DePaul University Newsline > Sections > Campus and Community > Meet the student speakers for DePaul's 2025 commencement

Meet the student speakers for DePaul's 2025 commencement

Ceremonies to feature student leaders who foster community and academic excellence

A composite image of the seven student commencement speakers
(Top L-R): Alyssa Schmidt-Brookover, Sarah Johnson and Esma Tantawi. (Bottom L-R): Kreena Shah, Maurine Leroy, Jocelyn Torres-Barbosa and Jo Trasowech. (Photos submitted by speakers)
​​This spring, DePaul is preparing to celebrate its 2025 graduates in its upcoming commencement ceremonies. The College of Law will honor its graduates on May 24 at The Chicago Theatre. Nine of DePaul’s colleges and schools will celebrate across six ceremonies at Wintrust Arena during the weekend of June 14-15. ​

Each ceremony will feature a student speaker who is a leader on campus in their community. These students will take the stage to share their stories and encouragement as graduates celebrate with family, friends, faculty and other DePaul community members. Other speakers for this year’s ceremony will be announced in the coming weeks. This year's student commencement speakers are:

Alyssa Schmidt-Brookover, College of Law: A first-generation law student, Schmidt-Brookover served the Student Bar Association as senator, director of events and student body president while at DePaul. She interned for organizations including Ascend Justice, providing legal relief and support for survivors of domestic violence. 

Sarah Johnson, The Theatre School: Johnson’s four years were spent working on several creative projects, organizations and positions that led her to some incredible relationships that were huge turning points in her career. She is grateful to have experienced such artistic and innovative productions.​

Maurine Leroy, Jarvis College of Computing and Digital Media: Leroy has been actively engaged in the university community during her cybersecurity graduate studies. Driven by a commitment to fostering positive change and active community engagement, she aims to advance the field of cybersecurity.

Kreena Shah, Kellstadt Graduate School of Business: Shah’s journey into the data world began in law school. Now finishing her master’s in business analytics at DePaul, she’s ready to turn messy data into clear insights - and maybe even enjoy a pivot table or two along the way.

Esma Tantawi, Driehaus College of Business: Tantawi has completed multiple internships during her time here and is also involved on campus as the president of the Accounting Club. She aims to support future business students to help them navigate the corporate business world. 

Jocelyn Torres-Barbosa, College of Science and Health: Torres-Barbosa is a first-generation college student and devoted her time at DePaul to creating a sense of belonging for her peers, including fostering meaningful experiences within fraternity and sorority life. 

Jo Trasowech, College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences: Trasowech describes her time at DePaul as defined by the pillars of the Honors Program: partnership, leadership and scholarship. She hopes to take these values into her postgraduate life and pursue a career that involves mentorship, research and social justice. 

Want to learn more about these students? Their stories and others from graduating students in the Class of 2025 will be shared here in Newsline in the coming weeks. For more information about commencement, tickets, directions to the arena and parking information, please visit DePaul’s commencement website.​

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