George Mason’s Class of 2026 is prepared for success

George Mason University honored its graduates at Spring Commencement with a trio of well-received speakers who delivered messages of resilience, preparation, and celebrating differences.

The ceremony, livestreamed on George Mason’s YouTube channel Thursday morning from EagleBank Arena, honored more than 12,000 degree and certificate earners, including more than 5,200 from summer and winter 2025, from 105 countries and 49 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and military installations domestic and abroad.

The graduates filed into the arena sporting caps with personalized messages such as “My Future Is Calling,” “Mom’s Favorite,” and “Fueled by Haribo” and remained enthusiastic throughout the feel-good festivities.

The guest speaker, Gen. David W. Allvin, the 23rd Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force and a recently retired four-star general, encouraged the graduates—addressing them throughout as “team”—to be curious instead of judgmental, and to pursue service in ways they feel they can make a difference.

Allvin also shared several “almosts” from his life, including early struggles that could have derailed his Air Force career, a fortuitous change in travel plans that saved his life, and an unrealized bid to become an astronaut.

“Your future will be littered with crises averted. Things that almost happened. Things that didn't happen,” Allvin said. “Pick them up, look at them, take the lessons from them, set them aside, and move on. Because the world doesn’t revolve around what almost happens. It revolves around what is happening…Focus on the things that are. Not the things that might have been.”

Board of Visitors Rector Michael Meese, himself a retired U.S. Army Brigadier General, presented Allvin with an honorary doctor of humane letters degree. Meese and Allvin were one-time classmates at the National War College and later served concurrently in Afghanistan.

George Mason President Gregory Washington encouraged the graduates to be patient and persistent in a challenging job market and reminded them that The Wall Street Journal ranks George Mason as the top public university in Virginia for value, salary outcomes, and the upward mobility of its graduates. 

Washington assured graduates they had acquired the ultimate skill they will need to be successful—“you’ve learned how to learn.” And George Mason graduates have done that by attending a top-tier research university and working with students and faculty from varied backgrounds at the most diverse public university in Virginia.

“Technology will change,” Washington said. "Job titles will change. But the need for adaptable people and resilient people will not. You might feel like  you're behind. But I’m here to tell you, not only are you ahead, but you've actually lapped some of your peers.”

As he does at each Commencement ceremony to underscore a few of the many pathways to George Mason, Washington asked three different groups to stand and be recognized—first-generation graduates (which accounted for 26% of the class), students who came to George Mason via community college, and students who are current or former military members, or military dependents. All received warm ovations.

Student speaker Saniya Darediya, a neuroscience major from India, recalled how she arrived in the United States at age 17 and the fear she felt as an outsider in a strange country. She eventually realized that hers was one of many such experiences at George Mason.

“Everyone here carries their own version of difference,” Darediya said. “Some of us traveled across the world to get here. Some of us were the first in our families to attend college. Some of us were still discovering who we wanted to become. Differences were not separating us. They were connecting us. 

“The differences that once made many of us wonder whether we belonged…are the very things that make us valuable.” 

Washington briefly cited another singular story that drew hearty applause. Irma Garcia, a 72-year-old grandmother of eight, decades ago earned a two-year degree from Northern Virginia Community College before family and work obligations as a single parent took priority over her education. She later enrolled at George Mason through the Senior Citizen Waiver Program and this spring graduated with a bachelor’s degree in public administration.

Meese presented the George Mason Medal, the university’s highest honorary award, to Jay and Carolyn Marsh, a husband and wife who worked in George Mason Athletics administration for a combined 91 years before their retirement in 2021. The Mason Medal was a posthumous honor for Carolyn Marsh, who served as the executive assistant for eight George Mason men’s basketball coaches and as a positive influence on the lives of hundreds of the university’s athletes. 

Alumnus Jay Marsh, Business Administration ’73, served in many senior athletic administrative capacities, including in operations, facilities, event management, and fundraising. It was fitting that he received the university’s ultimate recognition in EagleBank Arena, the building that had been a home away from home ever since it opened in 1985.

Scott Hine, BS Decision Science ’85, president of the George Mason University Alumni Association, welcomed the new graduates to the organization, a network of about 260,000 alumni that can aid the new graduates in their career advancement.

“There is likely an alum in any industry you are joining, and there is likely an alum in any location in which you’re settling,” Hine said. “This is an incredible network that you should leverage.”

Indicative of George Mason serving as a talent pipeline in high-demand fields, 41% of undergraduate degree earners in the Class of 2026 are in STEM and health sciences fields, as are 44% of advanced degree earners.

Along with the graduates, a Commencement fixture also is moving on. Star Muir led Commencement for the last time as Head University Marshal, his role since 2015. Muir is retiring after 38 years of service and teaching in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

“He conducted the ceremony with the appropriate level of dignity and respect for this auspicious occasion,” Washington said at the outset of his remarks. “Thank you, Star, for your dedication and devotion to your students and to the university.”