Maryville University honored the Class of 2025 during Spring Commencement ceremonies held April 26 through May 4 at The Factory at The District in Chesterfield. In the heart of our college town, Chesterfield served as the perfect backdrop for celebrating more than 1,000 graduates across 18 degree programs.
Maryville welcomed graduates and families from more than 36 states and 12 countries. Almost 450 students graduated with honors, and the new graduates now join tens of thousands of Maryville alumni worldwide.
The highlighted commencement speaker for the graduate ceremony was Marcy Bursac, Alumna of Maryville University’s online graduate school. Marcy is a proud adoptive mom of two, a congressionally honored foster care adoption advocate and coach, a philanthropist, a two-time book author, and the founder and CEO of The Forgotten Adoption Option, a charitable organization focused on helping children waiting in foster care find adoptive families. That’s all on top of her day job as a technical analyst and product owner at an international cybersecurity firm.
Attendees heard from graduating students as well as from university president Dr. Mark Lombardi, who delivered his final commencement address before retiring. Looking ahead to the dramatic technological changes and advances that will occur over their lifetimes, Dr. Lombardi said: “Thanks to the wonderful faculty at this institution, you are prepared for all of those changes and all of those wonders, as well as the ones we can’t predict. You’re ready to embrace them, adapt to them, harness the energy around them, and shape this world – and hopefully move it – brick by brick to a more just and a more civil society.”
“You don’t have to impress anybody in this world, except yourself,” Dr. Lombardi said. “But the key is you have to do that each and every day. Challenge yourself to impress yourself with what you are doing and what you accomplish, each and every day.”
The commencement ceremony for the College of Arts and Sciences included remarks from Sarah Adnan Sawlan, who graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor of arts in forensic psychology and criminal justice. Recalling the sacrifices and determination of her father who emigrated to the U.S. before she was born, Sawlan said: “he may not have had a degree to hang on his wall, but now he does because he’s hanging mine.”
Sawlan, who struggled in high school, said “I had people tell me I would never graduate. But I refused to let that be my story. I fought for my education, earned my high school equivalency degree, and today not only am I graduating summa cum laude, but I also had the honor of serving as the president of PSI CHI, the International Honors Society in Psychology.”
Sawlan concluded: “The world is waiting for us, let’s go make an impact.”
For more than 150 years, Maryville University has empowered graduates to build successful careers and to shine their light wherever they go. Maryville’s career outcomes are an impressive 98%, due to the student experience of a rigorous, technology-driven, mentor-inspired education in a diverse and inclusive learning environment that equips them to take that next step in their journey.
Maryville University’s 2025 graduating class reflects the strength of a thriving academic community representing a wide geographical range—both on campus and online.
About Maryville University
Founded in 1872, Maryville University is a comprehensive and nationally ranked private institution with an enrollment of well over 9,000 students. Maryville offers over 90 degrees at the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels, as well as several certificates that align with the undergraduate and graduate education levels. Maryville is recognized as the third fastest-growing private university in the United States by The Chronicle of Higher Education, serving students from 50 states and 56 countries. More than 50,000 Maryville alumni globally, many of whom work and live in the St. Louis region.