Penn State Great Valley honors graduates at 2025 commencement

The May 9 ceremony celebrated 474 students who earned their master's degrees this academic year

Master's degree graduates walk outside in a line to the commencement ceremony

Penn State Great Valley's master's degree graduates walked to the tent for the 2025 commencement ceremony.

Credit: Allison S. Duncan

May 12, 2025

By Allison S. Duncan

MALVERN, Pa. — On May 9, Penn State Great Valley held a commencement ceremony honoring 474 students who have completed their graduate degrees this past academic year.

View 2025 commencement photos here.

Penn State Great Valley's World Campus students from states as far away as Alaska, Arizona and California traveled to the Malvern campus for the ceremony. Families of several international students attended the ceremony from countries around the world, including Brazil, Canada, Columbia, Greece, India, Iran, Lebanon, South Korea and Saudia Arabia.

Penn State Great Valley MBA alumna Rina Desai, principal/owner of Eigen X, a professional services firm focused on data and technology, gave the keynote address.

“I’m from an immigrant family and came here from India when I was 2,” Desai said. “I didn’t have the network and resources to help me along in my educational and career journey, so I had to find my own ways to build relationships and find opportunities to get to where I wanted to go.”

She shared how she participated in a summer scholars program for high school students, which involved a four-hour round-trip bus ride. This helped her get a full scholarship and earn a bachelor’s degree in finance.

“A few years after college, I had the goal of moving up in my career,” Desai said. “And I knew that having an MBA would help me get there. The program at Penn State Great Valley equipped me with not just foundational knowledge but extensive skills across all areas of business — which have proven valuable in my multifaceted career. Each time I would go through a class here at Penn State Great Valley, I was able to quickly apply the skills I learned into my role at work — and I received praise every time I did!”

Desai added that her professors were also experienced industry professionals and mentors.

“The lessons I learned here are timeless and continue to guide me two decades later,” she said.

Desai encouraged graduates to be willing to change direction. “You’d be surprised at how many times you fall into things that were unexpected that you end up loving!” she said. “With your degrees in hand, have the confidence that you will figure it out. Not just the job, but your path. The world is dynamic. One step in a different direction doesn’t mean you’re lost. It might mean you’ve found a new path that can be even more than you hoped for.”

Master of engineering management graduate Christopher Hallahan gave the student address.

“It's so incredible to feel this newfound power of knowledge that we've been able to accrue,” Hallahan said. He urged his fellow alumni to take their wealth of knowledge and spread it, sharing how he and his friends formed a volunteer-powered nonprofit organization 12 years ago to continue an extracurricular STEM education program that was on the verge of collapse. The volunteers’ dedicated mentoring helped the program grow to now serve more than 200 students each year, who regularly compete in state, national and world robotics championships.

“Take your unique knowledge and spread this wealth,” Hallahan said. “I can tell you firsthand, it will be rewarding and incredibly educational at the same time, and it will provide so many chances for everyone to grow.”

Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer Colin Neill presided over the ceremony and announced 10 winners of outstanding achievement awards in their respective programs: