Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P. President | St. John's University website

St. John’s University celebrated its 155th Undergraduate-Level Commencement Exercise on May 18, 2025, under clear skies at the Queens, NY campus. The ceremony saw over 2,100 undergraduate degrees awarded to students from the Queens and Manhattan campuses and those who completed online coursework.

Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P., President of St. John’s, emphasized gratitude as a core value in his welcoming remarks. “One mark if we have educated you well is if gratitude is your dominant emotion today. My hope and prayer for you is that is what your day is about,” he said.

Commencement speaker Jim McCann, Founder, President, and CEO of 1-800-Flowers.com, Inc., shared insights from his career journey while receiving an honorary Doctor of Commercial Science degree. “I don’t have a tidy résumé... My story is a little messier,” he noted.

McCann encouraged graduates to believe in their potential: “That’s called a self-fulfilling prophecy... If you can’t imagine yourself doing something good... you won’t.”

Additional honorary degrees were conferred upon Msgr. James J. Kelly, Esq., Kathleen Meehan, Sr. Margaret Mary O’Doherty, O.P., and Lewis Rice Jr.

Graduate degrees were also conferred on May 16 across four schools within the university.

Steven J. Farella ’77SVC addressed graduates at the morning ceremony highlighting the transformative power of education: “College did exactly what my parents thought it would do,” he stated.

Student speaker Steiner Williams shared how global experiences shaped his education beyond classroom walls: “The world is not divided by borders but united by the human spirit.”

Several graduates reflected on their time at St. John’s University with fond memories of community and growth opportunities provided during their studies.

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