From One Classroom to the Next: 2026 Commencement

The past weekend was full of celebration at the University of San Diego, as thousands of students closed the page on one chapter, with an excited eye toward what the next one holds. Commencement was held over three days this year, across six ceremonies in the Jenny Craig Pavilion.

President James T. Harris III, DEd, congratulated students who had secured their degrees, and for all the hard work it took to get to this point. That work, he reminded them, was just the beginning, and has prepared them for what comes next. USD students are Changemakers, leaders who will shape society for the better, and Harris told graduates that in pursuit of impactful change they'd face challenging tests.

He compared those tests to one of his favorite sci-fi stories, the Kobayashi Maru from Star Trek. The simulation is meant to be unwinnable, to test commanders under extreme stress. Star Trek's chief protagonist, though, overcame it with courage and creative thinking.

Harris applied the concept to real world leaders, including a former neighbor of his, a World War II veteran named Col. Richard Seibel. Near the end of the war, Seibel was holding a position trailing U.S. forces. When he got word that a Nazi battalion was approaching a nearby concentration camp, he was faced with a decision – leave the camp and its prisoners to the encroaching forces (and certain death) or come to their aid and open up the Allied flanks. It was his Kobayashi Maru moment.

“He created a diversion: what appeared to the Nazi’s as a tank battalion moving toward the concentration camp. And when they saw it coming their way, they surrendered immediately,” Harris recounted. “Colonel Seibel’s creativity, along with his strong moral convictions and courage, allowed him to not accept the Kobayashi Maru moment he was given, and that made the difference for the thousands who were saved.”

2026’s graduates, too, will have to face seemingly impossible situations someday.

“Always remember that you do have choices based on your convictions, courage and creativity,” he said, before closing with a surprise — that two of Col. Seibel’s great-grandchildren were among USD’s graduating class this year.

Graduates echoed Harris’ remarks, excited to take what they’ve learned at USD into the world.

“I never want to stop learning things. Even though I’m done with school, I never want to stop being a student. I want to keep going,” said Emilie McClellan, who graduated with a master’s in international relations just one year after walking the same stage as an undergraduate. “I feel like I’m propelling forward. It feels like I’ve accomplished something, but that there’s a lot more to come.”

For many students, commencement weekend is bittersweet. Everyone is reaching a major milestone, but also preparing for what comes next after spending years making lifelong memories with friends and faculty.

“It’s sad that it’s coming to an end, but it’s beautiful as well. Our cohort is mostly in their 30’s, so we’ve all scraped our knees and elbows in the real world. So to be able to step away from that and be at this beautiful campus for the last two years has been surreal,” said Lance Bush, graduating with a MFA from USD’s top-ranked Shiley Graduate Theatre Program, before looking ahead to what the future holds. “It’s a searching. I don’t think that it ever really ends. The classroom here at USD ends, but I’m really excited to find my next classroom.”

Here’s a look at USD’s Class of 2026:

• The graduating class has secured coveted positions at some of the world's leading companies, like Google, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Walt Disney Imagineering, Nike, and Ernst & Young (EY).

• Additionally, the Class of 2026 has embraced the spirit of community engagement, and some graduates have joined organizations like Harmonium and YMCA.

• 10 of 12 McNair Scholar graduates will be continuing on directly into graduate programs. 

• The NROTC program commissioned nine new officers from USD, including seven U.S. Navy ensigns and two U.S. Marine Corps second lieutenants.

• 134 members of the USD School of Law Class of 2026 trained at the legal clinics and contributed over 22,800 hours of free legal services, worth more than $3.9 million, to low-income and underserved clients in the San Diego community.

• 7% of undergraduates were international students, and represented 45 different U.S. states; 3% of graduate students were international and represented 49 different states.

 

Photos by Zachary Barron