This week on Chronversations: Columbia honored over 1,000 graduates across two commencement ceremonies on Sunday, May 18. The college also awarded honorary doctor of arts degrees to Columbia business and entrepreneurship alum Marcos “Kosine” Palacios and theater alum Joseph Sikora. The ceremonies included speeches, poetry and musical performances by students.

0:08: Welcome to Chronicle Chronversations. 

 0:11: I’m your guest host, Sydney Richardson. 

 0:15: On Sunday, May 18th, Columbia honored over 1000 graduates across two commencement ceremonies. 

 0:22: Graduates and their guests attended the ceremonies at Credit Union One Arena on the University of Illinois Chicago’s campus. 

 0:30: My name is Daisy Aranda-Herrera. 

 0:33: My major is game art. 

 0:36: I am very proud of myself for this last year. 

 0:39: I pushed myself really hard to learn a lot of new programs, which made me more confident into working in the field as well. 

 0:47: So overall I just feel so overjoyed of myself. 

 0:53: The first commencement ceremony began at 11 a.m. The second began at 4:30 p.m. Mhm Each of the ceremonies opened with performances from Columbia music students. 

 1:13: The ceremonies included a student poetry reading and student addresses. 

 1:18: Elisha Dennard, who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in arts management, emphasized the need for resilience and leadership in his speech at the first ceremony. 

 1:30: As we prepare to leave Columbia, we are stepping into a world where good leadership is desperately needed and y’all know who I’m talking about. 

 1:46: But I want to challenge you to rethink the traditional notion of leadership. 

 1:50: See, leadership isn’t just reserved for CEOs and politicians. 

 1:55: It’s not just for those in the C-suite or board rooms. 

 2:00: It’s also for people like us, the artists. 

 2:04: The writers, the designers. 

 2:08: The actors, the producers and musicians. 

 2:15: See, we are called to take on the responsibility of creating a better world because for us leadership is more than just a title. 

 2:24: It’s about impact is the courage to speak the truth and create solutions that challenge the status quo. 

 2:34: Two honorary degree recipients were awarded with a Doctor of Arts degree. 

 2:39: Both recipients are Columbia alumni and Chicago natives. 

 2:43: Music producer and entrepreneur Marcos Palacios, known as Kosine, addressed the first ceremony. 

 2:50: Palacios gave the student commencement address at his own Columbia graduation in 2006 after receiving his Bachelor’s in xx. 

 2:56: In his speech on Sunday, Palacios spoke about managing challenges and loss throughout his education and career. 

 3:05: Because life doesn’t always separate the blessings from the battles. 

 3:10: Sometimes the breakthrough and the breakdown happen in the same breath. 

 3:17: But you gotta know this, if your worst nightmare can come true. 

 3:23: So can all your wildest dreams. 

 3:32: The Chronicle spoke with actor Joseph Sikora, who graduated from Columbia with a Bachelor of Arts degree in theater in 1998. 

 3:41: Sikora was presented with the honorary Doctor of Arts degree at the second ceremony. 

 3:46: And it’s it’s a huge honor to be rewarded for not necessarily being famous or rich or anything like that, but making a living as an actor, and I think the example that that shows to incoming students and alumnus of Columbia College Chicago is that you are being trained with the skills to make a living and that’s what we should be expecting from our colleges. 

 4:10: Just like doctors are trained in that way, just like engineers are trained in that way, we’re doing something that requires every job requires passion. 

 4:18: There is no such thing as unskilled labor. 

 4:20: All labor is skilled labor, and the labor and the labor of our love is, performance or, visual arts and the arts in general. 

 4:29: So I think Columbia College offers an opportunity to make a living at what you love. 

 4:35: Make sure to stay up to date with campus and metro news at ColumbiaChronicle.com and sign up for our newsletter at ColumbiaChronicle.com/newsletter. 

 4:45: Congratulations to the class of 2025. 

 4:48: I’m Sydney Richardson. 

 4:50: Thanks for listening.