Hundreds of excited graduates and their loved ones filled the Amelia Saputo Centre for Healthy Living on Saturday December 6th for StFX’s Fall Convocation Ceremony.
The celebration also included an Indigenous Pin Ceremony for all indigenous graduates and their families, and an African drum processional, played by Dr. Agnes Calliste Academic and Cultural Centre staff and StFX students.
Choose a life of curiosity, compassion, and inclusion.
The ceremony began with remarks from StFX’s 11th Chancellor, Dr. Mila Mulroney ’04.
“Today, you’ve hit an extraordinary milestone,” Dr. Mulroney told the graduates. “Use this milestone as a stepping stone to help you choose which direction you’d like to take your life.”
Dr. Mulroney described her personal experience of arriving in Canada from Serbia as a young girl, and encouraged the graduates to celebrate their differences, and choose a life of “curiosity, compassion, and inclusion.”
“Simply because you have not lived someone else’s life does not mean that you don’t have the capacity to understand each other,” Dr. Mulroney explained. “Embrace your differences. Share your knowledge. Bring your unique qualities together with the abilities of others and put them to use.”
In his address, StFX President and Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Andy Hakin thanked the Class of 2025 for their commitment to their studies.
“You’ve earned this moment,” said Dr. Hakin. “You’re ready to step into the world with confidence, knowing that you are armed with the skills to make a meaningful impact.”
Dr. Hakin implored graduates to “remain curious and open” and to always question what is happening around them.
“Each one of you will contribute to the betterment of society. Our world needs what you have to offer.”
It’s not so much the piece of paper, but the experiences you leave with.
Antigonish native, Bruce MacKinnon—one of Canda’s foremost editorial cartoonists—was awarded an Honorary Degree. MacKinnon’s cartoons have earned extensive accolades both nationally and internationally.
Despite insisting that he “isn’t much of a public speaker,” MacKinnon kept the Saputo Centre crowd laughing for the duration of his speech.
“I probably don’t deserve this honour,” MacKinnon quipped. “But I was bald at 25 and I didn’t deserve that either.”
MacKinnon spoke fondly of his first-year experience as a StFX Arts student and his time in residence in lively MacIsaac Hall. He thanked StFX for their contributions to the Antigonish community, and for the unique experience the school offers students.
“It’s not so much the piece of paper, but the experiences you leave with that make your time in university special,” he concluded.
For more information about Bruce MacKinnon, please click here.
Finding the good and sending it back into the world.
Master of Adult Education & Health graduate, Katie Fraser Popovic ’05 ’25 DC addressed the graduates as the 2025 Senior Class Speaker. Ms. Fraser Popovic is the co-owner of Timmins Chiropractic Clinic in Northern Ontario, where she has spent more than 15 years providing patient-centered care and leading a multidisciplinary team. She also works with the College of Chiropractors of Ontario, supporting professional competence and continuing education across the province.
Fraser Popovic expressed how completing a master’s degree at StFX is a very full circle moment for her, as she was previously the Senior Class Speaker in 2005 when she earned her undergraduate degree.
“Returning to school later in life reminded me that learning is most powerful when it’s shared,” Fraser Popovic told her fellow graduates. “The friendships made at StFX shape us in ways beyond the classroom.”
She also reflected on the importance of using one’s knowledge to act with “intention, humility, and kindness,” noting that both StFX and the Antigonish community have "always been known for finding the good and sending it back out into the world.”
For more information about Katie Fraser Popovic, please click here.
Recognizing extraordinary achievement in teaching and service.
Awards were bestowed upon two StFX faculty members to recognize their achievements in research, teaching, and community service. Dr. Donnelly Archibald '10, Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences received the Outstanding University Teaching Award and Dr. Steve Baldner, Department of Philosophy received the Outreach Award. Theatre Antigonish was also awarded the Community Partnership Award.
Alumni Association President, Mike Gillis '87 congratulated the Class of 2025 and welcomed them to the alumni community. He spoke of the power of connection and the many ways in which the Xaverian community is one that does not let its members drift. He then guided the graduates through the ceremonial process of turning their X-ring around to ‘face the world’.
The ceremony also included an invocation from University Chaplain, Fr. Donald MacGillivray ’79, remarks from Elder-in-Residence, Kerry Prosper '09, a benediction from Most Reverend Bishop Wayne Joseph Kirkpatrick, Vicar of the Founder of StFX, as well as a performance of the Mi’kmaq Honour Song and Canada's national anthem in English, French, Gaelic, and Mi’kmaq. The full convocation program can be found here.
