{"id":221051,"date":"2023-05-23T13:06:20","date_gmt":"2023-05-23T17:06:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/?p=221051"},"modified":"2023-06-08T09:28:05","modified_gmt":"2023-06-08T13:28:05","slug":"commencement-2023-recap-photos-highlights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/2023\/05\/23\/commencement-2023-recap-photos-highlights\/","title":{"rendered":"Commencement 2023 Recap, Photos & Highlights"},"content":{"rendered":"
Photos from Ceremony 1<\/a><\/span><\/div>
Photos from Ceremony 2<\/a><\/span><\/div>
Photos from Ceremony 3<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n

It was triple the Pomp and Circumstance<\/em> on Tuesday, when Montclair State University held three Commencement exercises at Prudential Center in Newark to allow for the University\u2019s 5,386 graduates \u2013 many of whom are first generation \u2013 to each safely have several guests in attendance without concern for inclement weather.<\/p>\n

The Class of 2023, whose number included nearly 1,600 graduate students, comprised one of the largest graduating classes in Montclair history. (You can read more about some of our inspiring graduates here<\/a>.) Seven graduates served as student speakers, telling their own stories of perseverance, while also congratulating their peers for their hard work, dedication and resilience.<\/p>\n

While the majority of the undergraduates were freshmen when the COVID-19 pandemic turned their first year of college upside down, they did not dwell on the past but looked to the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a celebration of hard work and commitment. It’s a celebration of fortitude and resilience under extraordinary circumstances,\u201d Montclair State University President Jonathan Koppell told the graduates. \u201cYou got here today, notwithstanding something that none of us had ever experienced up on this stage \u2013 earning your college degree in the middle of the COVID pandemic, pivoting to remote learning which you didn’t expect to do. What an exceptional thing that you can be proud of today.\u201d<\/p>\n