Natalie Wessel, 2025 Winter Commencement Speaker

Mount Mary University has named Natalie Wessel ’25 as the student speaker for the 2025 Winter Commencement Ceremony. The event will take place on Saturday, Dec. 13 in the Bloechl Center. In her address, the Communication major and Writing for New Media minor will reflect on her academic journey and the transformative power of community.

Wessel’s academic path followed what she describes as an “unconventional journey.” After a gap year, she decided to return to college. An experience touring Mount Mary University proved pivotal.

“I was almost overwhelmed by the sense of community—people are just so supportive,” she recalled. “The thing I love the most here is the community and sisterhood I found.”

This semester, Wessel served as editor-in-chief of Arches, the university’s student magazine. She said she feels “fortunate and blessed” to have led the publication, gaining invaluable project management experience. Under her leadership, Arches partnered with the Spanish department to produce its first-ever bilingual issue—a project she describes as both ambitious and necessary.

“I think it’s important for a student news organization to serve the community that it exists in,” she said. “At Mount Mary we have a significant Hispanic population, and I wanted to provide something accessible for a wider audience. It was a big undertaking, but I’m really glad that we did it.”

After graduation, Wessel will travel abroad to teach English in Taiwan, an adventure she says she eagerly anticipates.

Reflecting on her time at Mount Mary, Wessel expressed deep gratitude for the ways in which the university has shaped her perspective.

“Especially as young women, it is so important to not underestimate ourselves,” Wessel shared. “We all have moments of stumbling, but in the end, we’re capable of so much more than we think.”

“I feel so much more capable and confident, and prepared for whatever comes next,” she added.