Emory’s 175th Commencement celebrated the extraordinary achievements of the Class of 2020, as this year’s resilient graduates prepare to step forward to meet the needs of a rapidly changing world.

As they begin their own next chapters amid the challenges of the global pandemic, Emory’s newest graduates were urged to meet all that awaits them with hope, creativity and a willingness to shift long-held narratives, setting aside fear and discomfort to confront the inequities that surround us.

“To change the world, we are going to have to do uncomfortable and inconvenient things,” explained social justice advocate and human rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson, who is founder and executive director of the Montgomery, Alabama-based Equal Justice Initiative.

In a keynote address that drew from 35 years spent challenging wrongful prosecutions and overturning death-penalty convictions within the criminal justice system, Stevenson acknowledged that “this is a difficult and challenging time … where unjust inequality has manifested itself in a really tragic way. There are problems that we see that cross barriers and boundaries, but it’s clear that the poor, the disfavored, the marginalized have been particularly impacted by this pandemic.”

To meet the “critical task of overcoming injustice, unfairness and inequality,” Stevenson urged graduates to embrace hope. “Hopelessness is the enemy of justice,” he said. “Hope is a powerful force. It will sometimes make you stand up even when people say sit down. It will make you speak even when people say ‘be quiet.’”

“Hold onto the power of hope,” he said.

This year, Emory’s Commencement and conferral of degrees was presented for the first time on the interactive “Y/our Moment” website — a digital platform that invited the engagement of graduates, their friends and family members, faculty, staff and alumni, and other members of the worldwide Emory community now separated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The May 11 ceremony featured a good deal of pomp despite the circumstances, upholding cherished Emory traditions, including processional music by members of the Atlanta Pipe and Drum band, a performance of Emory’s alma mater by the student a cappella group No Strings Attached, and welcoming remarks by Emory President Claire E. Sterk, who acknowledged that, like everyone, her wish was that Commencement could have been held on the Emory Quadrangle.

Instead, “we’re spread all over the globe,” Sterk said. “None of us expected that life would be the way it is today, this life-altering experience, where we totally feel the ground shift underneath our feet.”

Sterk told graduates that she’s “been thinking a lot about what it must be like to have your life changed this much.” And though the ceremony had to be presented on a digital platform, “as a community, the fact that we’re together today — that we’re doing this, that we’re interacting — we’re symbolizing that we care for each other, that we’re there for each other,” she added.

“We need you — we need you for the future, we need you today,” said Sterk, encouraging graduates to retain their confidence and optimism. “We need your courage. Because you are the next generation that’s going to move us forward.”

Praising their accomplishments, resilience and leadership, Sterk conferred degrees upon 4,900 graduates from across the nine schools that comprise Emory University. A total of 4,976 degrees — including 76 joint degrees — were conferred upon students from 52 U.S. states and territories and 94 foreign countries, according to Emory’s Office of the Registrar.

Despite a new platform, Commencement still provided a time of celebration – to look back upon friends and fond memories, and to look ahead at new jobs, internships, the pursuit of advanced degrees and future opportunities.

Through video montages and a running stream of congratulatory social media posts, Emory graduates reflected on what it meant to achieve their academic goals — particularly in the face of a historic pandemic. For some, that meant never again taking anything for granted. For others, the experience brought lessons in compassion, creativity and community building.

• View student reflections from the Class of 2020.
• View faculty messages for the Class of 2020.
• View alumni messages for the Class of 2020.

For Mariam Hassoun, a senior graduating from Emory College of Arts and Sciences with degrees in political science and interdisciplinary studies, attending both Oxford and Emory colleges gave her the space to be herself. “I could be Southern, I could be Muslim, I could be Iraqi and I could be American, because I am all of those things at once, and many more,” said Hassoun, who is preparing to study international and comparative education at Oxford University in England this fall.

For Maria McNiece, who is graduating with a double major in organization and management and dance and movement studies, the road forward leads to New York City, where she will blend the worlds of dance and business as a choreographer and modern dancer.

She arrived at Emory from Gainesville, Florida, “eager to explode my world view,” she recalls. Once here, she found a wellspring of creativity and the chance to perform at Emory as well as with other Atlanta dance companies. “I started dancing in high school, which is late, and I was met with a lot of discouragement,” McNiece recalled. “I’m also queer, and that wasn’t encouraged. In Atlanta, I found acceptance, and that’s been a game-changer for me.”

Within the classroom, she also discovered how to market herself as an artist. “In that way, Emory exceeded my expectations, facilitating everything I wanted for a happy, successful life and propelling me into the adult world with values I stand by and an approach to my career I’m really proud of.”

Suman Atluri said he leaves Emory “confident that I’m more ready to take on challenges and make an impact in the real world because of the people I’ve met here and the lessons I’ve learned both inside and outside of the classrooms.”

“I’ve always said that the people at Emory are the reason our community is amazing and the community is what makes the university so special and unique,” said Atluri, who is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in psychology to work in tech consulting in Chicago, specifically focusing on software implementations for universities and academic medical centers.

Looking back, Atluri knows the Emory community will always hold a special place in his heart. “And while senior year didn’t pan out like I, or really anyone of us, expected it to, today is not a goodbye — it’s an opportunity to look back and appreciate all of the experiences I’ve had in the place I’m honored to call my second home.”