Wentworth Commencement Returns to Fenway Aug. 13

View of stage for commencement - red carpet flanked by black chairs for student seating, white cut out letters #graduwit, yellow, red and green florals decorating the black stage front, 26 international flags on poles representing the countries of international students, large Wentworth banner in gold and black with our school seal flanked by the US and Massachusetts state flags, 2 podiums and 35 black padded chairs on the stage for faculty and trustees

Wentworth Institute of Technology closes the books on the Class of 2026 next week, with Summer Commencement returning to MGM Music Hall at Fenway on Thursday, August 13. 

Graduates will cross the stage in two ceremonies. The 10:30 a.m. ceremony recognizes students from the School of Architecture and Design, the School of Computing and Data Science, the School of Management, and the School of Sciences and Humanities. The 2:30 p.m. ceremony recognizes students from the Douglas D. Schumann School of Engineering. The Boston Fire Department Honor Guard will present the colors at both. 

Both keynote speakers run the kind of infrastructure Wentworth graduates spend their careers building and maintaining. 

 

Morning Ceremony 

Richard A. Davey, Jr., chief executive officer of the Massachusetts Port Authority, will deliver the keynote and receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. Davey has led Massport since 2024, overseeing Logan Airport, Worcester Regional Airport, Hanscom Field and the public maritime facilities in the Port of Boston — a portfolio generating close to $46 billion in annual economic impact. He previously served as president of New York City Transit and as Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation. 

Hugo Hernandez Chavez, Computer Information Systems, will give the student address. A first-generation college student and an immigrant from Mexico, Chavez completed three co-ops with Harvard University Information Technology and has focused his time at Wentworth on educational access and using technology to help other students. He heads to Tufts University next for a master's in Innovation and Management. 

Nicolas Cullinan, Construction Management, will receive the Beatty Award, given to the graduating undergraduate with the highest overall academic achievement and named for Dr. H. Russell Beatty, Wentworth's third principal and first president. Cullinan held a 4.0 GPA across four years while playing for two Division III teams, men's ice hockey and baseball, and was named Conference of New England Scholar Athlete of the Year in both sports as a senior. He returns to Gilbane Building Company this fall as a field engineer. 

Dylan Brandano, Mechanical Engineering, will perform the National Anthem.

 

Afternoon Ceremony 

Douglas W. Foley '88, president of Massachusetts Electric Operations at Eversource and a Wentworth trustee, will deliver the keynote and receive an honorary Doctor of Engineering. Foley is responsible for delivering electricity to more than 1.4 million customers across 159 Massachusetts communities, and serves as Eversource's enterprise incident commander for emergency preparedness across three states. He earned his bachelor's degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering Technology from Wentworth. 

Gary J. Miller '77, trustee emeritus, will also receive an honorary Doctor of Engineering. Miller is executive vice president and chief operating officer at NELCO, a designer and manufacturer of radiation shielding products, where he has worked since the year he graduated from Wentworth with a degree in Architectural Engineering. He is a past president of the Wentworth Alumni Association and joined the Board of Trustees in 2015. 

Amanda Zweifler, Civil Engineering, will give the student address. Zweifler spent her co-ops in project engineering, field operations and project management, and on the volleyball court was named Libero of the Year as a senior — becoming just the sixth player in Wentworth history with more than 1,000 career digs. She will pursue graduate studies while serving as an assistant coach for the Wentworth women's volleyball team. 

Jocelyn Salzman, Biomedical Engineering, will perform the National Anthem. 

 

Leading Up to the Day 

Commencement week starts Tuesday, August 11, with Cap and Gown Fest in the Quad Tent from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Wednesday, August 12, Watson Auditorium hosts the Senior Toast and Student Awards (9 to 11 a.m.), the Women's Collective's Becoming Luncheon (12:30 to 2:30 p.m.), and the Umoja Ceremony (5 to 7 p.m.). 

Full details and day-of guidance are on the Commencement website.