The human service studies major will deliver the "Message of Appreciation" during Elon University's 136th Commencement ceremonies on May 22 in Schar Center.
Ruby Radis ’26, a human service studies major from Chicago, Illinois, has been chosen to deliver the “Message of Appreciation” at Elon University’s 136th Commencement ceremonies on May 22.
Her address will center on the “magic” of the relationships students build at Elon: “I believe in the way that Elon fosters relationships unlike any other place I’ve been,” said Radis.
Radis has built relationships through a multitude of campus involvement opportunities, including as a Periclean Scholar, a member of the Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity, an Elon Votes! Coordinator, Andrew Goodman Fellow, Koury Athletic Center operations manager, a member of Club Field Hockey and Basketball, a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and a member of Sigma Kappa sorority.
“I was thinking about Periclean Scholars, I was thinking about my sorority, I was thinking about my friend group and thought ‘I could really write about community because it’s such a strong thing,’” she said. “Then recently my grandmother passed away, and I felt that community so much more. You don’t want those things to happen, but when they do, you see the relationships you’ve made.”
While the honor of student speaker had previously been reserved for the class president, Elon opened the process up to the entire class in 2024, when Grace Ackerman ’24 was chosen. The senior commencement speaker is chosen through an application process and reviewed by a selection committee chaired by the Student Government Association’s senior class president, as well as graduating seniors, faculty, and staff.
From those applications, 10 semifinalists are chosen and added to the SGA spring election ballot where every member of the Class of 2026 can vote. Then, three finalists are invited to share their speeches with the selection committee, and one is chosen.
“Grace Ackerman is one of my best friends and biggest mentors from Elon, and so when she spoke, it opened my mind up to the possibility, knowing that’s an option for anybody to leave their mark on Elon,” Radis said.
Radis says receiving the honor to speak at Commencement was a shock. On the day she was notified, she saw an Elon number calling her, and her roommate thought something was wrong because she stopped talking, and Radis admits she rarely goes “silent.” On the other end of the line was President Connie Ledoux Book.
“My face just changed, and I was jumping everywhere. It was amazing,” Radis said. “I don’t remember much of what I said because I was freaking out. I called like every single person that is important to me.”
Radis, who also has minors in history, peace and conflict studies, and poverty and social justice, started at Elon initially studying history, with the goal of going to law school. It wasn’t until her junior year that she began to consider human service studies, particularly because of the “block semester,” which combines a cohort learning experience with an internship at the Family Justice Center of Alamance County.
“It just fits me. I think it allows me to see the world in a different way and really get involved in the Elon community,” Radis said.
As Radis delivers the Message of Appreciation to her fellow graduates in Schar Center, she hopes they take those relationships built at Elon and carry them forward.
“You can form a relationship and it can feel small in this little Elon bubble, but it’ll actually be a lot bigger when you’re out in the world,” she said.
Elon’s 136th Commencement
Elon University will celebrate the Class of 2026 through a variety of events leading up to the 136th Commencement Exercises on May 22, 2026.
Jana Lynn Patterson, retiring associate vice president for student life and dean of student health & well-being, will deliver the keynote address for Numen Lumen: Senior Baccalaureate Reflection, Under the Oaks on May 19 at 7:45 p.m.
Journalist and author Katherine Blunt ’15 will address candidates for the Master of Arts in Higher Education, Master of Education in Innovation, Master of Science in Accounting, Master of Science in Business Analytics and Master of Business Administration in an Alumni Gym evening ceremony on May 20.
Patricia Walsh Chadwick P’16 will draw on a career in finance and a life of wide-ranging experiences to deliver the Commencement address to the Class of 2026 on May 22 in two ceremonies inside Schar Center.