A Community of Faith, Hope, and Love: Commencement 2026
By BARBARA ALLISON
“As I reminisce about our time at Saint Mary’s, one word rises above all the rest: community,” said Abigail Newton ’26, one of nine valedictorians, to her fellow classmates and guests at the 179th Commencement on Saturday, May 16, 2026 in Angela Athletic & Wellness Complex. “From the very start, we were embraced by something larger: a community that would guide, challenge, and support us as we grew.” Over 370 students were awarded their undergraduate and graduate degrees.
This year’s student award winners are Giselle Martinez, Outstanding Senior Award; Ivory Muñoz, Lumen Christi Award; and graduate student Javien L. Smith, Madeleva Award.
In her Commencement address, NBC News Correspondent Anne Thompson (ND ’79), spoke of faith, hope, and love, from the First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians. “If you watch or read the news, you might think hope is an endangered species,” she said. “Every single one of you is a source of hope, and you are a product of hope. Nearly a quarter of your class are first generation graduates. That’s a tremendous accomplishment. More than a third of you studied abroad, learning the great secret of life, that despite language and geography and nationality, we have so much more in common than what we choose to divide us.”
Thompson added that she had the best of both worlds: a Notre Dame education and a Saint Mary’s degree. A Holy Cross education “is a touchstone that you will return to again and again throughout your life, and it will become richer and more valuable. It certainly has for me, setting me on a path to the life I thought I wanted, and keeping my heart and mind open to the opportunities that have created the life I have.”
That’s something Newton echoed as well: “Somewhere between morning walks along The Avenue, this campus stopped being a college, it became home, and we became a family, a family that showed up for one another every day. We learned to lift each other up, celebrate each other, make room at the table, and cheer the loudest for the women beside us.” ‖
The nine valedictorians this year are, from left Elizabeth Stack, Bachelor of Arts, Economics and Political Science; Maura Mack, Bachelor of Science in Biology; Emma Heffron, Bachelor of Science in Nursing; Sophia Sainato-Pinkie, Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies; Chloe Emenhiser, Bachelor of Arts in Statistical and Actuarial Mathematics; Morgan Zack, Bachelor of Social Work; Alaina Motes, Bachelor of Arts in Literature and Creative Writing; Abigail Newton, Bachelor of Arts in Computing and Applied Mathematics; and Leah Zimmerman, Bachelor of Arts in Speech-Language Pathology.
Honorary degree recipients this year included, from left to right, Carmi and Chris Murphy received the President’s Medal, for their exceptional contributions to the life of the College and to society. Dr. Jennifer Holmgren, chairman and CEO of the revolutionary carbon-recycling company, LanzaTech, was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science for her extraordinary leadership in environmental energy initiatives. Commencement speaker Anne Thompson (ND ’79) received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters for her award-winning reporting for NBC News.
Enjoy the photos from Commencement below. For more photos from Commencement click here. For photos from Senior Week click here.
