More than 2,400 graduates and their families gathered in the Schottenstein Center Sunday afternoon for Ohio State’s autumn 2024 commencement ceremony.
Of 3,511 total graduates, 186 degrees were doctoral, 527 were masters, 14 were professional and 2,746 were either undergraduate degrees, associate degrees or certificates, according to Norman Jones, vice provost and dean for undergraduate education.
Jones opened the ceremony by welcoming the attendees and commending graduates’ hard work.
“Commencement at The Ohio State University is not only a tangible demonstration of our institutional purpose, but also a celebration of excellence,” Jones said. “The students that you’re about to welcome into the arena have earned the right to be graduates of The Ohio State University.”
University president Ted Carter Jr. then introduced commencement speaker Stephanie Hightower — a former Buckeye track and field athlete, as well as president and CEO of nonprofit Columbus Urban League — as a “proven leader” and “wonderful friend and partner to The Ohio State University.”
Carter said Hightower’s key accomplishments as an Ohio State student include being named All-American four times, winning 15 Big Ten championships, holding 11 Big Ten and Ohio State records and setting a world record in 60-yard hurdles, all while working toward a degree in communications and cementing her place in the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1993.
Closer to home, Hightower joined the Columbus Urban League in 2011 as the organization’s first female president and CEO. Carter said the Urban League empowers individuals — particularly minority women and veterans — to succeed by connecting them with workforce development, education and business-related resources.
“In short, Stephanie Hightower defines what it means to be a Buckeye for life,” Carter said. “She is an incredible asset to our community and a passionate champion for all people in Ohio, especially those who have been traditionally underrepresented.”
At the top of her speech, Hightower expressed gratitude to those in attendance for allowing her to participate in such an occasion, recalling bittersweet feelings on her own graduation day in 1981.
“I spent the day seesawing back and forth between sadness that my college years were behind me and anxious anticipation for the future ahead,” Hightower said. “I expect that you, too, feel happily conflicted today.”
Hightower subsequently urged graduates to persevere through challenges by celebrating triumphs and learning from setbacks, referencing author and civil rights activist James Baldwin.
“As James Baldwin wrote, ‘The only thing that will save us is if we just keep on going and never give up,’” Hightower said.
In addition, Hightower alluded to American courage and resilience during the Great Depression and World War II, encouraging graduates to take those historical lessons to heart.
“When we unite as a community and as a nation, we are invincible, unconquerable, unstoppable,” Hightower said.
Hightower said when preparing for her commencement speech, she reminisced about a former coach who used to “dare” her by outlining what she thought Hightower could and couldn’t accomplish. She said her coach’s negativity sharpened her competitive edge and, to this day, reminds her to stay humble, focused and undistracted.
“So let me emulate Coach Rollins and challenge each of you,” Hightower said. “I bet you’re too self-absorbed. You won’t make a difference in the world. I bet you will cop out rather than dig deep. You won’t seek to understand and respect opinions different from yours. I bet that you expect the world to be easy, that you will be shocked, but it’s not. You won’t work your tail off to be good enough for it. I bet you won’t look, and you won’t take a hard look at yourself and push yourself to challenge for better. You won’t cultivate enduring relationships. Now, prove me wrong.”
Molly Ranz Calhoun, president and CEO of Ohio State’s Alumni Association, closed the ceremony by officially welcoming the graduates into the alumni family.
“You join more than 619,000 fellow Buckeyes who proudly represent scarlet and gray in every state of America and 153 countries around the globe,” Calhoun said.
As she acknowledged the numerous paths graduates might take after their time at Ohio State, Calhoun left departing Buckeyes with one final message.
“Go forward with curiosity and resilience, embrace the unknown, revel in the sweet mystery of life and acknowledge that as Ohio State alumni, there will always be so much to learn and even more to celebrate,” Calhoun said.
