Rain was no spoiler. Not with Indiana University Auditorium energized by members of the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering’s Class of 2024 during the May 3 Luddy Student Recognition Celebration.
Newly opened champagne bottles sprayed for cameras and congratulatory balloons battled passengers inside crammed cars amid excitement for the future and satisfaction over a job well done.
“I loved being at Luddy,” said Delaney Hupke, an Informatics graduate out of Kansas City, MO. “The building is an amazing place to come and study. The professors were great. I met good friends, especially in Informatics, which was something I didn’t know quite what it was coming into it. Figuring that out was cool.”
Hupke was among the 1,250 undergraduates and graduates who joined with nearly 2,000 guests for the spring graduation event.
Luddy conferred bachelor’s degrees in computer science, informatics,data science, cybersecurity & global policy and intelligent systems engineering, as well as master’s degrees in computer science, informatics, data science, human-computer interaction, information science, intelligent systems engineering, library science, bioinformatics and secure computing. Ph.D.s in computer science, informatics, information science, and intelligent systems engineering also were awarded.
Hupke, who is set to begin a marketing position in June in Charlotte, N.C., called her senior Informatics capstone experience a highlight. Her team built a website that connects textile manufacturers with textile recyclers to reduce textile waste and environmental harm.
“It was cool to dive into something my friends and I were interested in to help the environment and build a website with the skills we learned at Luddy,” she said.
Dever Kemme Nash, who received highest academic distinction as a computer science graduate out of Fort Wayne in northeast Indiana, praised Luddy’s interesting classes and caring professors.
“I did a couple of independent research projects this year,” said Kemme Nash, who will start in August as a software developer for Epic Systems out of Madison, Wis. “It was super interesting to get to work closer with professors and get their insight. I wish I gotten into it sooner.
“My Luddy experience was great.”
Alumni speaker Thomas Luddy, an IU graduate whose family has been instrumental in supporting the university and the Luddy School, spoke on the importance of change, of embracing it, creating it and thriving because of it. He said his brother, Fred, and the entire Luddy family didn’t invest in IU to get the family name on a building.
“Fred did it because his vision, our family vision, is that IU could change where the brightest people are educated,” Thomas Luddy said.
He encouraged graduates to listen to others and their concerns, to act with integrity and accept the times when they are wrong.
“If you are wrong, regroup, rethink and then reengage,” he said.
Finally, he challenged graduates to find a mentor and be a mentor.
Graduate speaker Pallabi Bhowmick, who earned a Ph.D. in Informatics focused on technological solutions for older adults facing isolation, emphasized the power of resilience, self-belief and kindness.
She said the quote, “In a world where you can be anything, be kind,” has never been so important.
She asked graduates to consider these question -- “Who do we really want to be and what values do we want to carry with us?”
Finally, she said, “Let us remember that the true measure of success lies not in the accolades we have received or the titles we have earned, but in the lives we have touched and the difference we have made in the world.”
Undergraduate speaker Agness Lungu, a Hutton Honors and Wells Scholar student graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Intelligent Systems Engineering, thrived amid the challenges of coming to the United States from her native Zambia.
She encouraged graduates to be “students for life” and to embrace the Zambian concept of “Ubuntu,” which basically means, “I am because you are.” It’s a community building approach in which, Lungu said, “there is space for all of us to shine and when one rises, we all do. Let’s commit to creating spaces where everyone feels seen and heard wherever we go. Speak out when you see injustice.”
Stacey Arnold, Luddy assistant dean of student services, told graduates their hard work, dedication and achievements reflect the best of the Luddy School and of Indiana University.
“As you begin your professional journeys,” she said, “we know you will achieve remarkable things, just as you have done as students.”
Congratulations to the Class of 2024!