Speaker of the New York State Assembly and Stony Brook Alumnus Carl E. Heastie Addressed Attendees
STONY BROOK, NY—May 23, 2025— Today more than 7,600 Stony Brook University students joined the ranks of the university’s accomplished alumni at the Commencement 2025 celebration ceremony, which took place at LaValle Stadium beginning at 11 am.
Students from this year’s graduating class were awarded a combined 7,640 degrees and certificate completions. All candidates, with their family and friends, were invited to participate in-person or could watch via livestream.
Degrees were bestowed in the following categories:
- 4,835 Bachelor’s Degrees
- 1,950 Master’s Degrees
- 675 Doctoral and Professional Degrees
- 280 Certificates
The Class of 2025 officially joined the ranks of more than 225,000 alumni. This class contains students from 65 countries and 46 states, and graduates range in age from 16 – 82 years of age.
Stony Brook University Interim President Richard L. McCormick, Provost Carl Lejuez, and University Deans conferred the degrees to the university students.
Dr. McCormick challenged this year’s graduating class: “Graduates, remember that success is not only about the achievements and milestones you will have as alumni of this great institution. It is about how you treat and support the people around you. Support for one another is so central to Stony Brook culture. You have left Stony Brook a better university than you found it, and that is saying a lot. We’re counting on you to BE the future!”
New York State Assembly Speaker and alumnus Carl E. Heastie also addressed the Stony Brook community.
Student speaker Amira Gbagba, who graduated today with a bachelor of science in applied mathematics and statistics shared this with today’s audience, “Statistically speaking, someone in this graduating class is going to do something huge. Maybe even a few of us. A new app, medical breakthrough, billion-dollar startup, [or a] Nobel prize. And that someone? It could be you. So don’t rush your dreams trying to match someone else’s timeline. Move at your own pace ….Anyway, to end, I’d like to leave you with this: if you have a dream, chase it. If you’re unsure what to chase — stay curious. Try things. Ask questions.”
The Undergraduate Student Government collected more than 600 donations totaling $11,800 as part of the Senior Class Gift.
Wow! Congrats grads.