UVA Class of 2026 urged to ‘enjoy the drive’

For Neha Jagasia, the path to Sunday’s Final Exercises ceremony was paved with coincidences.

She was randomly matched with her first-year roommate. She applied and was accepted to the McIntire School of Commerce. She put herself out there in classrooms, student organizations and friendships, trusting the small moments would add up to something bigger.

McIntire School of Commerce graduate Neha Jagasia smiles on the Rotunda steps while waiting to line up to walk down the Lawn. Jagasia will move to Boston in August to begin a career in consulting. (Photo by Matt Riley, University Communications)

“There are so many coincidences that it takes for you to meet the people you do, to get the opportunities that you do,” the Loudon native said. “And I truly believe that it will all work out.”

Students pose for a photo in their caps and gowns on the Lawn during Sunday’s Final Exercises ceremony. (Photo by Matt Riley, University Communications)

On Sunday, it did.

Jagasia – who earned a degree in finance and information technology with a minor in data science – walked the Lawn alongside nearly 4,000 fellow graduates on the second day of the University of Virginia’s Final Exercises.

Family and guests share smiles and hugs during Sunday’s Final Exercises ceremony. Loved ones lined up along the sides of the Lawn to watch their Hoos walk down from the Rotunda to the South Lawn. (Photos by Lathan Goumas, University Communications)

Sunday’s ceremony, held beneath a clear, sunny sky decorated by a sea of balloons, honored students from the School of Medicine, School of Law, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Darden School of Business, School of Architecture, School of Nursing, McIntire School of Commerce, School of Continuing and Professional Studies, and School of Data Science. The University conferred 1,572 baccalaureate degrees, 461 professional degrees in law and 1,888 graduate degrees.

Nearly 4,000 degrees are conferred at Sunday’s Final Exercises ceremony. (Photos by Matt Riley, University Communications)

Keynote speaker Sherri Moore, an associate professor of commerce at the McIntire School, took the podium carrying a physical road map – a prop that served as the backbone of her address. She told the graduates that life isn’t clearly mapped out on a GPS with shortcuts and turn-by-turn directions.

“Life routinely confronts us with challenges that become part of our drive,” Moore said.

Sunday’s ceremony celebrates students from the School of Medicine, School of Law, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Darden School of Business, School of Architecture, School of Nursing, McIntire School of Commerce, School of Continuing and Professional Studies, and School of Data Science. (Photos by Matt Riley, University Communications)

That drive, she explained, stands for doubt, rejection, insecurity, vulnerability and endings – five forces that everyone experiences, and when met with intention, can build character. Moore grounded each element in her personal story: her grandfather’s journey from a small Greek island to Ellis Island; her rejection from UVA School of Law and the academic and law career path that followed; the noise of social media and its tendency to make users feel unworthy; the vulnerability of an unconventional relationship; and the grief of losing her first husband and, a year later, her mother.

Hoos with balloons in hand line up to walk the Lawn. (Photo by Lathan Goumas, University Communications)

“Sometimes the moments that disappoint us become the very moments that transform our lives,” she said. Moore closed with a simple instruction: “Enjoy the drive.”

While Moore asked graduates to embrace the road ahead, UVA President Scott Beardsley, in his closing remarks, asked them to consider who they will be sharing it with.

A group of UVA rowers walks down the Lawn in a line. (Photo by Matt Riley, University Communications)

“After UVA, you will meet people who don’t look like you, speak like you, think like you or vote like you,” Beardsley said. “As you make your way, I urge you to remember this moment – and to seek shared ground.”

School of Nursing graduates listen to the speaker during Sunday’s Final Exercises ceremony. (Photo by Matt Riley, University Communications)

Drawing on his career working across four continents, Beardsley argued that commonality is a more productive starting point than division.

School of Architecture graduates cheer as their school’s name is called during the Final Exercises ceremony on Sunday. (Photo by Matt Riley, University Communications)

“Science tells us that human DNA is 99.9% identical,” he said. “No matter where you live, my experience is that people want the same things: to feel safe, to find meaning and to build a life we enjoy.”

UVA graduates beam during Sunday's Final Exercises ceremony. (Photo by Lathan Goumas, University Communications)

For Jagasia, the University delivered more than she expected. She served on the Honor Committee, provided pro bono consulting to local nonprofits through 180 Degrees Consulting and spent her final year living on the Lawn with her door open to anyone who walked past.

Associate professor of commerce Sherri Moore delivers the keynote graduation address on Sunday. “Life routinely confronts us with challenges that become part of our drive,” she said. (Photo by Lathan Goumas, University Communications)

In August, she will move to Boston to begin her career at L.E.K. Consulting. “I truly do hope to make the world at least a little bit better wherever I’m able to go,” she said.

UVA President Scott Beardsley addresses graduates from the podium at Sunday’s ceremony. He reminded the Class of 2026 that commonality is more productive than division and urged them to find “shared ground.” (Photo by Matt Riley, University Communications)

The ceremony concluded with the newly minted graduates joining arms to sing “The Good Old Song” one more time.