work of the Salve Compass program.

Salve president and valedictorian speak to the mercy mission

President Armstrong spoke about the quiet power of mercy leadership, reminding students, "You have been Salve-made. You have the mercy compass built into your DNA now. As you leave this beautiful campus, supported by your faculty, staff and student mentors, as you achieve many successes that you have toiled hard for along the way, remember that as a mercy graduate you are called to work for a world that is harmonious, just and merciful."

She urged the Class of 2026 to "Go out and be the steady hand in the storm. Go in peace, to love and serve a world that is waiting for the person that you have become."

U.S. Senator Jack Reed and Newport City Councilor Ellen Pinnock delivered brief remarks and congratulations to the graduates.

In her remarks, Emalyn Osborne '26, one of three valedictorians, along with Alexia McConahy '26 and Olivia Augustine '26, listed some of the many accomplishments of the Class of 2026, noting that even more important than what they've done is who they've become in the process. Osborne reflected, "The labels we carry may open doors for us—but it's our character that will define what we do once we walk through them. Wherever life takes you—classrooms, hospitals, courtrooms, labs or places we can't even imagine yet—go forward not just as what you've accomplished, but as who you have become. Be the person who shows up, who keeps trying, who leads with curiosity, with courage, and of course, with mercy."