Catholic college commencements feature gold medalist, healthcare executives as speakers

Maryland’s four Catholic universities will feature a gold medalist, two healthcare leaders and a noted biblical scholar as their 2025 commencement speakers.

Paralympic champion McKenzie Coan (Class of 2018) will give the commencement address at Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore May 17, while healthcare executive Gracelyn McDermott (Class of 1993) will be featured at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg May 10 and nursing leader Dr. Beverly Malone will share her thoughts at Notre Dame of Maryland University in Baltimore May 20.

Meanwhile St. Mary’s Seminary and University will feature theologian Rev. Dr. Dennis Edwards at its commencement May 8.

Here’s a look at the three speakers:

Loyola Maryland University

Team USA Paralympians Brad Snyder and his guide dog Gizzy, Elizabeth Smith, McKenzie Coan, Cortney Jordan and Alyssa Gialamas complete their morning workout in 2016 at the Loyola University Maryland fitness and aquatic center in Baltimore. Coan will be Loyola’s commencement speaker in 2025. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

Coan, a paralympian, author and disability rights advocate, will deliver the address at Loyola’s 172nd commencement May 17, 11 a.m., at CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore.

A professional swimmer who has osteogenesis imperfect (brittle bone disease), Coan represented the United States in four Paralympic Games — including last year in Paris – and has won four gold and three silver medals.

“McKenzie is an exceptional speaker and author with a powerful story – and an equally powerful message. We are honored to welcome her as our commencement speaker, and we look forward to hearing her address our graduating class,” said Loyola President Terrence M. Sawyer, in a media release. “Through her life’s work, McKenzie demonstrates the importance not just of achieving success, but also significance – using her success to help others.”

Coan’s memoir, “Breaking Free – Shattering Expectations and Thriving with Ambition in Pursuit of Gold,” focuses on her experiences as an athlete living with a genetic condition.

Coan delivered the Sister Cleophas Costello Lecture at Loyola in 2021 and earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from Loyola. She was a member of the school’s NCAA Division I swimming and diving team, and she served as a student member of the campus ADA Compliance Committee. Coan also worked for what is now Loyola’s Disability and Accessibility Services department, where she advocated for campus access and safety for wheelchair users.

As a teenager, Coan founded Kenzie Kares, an organization that helps bring happiness to children who are hospitalized.

During the ceremony, Loyola will present Coan with a doctor of humane letters, honoris causa.

Mount St. Mary’s University

McDermott, vice president for marketing, sales and business development at Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States, will be keynote speaker for Mount St. Mary’s 217th commencement exercises May 10, 10 a.m., at Knott ARCC Arena.

“Gracelyn’s life experiences offer valuable lessons for the Class of 2025 as they graduate,” said Mount St. Mary’s President Dr. Jerry Joyce in a media release. “She is a shining example of someone who leads a life of significance.”

The second woman and first Black to lead the 31-member Mount St. Mary’s University Board of Trustees as chair from 2021 to 2024, McDermott oversaw a period of growth at the Mount that included the establishment of the School of Health Professions. She became a trustee in 2013 and served as vice chair from 2016 to 2020.

At Kaiser, McDermott is a leader of a healthcare provider and nonprofit health plan that serves more than 800,000 members and generates $4 billion in revenue.

A member of Leadership Maryland’s Class of 2018, an eight-month program for senior executives dedicated to building a better Maryland, McDermott is also a certified project management professional. She is a member of the board and former chair and vice chair for the Maryland Chamber of Commerce and a member of the boards of the nonprofit organizations Vehicles for Change and Excellence in Education Foundation for Prince George’s County Public Schools.

After graduating from the Mount as an honors student with an undergraduate degree in international studies and Spanish, McDermott earned an MBA from The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

She participated in the inaugural Alumni of Color Panel dinner in 2019 and a webinar for alumni on health care. She received the Academic Circle of Excellence Award, which recognizes distinguished Mount alumni who are leaders in their communities or their chosen professions, in 2017.

The Mount Airy resident will be honored with a doctorate of humane letters in recognition of her service to the university and the regional and state communities.

Notre Dame of Maryland University

Malone, a leading global voice on the future of healthcare, will address Notre Dame of Maryland graduates and families May 20, 10:30 a.m. at the Baltimore Convention Center.

Malone has served as president and CEO of the National League for Nursing since 2007. Her career blends policy, education, administration and clinical practice – including the position of federal deputy assistant secretary for health under President Bill Clinton.

Nursing leader Dr. Beverly Malone will share her thoughts at Notre Dame of Maryland University in Baltimore May 20, 2025. Courtesy Notre Dame of Maryland Univesity)

She served as the first African American general secretary of the United Kingdom Royal College of Nursing, representing 400,000 nurses. President Clinton appointed her to serve on the U.S. delegation to the World Health Assembly and the governing body of the World Health Organization. United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair appointed her to serve on the UK delegation for the WHO.

In the U.S., she contributed to the groundbreaking Institute of Medicine report, “The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health,” and served on the Minority Health Federal Advisory Committee.

She is currently vice chair at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement board of directors, co-leads the National Academy of Medicine Health Professional Education and Communication Working Group, and serves on NAM’s steering committee. Additionally, she is a member of ecoAmerica’s Leadership Circle executive committee.

Malone earned the 2024 Hall of Fame Award by the American Nurses Association and the 2024 Mary Elizabeth Carnegie Leadership in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity Award by the American Academy of Nursing. The National Black Nurses Association recognized her as a 2024 inaugural Fellow in the Academy of Diversity Leaders in Nursing. Also, in 2024, she was profiled by The Lancet, one of the world’s most prestigious medical journals, a feat that reaffirms her role as a global healthcare leader.

A year earlier, Modern Healthcare, a leading publication in healthcare, named her to the 2023 list of the Top 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives in Health Care, as well as to its 100 Most Influential People in Health Care for the fourth straight year. The American Nurses Credentialing Center presented her with the prestigious 2023 Her Royal Highness Princess Muna Al Hussein Award for her commitment and excellence in advancing the nursing profession internationally.

In addition to being awarded more than 20 honorary degrees, she holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Cincinnati, as well as a Master of Science in Adult Psychiatric Nursing from Rutgers University.

Malone will be awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Notre Dame.

St. Mary’s Seminary

Edwards, a pastor-scholar and instructor on the New Testament, will be the featured speaker at St. Mary’s Seminary May 8 at 7 p.m. at the seminary’s chapel. Archbishop William E. Lori, chair of the board and chancellor of the seminary, will be the presider at Mass and speak as well.

Since 2022, Edwards has been vice president for church relations and dean of North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago. Ordained in the Evangelical Covenant Church, he has previously served as associate professor of New Testament at North Park, and prior to that at Northern Seminary.

From 2006 to 2012, he was a professor of biblical studies and practical theology at the Ecumenical Institute. Edwards has continued to support the Ecumenical Institute with guest lectures in classes, and for St. Mary’s alums.

Edwards was a pastor-scholar for two decades, serving as the founding pastor of Peace Fellowship Church in Washington, D.C., and later pastoring Sanctuary Covenant Church in Minneapolis.

Edwards earned his bachelor’s degree at Cornell University, his masters of divinity (concentrating in Urban Ministry) at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and both his masters and doctorate in Biblical Studies at The Catholic University of America. He is believed to be the first African American to complete this program at CUA.)

Edwards is the author of four books, including “Humility Illuminated” and a highly regarded commentary on 1 Peter, and has coedited the important collection “Do Black Lives Matter? How Christian Scriptures Speak to Black Empowerment.”

Edwards will receive an honorary doctorate from the School of Theology.