“It’s never the right time until you make it the right time.”
It’s a feeling Denise Buckley ’25 knows well. As a proud mother, she raised her children and watched one of her daughters, Brianna, graduate from Rice Business in 2022 with her Master of Business Administration. But this year, it was Denise’s turn.
She was one of more than 500 MBA graduates who crossed the stage May 9 at the Jones Graduate School of Business MBA commencement ceremony in Tudor Fieldhouse. The ceremony marked the graduation of the 10,000th student from Rice Business.
“That’s 10,000 leaders who have walked the path before you and whose work you now can join, shape and carry forward,” said Rice Business Dean Peter Rodriguez.
Diplomas were presented to students from the school’s six different MBA programs, including the first graduating class of the hybrid MBA program, which blends weekly online coursework with in-person sessions throughout the semester for working professionals. Kyle Neff ’25 of Oklahoma City graduated with his hybrid MBA and said he was only able to attend a school like Rice thanks to its unique program.
“I needed the perfect balance of an online offering but mixed with that in-person networking and on-campus experience,” Neff said. “The hybrid MBA was the first program that I saw that accomplished both of those things, and it was world class.”
Rice President Reginald DesRoches congratulated Neff and his fellow graduates on their many accomplishments.
“Earning an MBA is an extraordinary feat, especially at Rice,” he said. “It takes drive, curiosity and willingness to learn and lead in uncertain, ever-changing times.”
Commencement speaker Al Danto shared his inspiring story of recovery from surgery for an optic nerve tumor, which was unexpectedly followed by a pulmonary embolism that nearly ended his life. He advised graduates to take care of themselves mentally and physically, make the most of every opportunity and look for meaning in their professional pursuits.
“Life is short. We’re not promised tomorrow,” said Danto, a senior lecturer in entrepreneurship at Rice. “Find something that gives you a purpose that is bigger than yourself, a reason to stay beyond a paycheck.”
He also urged the graduates to lean on their fellow alumni for support following commencement.
“You’re not leaving Rice Business,” Danto said. “You’ve earned and are moving to the alumni family for life. This family, your classmates, professors and this community, will be there in good times, and more importantly, they will be there in the challenging times.”
Denise Buckley was just one of the graduates who lauded her “second family” — her fellow MBA alums, whom she described as “a tribe of extraordinary people.”
“The camaraderie with them has been transformative,” she said. “The bonds we’ve forged will outlast our time at Rice, creating a network that feels more like lifelong allies than professional connections. In many ways, what I’ve learned from them has been just as profound as anything in our textbooks.”
And speaking of family, Buckley said she couldn’t be more proud to share her Rice connection with her daughter.
“Sometimes I catch myself marveling at how rare this shared experience is,” she said. “How many mothers and daughters can say they have walked the same halls, tackled the same curriculum and earned identical degrees from an institution as prestigious as Rice? In a very real way, Rice has become woven into the fabric of our family story, not just as a university we both attended but as a living link that bridges our individual journeys and creates a shared legacy we will always carry with us.”
The graduation ceremony also included the presentation of the annual M.A. Wright Awards, which are nominated by the class and given to well-rounded, exemplary graduates across all of the MBA programs to honor their outstanding academic performance, selfless leadership, community stewardship and career progress. The winners this year included:
- Full-time MBA: Husein Lokhandwala
- Executive MBA: Sharbel Haddad
- Professional MBA – evening: Zunaira Zaki Desai
- Professional MBA – weekend: Lucas Spangler
- MBA@Rice: Andria Monique Pourkarimi
- Hybrid MBA: Kyle Neff
The Faculty Teaching Excellence Awards are conferred upon faculty members selected by the graduating class to honor professors in each program for their commitment to Rice Business’ mission of creating community and excellence.
- Full-time MBA: Utpal Dholakia
- Executive MBA: Prashant Kale
- Professional MBA – evening: Haiyang Li
- Professional MBA – weekend: Tarik Umar
- MBA@Rice: Sharad Borle
- Hybrid MBA: Vikas Mittal
The 2025 Alumni Teaching Excellence Award was presented to Brian Akins. The annual award is selected by alumni who graduated two and five years prior.
Visit the 2025 commencement photo gallery here, and use #RiceGrad2025 to tag your photos and posts on social media.
Photos by Jeff Fitlow and Brandon Martin. Video by Brandon Martin.
