Hollins University honored the class of 2025 during its 183rd Commencement with a joyful and inspiring celebration of perseverance, gratitude, and community.
Class President Malaika Amin delivered a moving speech reflecting on her journey from the Hunza Valley of Pakistan to Hollins, and the doors opened through women’s education—from study abroad in France to leading as class president. She thanked her mentors, honored family watching from 7,000 miles away, and acknowledged the class’s unique experience navigating college during a time of challenge and change.
Through it all, she said, they lifted each other up and emerged stronger—united by a deep sense of care. Malaika celebrated Hollins’ legacy of empowering women and affirmed her classmates’ readiness to lead with courage and compassion. She left them with a message of resilience: “The sky is not the limit for any of us.”
Beth Macy’s advice to graduates: “Be you, partner well, and put down ya damn phone.”
Beth Macy M.A. ’93, award-winning author and journalist, brought humor and wisdom to the ceremony. Drawing from her own story—beginning with a rusty Volkswagen Beetle, $100 in the bank, and an unglamorous first job—she reassured graduates that uncertainty is part of the journey.
Macy encouraged students to:
- “Remember the lilacs” — a metaphor for staying grounded in purpose, peace, and what connects you to your truest self
- Embrace their unique perspective and follow what moves them
- Resist disconnection by choosing real, meaningful community over screen time
- Use their voice and values to uplift others and strengthen civic life
“You are now the helpers,” she reminded them. “Carry your purpose forward.”
President Hinton: A class that transformed Hollins
President Mary Dana Hinton offered warm congratulations and reflected on the class of 2025’s deep and lasting impact on Hollins.
She praised the graduates not only for finding their place, but for “weaving their own vibrant threads into the very fabric of Hollins, helping to craft a new, more resilient, more compassionate heart for us all.”
Echoing her first message to the class at convocation, she celebrated their commitment to connection, care, and love—hallmarks of the Hollins experience. “You simply, powerfully, LOVED,” she said. “Carry that love forward as your guiding star.”
Other highlights and honors of this year’s commencement
- In recognition of her extraordinary contributions to literature, journalism, and public understanding—and for using her voice to uplift others and effect meaningful change—Hollins University proudly bestowed upon Beth Macy M.A. ’93 the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.
- The First Faculty Award for Academic Excellence, recognizing the student or students with the highest academic standing in the class of 2025, was presented to Matilda Iris Sieger (B.A. in English) and Mai Nguyen (B.S. in mathematics). Signe Belle Overby (B.A. in studio art and psychology) received Second Faculty Award for Academic Excellence for earning the second-highest academic standing.
- Erin Desiree Masarjian (B.A. in studio art) received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Student Award, which recognizes a senior who has shown by daily living those qualities that evidence a spirit of love for and helpfulness toward others.
- Abubakarr Jalloh, assistant professor and chair of the public health department, was presented the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Community Award, which is given to a person associated with Hollins who has shown in daily living and work those characteristics that exhibit the noblest of spiritual and human qualities.
- The Annie Terrill Bushnell Award was given to Ti-Shawn Wellington (B.S. in public health and biology). The award honors the senior who has evidenced the finest spirit of leadership during her time at Hollins.
- The Jane Cocke Funkhouser Award, recognizing the senior who, in addition to being a good student, is preeminent in character and leadership, was presented to Malaika Amin, (B.S. in biology and public health).
