PSE&G President Tells NJIT Class of 2023 to 'Move Forward with Purpose'
The head of New Jersey’s largest utility urged the Class of 2023 at New Jersey Institute of Technology to embrace change and remain positive in the face of challenges ranging from climate change and social inequity to artificial intelligence.
“Finding solutions will require new faces and perspectives and for us to reject the status quo,” said Kim Hanemann, president and chief operating officer of PSE&G. “I encourage you to stay hopeful and press on even when things seem scary. What the world needs now is creative thinking and for the next generation of leaders — for all of you — to move forward with purpose.”
Hanemann, the first woman to lead PSE&G, was the keynote speaker at NJIT’s 107th undergraduate commencement, held May 19 at Prudential Center in Newark. More than 1,800 students earned bachelor's degrees, which blended Highlander traditions with salutes to top students, faculty, parents and alumni.
Opportunities await
Teik C. Lim, speaking at his first undergraduate commencement since becoming president of NJIT last year, encouraged members of the class to stop and savor the moment before they begin the next chapter in their lives. “Take it all in and store this moment in your memory,” Lim said.
“Embrace the opportunities that await and use your talents to pursue goals that will benefit others and improve our world,” he added. “Understand that you are building upon a foundation that was created by previous generations of Highlanders and you are contributing to the great legacy of this incredibly fine institution.”
The undergraduate ceremony came three days after some 1,300 students earned master’s degrees and Ph.D.s in three ceremonies at NJIT’s Wellness and Events Center. On both days, Class of ’23 member Debbie-Ann Spence sang the National Anthem, student a cappella group GigaBeats delivered the alma mater and bagpipers and a drummer led graduates out the door.
Happy and grateful
The student speaker at the undergraduate commencement ceremony, Mark Nashed, thanked his supportive parents and committed classmates for the “greatest four years I could have asked for.” For Nashed, it was a full four years: he became president of the Student Senate while earning a bachelor’s in biology as a member of the Albert Dorman Honors College.
“You have all sharpened me into the happy, grateful and lucky man I am today,” he said.
The ceremony also recognized scholars who earned a GPA of 4.0; faculty members; the most-senior alum in attendance (Gerald Stolar '47, '49); and students who served in the military. In addition, NJIT bestowed honorary degrees upon Hanemann and alumni Martin Tuchman '62 and Peter Cistaro '68 for their achievements and support for the university.
PSE&G provides internships for students and employs some 400 alumni. The exceptional generosity of Tuchman, a pioneer in the shipping industry, prompted NJIT to add his name to its School of Management in 2016. Cistaro, a former vice president at PSE&G who’s now a deacon at Saint Peter the Apostle Church in Parsippany, served 20 years on NJIT’s Board of Trustees and endowed a student scholarship in 2007.
After the students collected their degrees, walked the stage, waved to relatives and swung their mortarboard tassels to the left, they had just one more task to complete: toss those black rectangular caps in the air after a countdown from President Lim. So began the next chapter of their lives.
