Commencement 2025 Joyful and Inspiring

For the second year, Erikson’s Commencement ceremony, held Monday, May 5, took place at the historic Goodman Theatre in downtown Chicago. A living room set for the production of “Bust”, a play by Zora Howard, provided the backdrop for a ceremony that like the play, was powerful and joyful. Nearly 100 graduates crossed the stage to accept the degrees that have prepared them to positively impact the early childhood field.

Erikson Institute Board Chair Eric Adelstein opened the program by welcoming the graduates and acknowledging the challenges they face at this moment in history. “They say that leaders don’t choose their time, but the times choose their leaders. Consider yourself chosen,” Adelstein said. “So, class of 2025, go forth knowing this…you will continue to create spaces where children feel they matter and that will always, always make a difference.”

Erikson’s President, Mariana Souto-Manning, PhD uplifted students with her address focused on the importance of their work with young children. “Here, at Erikson, you have joined a legacy. A lineage of scholar-activists, healers, educators, visionaries. You know that early childhood is not a warm-up. It is where the foundation of justice is poured. It is where the soul of a society is revealed,” she said.

Souto-Manning awarded honorary doctoral degrees to two outstanding people in the early childhood field. Rev. Starsky Willson, DMin, President and CEO of the Children’s Defense Fund, and Adele Diamond, PhD, Canada Research Chair in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience at University of British Columbia. Wilson urged students to “fight in flight” as they fly to new heights in their career, to advocate for early childhood programs. Diamond, a renowned researcher, emphasized the importance of social and emotional support for young children. “What children need most is for you to just listen and care.” she said.

The 2025 Founder’s award was presented to Linda Horwitz, MSEd and alumna of Erikson’s Infant Mental Health Certificate program, by Pamela Epley, PhD Vice President of Academic Affairs. The award honors an Erikson alum who has demonstrated extraordinary leadership and service in support of children and families. “Linda has continued to embody the values of an Erikson education through her care for her students and her steadfast commitment to the social and emotional wellbeing of infants and young children,” Epley said. Among her many accomplishments, Horwitz serves as an Erikson faculty member and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Illinois Association for Infant Mental Health.

Student speaker Sophie Marwell, (MSCD ‘20, MSW ‘25) addressed her fellow graduates on the theme of memories. “We can shape what comes next based on how we want to remember and how we want to BE remembered as social workers or clinicians or educators or child development specialists, or frankly, as PEOPLE,” she said.

Following the ceremony, graduates reunited with their loved ones at an elegant reception in the Goodman lobby before heading out to enjoy a beautiful spring day. Congratulations to all our 2025 graduates, and to the accomplished faculty and staff who guided them on their journey.

You can watch a video of the full ceremony on our Commencement 2025 webpage