With the pageantry and panache of its 100th birthday celebration still reverberating around its venerable Coral Gables Campus, the University of Miami awarded more than 3,000 degrees to its undergraduate centennial class on Friday, sending its newest sons and daughters into an everchanging and challenging world—but not before arming them with words of wisdom from the very alumni who helped blaze the academic and social trails they followed as students.
“Many of you will end up in jobs that we don’t even know exist. Many of you will fall in love with people you have yet to meet but will build your lives around. All of you will have twists and turns in your career and in your lives,” influential sports-law attorney Irwin Raij told students at the morning graduation exercise for the College of Arts and Sciences and Division of Continuing and International Education.
“And when that happens, lean into who you are. Let life surprise you,” he said. “Don’t fear the pivots and the curves—they may be the best part of the journey. And when life gets hard, show up anyway. Be resilient, be genuine, and always speak from the heart.”
Raij, a graduate of the Miami Herbert Business School, was the first of three distinguished speakers—all University alumni—who addressed students at three undergraduate degree ceremonies at the Watsco Center on Friday.
Bose Corporation CEO Lila Snyder, who graduated summa cum laude from the College of Engineering in 1994, and Jonathan Vilma, the former Hurricanes linebacker who helped lead the U to a national championship before winning a Super Bowl title as a star player in the NFL, will be delivering advice at the midday and afternoon exercises, respectively.
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Snyder told new graduates of the Patti and Allan Herbert Business School and College of Engineering that the gemstone of her ultimate career success was already shimmering while she was earning her degree and enjoying the range of experiences afforded students at the University.
“For me, discovery of what I loved took time to acknowledge, but honestly if I had thought about it, I already knew what I loved when I was sitting where you are—I love solving really hard problems. And I love building and being part of high-performing teams,” Snyder said.
“It’s that simple. And my winding career path, in hindsight, is a collection of decisions to put myself in situations that had those conditions,” she added.
Vilma, who maintained a 3.5 grade point average at the U and was a two-time Academic All-American, told graduates that the University’s coaches and professors all have the ability of “finding a way to give you purpose.”
“They plant that seed of belief in your head, and then all of a sudden they water it with a little bit of confidence,” said Vilma, the son of Haitian immigrant parents. “They’ve empowered you for the past four years with the knowledge and the skillset to truly believe that anything you think of you can achieve.”
A Board of Trustees member since 2017 who is now a successful color analyst for FOX Sports, Vilma concluded his remarks by honoring graduates, encouraging audience members to stand and applaud the Class of 2025. “I could share 20 more stories about my time at the U,” he said. “But right now, you guys deserve all the respect and all the gratitude.”
For Raij—whose many accomplishments include representing a group of investors that included Earvin “Magic” Johnson on the purchase of the Los Angeles Dodgers for a record-breaking $2.15 billion and acting for Major League Baseball in its negotiation for approval to build Miami’s Marlins Stadium—becoming a sports lawyer wasn’t part of his life’s blueprint. After law school, he went into public service, working for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Office of White House Counsel, and the Gore-Lieberman presidential campaign.
“I didn’t even know that (a sports lawyer) was a job when I was in college or in law school,” he told students. “But I learned, I evolved, I challenged myself. I leaned into discomfort, into growth. And every deal, every client, every stadium taught me something new.”
Along the way, he met Hall of Fame athletes, powerful politicians, billionaires, “and most importantly, my wonderful wife,” he said. “None of this was part of a grand plan. None of this was clear to me. Class of 2025, some version of this will happen to all of you.”
Raij recounted for students some of his own undergraduate experiences, telling them that it was at the U that he learned how to face his fears and speak in public.
“Back in 1990, I was running for SG president,” he recalled. “I was a sophomore with a deep fear of public speaking, yet I decided that I really wanted to make a difference. It was something I was deeply passionate about. So, I had to suck it up, face my fears, and run around campus campaigning as the underdog, talking to anyone that would listen.”
The more Raij spoke, he began to find his footing and his message, speaking from the heart and outworking the competition. “With the help of many, somehow, I was elected,” he said.
Raij would serve two terms as Student Government president, chairing the committee that led to the student body’s approval of the 1992 referendum to build the Herbert Wellness Center.
He credited his parents, refugees from Cuba who escaped communism, for teaching him how to work hard, not be afraid of failure, and to take calculated risks and focus on family—lessons, he said, that were nurtured at the U. “Here, I was able to develop my voice, my confidence, and in part my character,” said Raij, telling students that the University was the “place that let me test who I was becoming.”
As moving and inspiring as Raij’s commencement address was, it almost didn’t happen. Only a few days ago, he and his wife struggled with the news that their 8-year-old daughter might be seriously ill. “In that moment, every deal I’ve ever done faded away. Nothing mattered except my little girl—and my family,” he said.
Not knowing if he could stand at the podium inside the Watsco Center and put his heart into giving advice to hundreds of graduating seniors, Raij nearly canceled his commencement address. But that never came to pass, as news would come that his daughter was going to be fine.
That crisis, he said, gave him a moment of clarity, helping him to craft his message to the graduating class. “See, it is in the tough moments in life that all that you learn will come into focus,” he explained. “It is in the curves in the road that all you learned at the U and years before that from your parents and loved ones will be put to the test—and when you will rely on those lessons the most.”
He told graduates to focus on solutions or at least potential paths to solutions.
"Be human. Things can hurt—you can and should cry,” Raij said. “But you can’t quit, even when it’s hard and you’re afraid. Live life with love, passion, and empathy. And, of course, be genuine, be true to yourself.”
University of Miami President Joe Echevarria also delivered words of wisdom to the undergraduates, reminding them that life as they knew it when they began their journey at the U has changed. “There certainly have been some disruptions and challenges, which have given way to new opportunities,” he said. “As you graduate, the questions surrounding yesterday’s conventions leave so much open for reconsideration. The credential you have earned signals your ability to finish what you started.”
Echevarria told students that the University is a place where they, as well as faculty, administration, trustees, and the community, are aligned. “Not because we never disagree,” he said, “but because by staying focused on our mission, we can do so without being wholly disagreeable. We value every member of our community and protect against all forms of racism and antisemitism. We are fair in creating an environment where civil discourse renders civil disobedience wholly unnecessary.”
Noting an expression often repeated by Miami Hurricanes athletes, he told students that “each of you has experienced that Canes thing, and it’s shaped you and will empower you to create, to discover, to build, and to thrive.”
During the midday ceremony, Snyder—who earned master’s and doctoral degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology—said her career pivoted when she took a job at McKinsey & Company, where she applied the problem-solving skills that she honed as an engineer to her business clients, a strategy that propelled her to the role of partner.
Snyder continued to rise in the executive ranks and, in 2020, was named CEO of the Bose Corporation—the first woman to lead the company in its 60-year history.
Loving what you do and synthesizing that love with a career was a major point of Snyder’s remarks.
“Too often we make career decisions based on what others think we should do, what someone has decided the best careers are, or where we can make the most money,” she said. “Figure out what you love to do and build your career around that. You’ll spend most of your life working. You’ll enjoy it a lot more—and likely be much better at it—if you spend that time doing something you love to do.”
And Snyder’s own trajectory taught her the benefits of refining her professional perspective.
“Even if you’re doing what you love, it’s important to remember to stretch yourself and do things that make you uncomfortable,” she said. “This is how you learn and grow in your career.
“So, be bold and take risks. Do things that you think you aren’t ready for. Raise your hand for a new project or accept a new assignment that you don’t already have figured out; explore a new discipline because you are curious—you might discover a new dimension of what you love,” she added. “The more risks you take, the more you learn, and the further you will go in your career.”
Snyder concluded her address by encouraging students to nurture their “inner swagger”—the combination of authenticity and confidence—a quality intrinsic to the University.
“We invented it here. To have it, you have to embrace your authentic self—all that is unique and quirky and special about you,” she said. “Swagger is what gives you your style. And it is what will make people trust you and want to work with you.
“Life will present you with more challenges than you can count. And I’ve found that in the face of my toughest challenges, mustering my inner swagger—even when I am feeling the most anxious and uncertain—has been incredibly helpful,” Snyder added.
When Vilma took to the Watsco Center stage for the evening undergraduate degree ceremony—brimming with all the confidence and leadership skills that made him one of the top linebackers in all of college and professional football—he recounted for students the demanding workouts former Miami Hurricanes strength and conditioning coach Andreu Swasey subjected him to as a freshman.
The workouts were so intense and physically draining, they often left Vilma, who had always dreamed of playing football for the Miami Hurricanes, gasping for air and, on one occasion, driven to the point that he even pondered the idea of trying to get out of his athletic scholarship.
But Vilma came to realize something. “This is the challenge I’ve been looking for. So, I kept going back every day,” he said, telling graduates that all the hard work paid off in All-American honors and a national championship.
“I tell you that story because everybody has a Swasey,” Vilma said. “The Swasey in your story is so important. The Swasey in your story is the reason you’re here today. When you think about who brought the best out of you, especially the coaches or professors, it’s the first reason why this University is so great—our professors, our coaches, they have an unwavering, relentless drive to make sure that the standard of excellence is upheld at the University of Miami.”
For the students, it was their day. Brielle Distler, a psychology and biology major from Paramus, New Jersey, was celebrating outside the Watsco Center with her friends and fellow graduates Hannah Scherer and Ethan Kluge on Friday. Distler transferred from Wake Forest to the University and said that although the transition was tough at first, she soon felt at home as a Hurricane.
“It was the best change of plans and I am so grateful I ended up here,” she said. “It was truly one of the best experiences, and if I knew I was going to be so happy here I would never have stressed out about the change in the first place. I felt like I had found my community here immediately, from my first steps on campus.”
She is now taking a gap year and plans to apply for clinical psychology doctoral programs soon.
Tracy Ramos, an English major with a journalism minor, was celebrating with his family after the morning ceremony. Ramos transferred from Miami Dade College after his sophomore year and had his sights set on the University since high school. Since he enrolled in 2021, Ramos has been commuting from Homestead to campus and got involved with reporting for The Miami Hurricane as well as the Ibis Yearbook.
“This is such a big accomplishment, since UM has been my dream school since the 9th grade when I took a tour and knew this is where I wanted to come for college,” said Ramos, who is also a first-generation college student. “It was even better than I imagined.”
Javier DeJesus, a sociology and criminology major, was surrounded by his entire family outside the Watsco Center, including their mini dachshund, who traveled from his hometown of Brooklyn, New York, to mark the moment.
“I’ve loved all four years here, and the friends I’ve made at the University have been awesome,” he said. “Also the professors and mentors I’ve had have been great.”
Following in her mother’s footsteps, Alyssa Casanova graduated with a degree in English on Friday. Casanova’s mother, Melyza, earned her Bachelor of General Studies while she was five months pregnant with Alyssa’s younger sister, so it was a full circle moment for the mother and daughter.
“I’ve loved the campus and atmosphere that my mother showed me because it is so lively and beautiful, but my favorite experiences were homecoming and the football games,” said Casanova, who is planning to become a paralegal in the fall.
Joseph Fernandez-Andes, an electrical engineer from Miami, said he was excited to graduate, but he was also a bit nervous about starting his career, as he celebrated with his family Friday afternoon.
“It’s something new, so I’m looking forward to the future, but I am also leaving something behind,” he said. “Still, I’m optimistic so I’m excited for this new season.”
Just near the U100 sculpture in front of the Watsco Center, Fadelaht Pessinaba was celebrating with 15 members of her family who flew in from Bronx, New York City. Wearing garb from their native Togo, Pessinaba was graduating with a degree in business technology from the Miami Herbert Business School.
“I’m super happy and really excited to see where life takes me,” she said. “I’m also excited to be part of the UM Alumni Network."
Her favorite memories at the University included late-night study sessions inside the Stanford Residential College and being part of the Hurricane Steppers and performing during Homecoming.
Many students at Friday’s ceremonies said they met their closest friends inside Stanford Residential College, which was demolished last summer to make way for Centennial Village Phase 2. Madelyn Ehni found her three best friends her first year at the University. One of those friends—junior Gianna Rocca—got off a plane from Study Abroad in Rome, Italy, Friday and headed straight for the Watsco Center to give Ehni a hug.
“I liked how close we were to everyone in Stanford, so it forced you to make friends,” said Ehni, who graduated with degrees in accounting and finance.
Ehni said she had a wonderful, quick three years at the University.
“Overall, UM has such a unique campus and energy, so it was very welcoming,” she added. “People embrace diversity here in a way that connects everyone to the school.”
- Janette Neuwahl Tannen contributed to this report.
