North Central College Celebrates Record Class of Graduates

North Central College’s 161st Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 3, brought together students, families, faculty, staff and trustees in the Hal and Benna Wilde Res/Rec Center to celebrate the Class of 2026. This year’s class featured 932 graduates — 710 undergraduates and 222 graduate students. It was the largest graduating class in the College’s history.

In his second Commencement as president, following his investiture last November, Dr. Abiódún Gòkè-Paríolá welcomed graduates with a message of reflection and optimism: “Graduates, your time at North Central has prepared you well for the many vocations in your future: work, graduate school, family life, or whatever your next chapter may be.”

Among the Class of 2026 were students marking significant milestones for the institution, including the first cohorts to graduate from the College’s Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) program and the Master of Arts in Trauma Informed Practice program.

Scott Wehrli ’91, mayor of Naperville and a member of the College’s Board of Trustees, also addressed the class. “The ‘real world’ isn’t something you’re about to enter — you’ve already been living in it,” Wehrli said. “The lessons you’ve learned here will shape every role you take on next, and this community will always be a place you can call home.”

Two student speakers also addressed the Class of 2026. Aidan McGuire, a double major in Theatrical Design & Technology and Theatrical Directing & Dramaturgy from Mokena, Ill., spoke on behalf of the College’s baccalaureate degree recipients. He reflected on the importance of embracing curiosity and taking risks.

“To our professors, to our institution, and to our families, thank you for allowing us to have the pursuit of curiosity. For allowing us to have the ability to keep growing and encouraging us to take risks and furthering our pursuit of knowledge,” said McGuire.

Chantell Windham, from Chicago, earned a Master of Education in Educational Leadership and spoke on behalf of the College’s advanced degree recipients.

“This journey has taught me a hard but beautiful truth – there is no such thing as ‘just’ anything,” said Windham. “I am not ‘just’ a mom or a ‘just’ a science specialist. I am a first-generation graduate, and we are soon to be North Central College Class of 2026 graduates. Through our late-night study sessions and in-person or virtual classes, we became more than ‘just’ anything.”

The Commencement address was delivered by Dr. Michael Lamb, a scholar of leadership and character at Wake Forest University, where he serves as the F. M. Kirby Foundation Chair of Leadership and Character, and associate professor interdisciplinary humanities.

“Today you bear not only a degree but an education, and not only an education but a North Central education,” said Lamb. “A rigorous liberal arts education that makes us more human and more free. A holistic education that expands our minds and our hearts. A transformative education that forms both intellect and character.”

Following his address, Lamb was awarded an honorary degree – Doctor of Humane Letters – in recognition of his contributions to the study of leadership and character.

After the conferral of degrees, graduates were officially welcomed into the North Central College alumni community, marking the beginning of their lifelong connection to the institution.

As the ceremony concluded, the Class of 2026 joined generations of North Central alumni prepared to make meaningful contributions in their professions and communities, carrying forward the College’s mission to shape leaders, thinkers and engaged citizens.