Cloudy Skies, Bright Futures: UVA Darden Class of 2024 Graduates

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business celebrated 474 new graduates on 18 May, as Full-Time MBA and Executive MBA students came together to receive their diplomas on Flagler Court.

The newest graduates include 342 Full-Time MBA students, including 21 earning dual degrees, and 132 Executive MBA students, including 24 who pursued the Global Executive MBA path.

The Class of 2024 came to Darden roughly two years ago boasting numerous academic records and with various professional superlatives. In addition to incalculable personal and professional growth in the ensuing period, the class has witnessed significant enhancements at Darden, including the opening of The Forum Hotel and LaCross Botanical Gardens and various record rankings.

The newest graduates include 342 Full-Time MBA students, including 21 earning dual degrees, and 132 Executive MBA students, including 24 who pursued the Global Executive MBA path.

Addressing graduates, their families and friends under drizzly skies, Darden Dean Scott Beardsley encouraged graduates to continue to dig deep to find and cultivate their own potential, while also resisting the temptation to compare themselves to others or measure themselves against unrealistic expectations.

Referencing a Michelangelo quote, Beardsley called each graduate a sculpture in progress but also the sculptor, and offered seven ways to help rectify the internal struggle between objective self-improvement and unrealistic or unhealthy expectations, including:

● Stop leaping to self-judgements based on limited facts, and instead consider a wealth of inputs.

● In an age of artificial intelligence, focus “not on AI but I,” with a particular emphasis on understanding ourselves and our strengths.

● Practice gratitude, bringing out the trait personally and in others.

● Remember that your most important investment is in you and your well-being, with a focus on true fulfillment.

● Have goals, and make sure they are ones likely to produce happiness and overall well-being.

● Adopt a lifelong learning mindset, seeing even mistakes or missteps as opportunities for learning.

● Choose optimism and hope over pessimism, developing a mindset of optimism in the face of significant and real challenges.

Amid a host of seemingly intractable global problems, Beardsley said optimism is a valid and productive choice.

“I am optimistic because I have hope, And I have hope because I am optimistic,” said Beardsley. “I have hope that you will believe in yourself in the way I believe in you. I have hope because you are the future responsible leaders Darden has prepared you to be.”

In addition to Beardsley, an elected speaker from each MBA format addressed the audience, with Anthony Ranghelli (EMBA ‘24) encouraging graduates to pursue a career of both passion and purpose in order to deliver the most impact.

Reflecting on global study experiences in Australia and Vietnam, Ranghelli cited two organizations making the world a better place — the Clontarf Foundation and VinaCapital — both of which began when an individual acted on a goal to make the world better for others. You don’t need to be a CEO to facilitate change, Ranghelli said. You just need to be a leader.

“Wherever you go in life, don’t underestimate the impact one individual can have, and don’t forget the values Darden has instilled in you,” Ranghelli said. “We all have it in us to make the world a better place, and Darden has given us the tools and the network to be successful.”

Full-Time MBA elected speaker Matt Ganyard (MBA ‘24) reflected on his unique personal journey, which included joining the UVA football team as a kicker at age 34, but said he hesitated to accept the honor of graduation speaker given the hundreds of equally impressive individuals surrounding him, all with compelling stories of their own.

“But I realized that’s what makes Darden so incredible,” Ganyard said. “There simply is no student who could hope to capture every facet of this experience. There is no typical Darden student, just one Darden family.”

With diplomas in hand, members of the Class of 2024 will be starting their post-graduation careers in diverse positions in all manner of industries, with companies hiring new graduates including Amazon, Apple, Bank of America, Bain & Co., Barclays, Boston Consulting Group, DaVita, Dell Technologies, Deloitte, Emerson, J.P. Morgan Chase, McKinsey, Microsoft, UPS, Walmart and more.

“Let’s go out, do great things, and make an impact in the world and communities around us,” Ganyard said. “Let’s continue to take the right path — not the easy one — and make our mark on the world and our communities. But let’s never forget the two years spent on these Grounds and the family that made them the good old days.

Watch the Darden 2024 Graduation Speeches

See more videos from graduation day on Darden’s YouTube channel.