Meet the Fall Commencement Reflection Speakers

Across all majors and degrees, every graduating student shares the accomplishment of completing a journey. At each of this fall’s ceremonies, a student reflection speaker will address the crowd with their perspectives on how Georgia Tech has shaped them and parting words of advice to their classmates.   

The speakers will be Alison Jenkins, Ph.D., mechanical engineering; Jocelyn Kwarteng, B.S., computer science; and Justin Huang, M.S., analytics.  

Alison Jenkins, PhD Ceremony   

A prototype is the result of hard work, iteration, and continued belief in an idea, but as Alison Jenkins graduates with a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, she wants to remind her classmates that completing a prototype is not the end of the journey.   

"Keep experimenting. Stay curious. Innovation needs a spark of fun. The world is counting on you to develop new technology to improve the human condition," she said. "Every great engineer starts with the belief that something can work, even before knowing how. Our optimism keeps us iterating. When a prototype breaks or a simulation diverges, that's not failure — it's data."   

Jenkins served in various leadership and mentorship roles as a graduate student, and she implores her classmates to engage with their local communities, find time to connect with themselves, and rely on the support systems around them.   

Her journey at Tech took her to the skies as a member of the Yellow Jacket Flying Club and to the sea as a volunteer for the Georgia Tech Scuba Program's Rescue Diver certification. After graduation, Jenkins will continue to work on engineering and flight-related projects for the U.S. Air Force. Having recently joined the NASA Analog Astronaut roster, she hopes that her work and that of her fellow graduates will one day take Yellow Jackets to Mars. 

Jocelyn Kwarteng, Bachelor’s Ceremony  

Jocelyn Kwarteng remembers the nerves she felt attending New Student Convocation at McCamish Pavilion, signing her name inside a RAT cap. As she prepares for the "full circle moment" of Commencement in the same venue, she wants her classmates to know that, if the walls across campus could talk, it's their stories they'd tell.  

"Every challenge conquered, every discovery made, every late-night breakthrough, they're all built into you. The transformation these walls would talk about? That's you. That's your story,” she said. “I don't know about you, but I want my life to echo the story these walls would tell, one of resilience, brilliance, and impact. And maybe it's the confidence this Institute gave me, but I know we can all do it. We already have."  

A student ambassador, member of the Student Government Association, the African Student Association, and other organizations, Kwarteng embraced opportunities to immerse herself in campus life and never let uncertainty stop her from stepping out of her comfort zone — a lesson she put into practice by stepping into the spotlight as a reflection speaker.    

“I've wanted to speak at Commencement for a long time, but I almost didn't submit because I didn't think my speech was good enough. I pushed myself because I knew I'd regret not trying. This opportunity is a testament to pursuing your goals even when you feel unsure. It shows me that sometimes you have to do it scared, because taking the chance can lead to something bigger than you imagined," she said.    

After Commencement, Kwarteng will move to Washington, D.C., to work at IBM.    

Justin Huang, Master’s Ceremony  

Justin Huang knew that earning a master's degree in analytics from Georgia Tech would help him in his career, developing large language models and cybersecurity tools for the healthcare industry. However, the goal that kept him going through the sleepless nights was the chance to earn "the ultimate dad brag." 

"The kind of leverage I can pull out when my kids complain about grades: ‘Listen, kids, your old man was a straight-A student at Georgia Tech. What's your excuse?’ Pure, motivational leverage," he said.    

Huang hopes his message will resonate with graduates as they celebrate their achievements and share their own motivations. Throughout his time at Tech, Huang became a mentor to his classmates and was quick to share his expertise in specialized areas like natural language processing and machine learning.   

After Commencement, Huang intends to continue his career and celebrate his achievement with his family at the soon-to-open Pokémon Park at Yomiuri Land in Kawasaki, Japan.