The EMBA class of 2014 graduation: EMP 94 & 95

After thousands of hours devoted to their MBA, one might expect the 2014 executive MBA graduating class to show signs of relief or exhaustion now their journey is complete.

Instead, the 106 graduates walking on Dec. 13 were filled with the desire to do more, not just for themselves, but for the world at large.

“No matter how much you’ve done or how successful you’ve been, there’s always more to do, always more to learn and more to achieve,” Felipe Echeverri EMP 95 said in his commencement address. “I no longer aspire to having more but instead to be more.”

The convocation ceremony, held in Alice Millar Chapel on the Northwestern University Campus, celebrated the graduation of EMP 94 (Evanston) and EMP 95 (Miami campus), as well as 15 graduates from the partner school Kellogg-Schulich. It featured speeches from Dean Sally Blount, Chairman/CEO of Northern Trust Frederick Waddell ’79, and student-elected speakers Felipe Echeverri and Richard DeChellis.

Waddell began Kellogg as a young 24-year old commercial banking trainee. Thirty years after his graduation, he accepted his role as Chairman and CEO of Northern Trust. He expressed gratitude for the opportunity given to him at Kellogg, and explained how it had helped him advance his career. “You’ll be amazed to discover the doors your Kellogg MBA opens, and the degree of credibility and loyalty that your Kellogg MBA inspires in others who share that experience,” he said.

DeChellis, EMP 94, also remarked on the impact of the Kellogg network. “Each of us leaves Kellogg as part of a powerful network that will be with us for our lifetimes,” DeChellis said. “Imagine the good that can come if we are intentional and leverage one another to make the world a better place.”

Despite looking forward to an exciting future, after many weekends spent with their cohorts, many graduates felt that it was a bittersweet parting. “These two years have been nothing short of a journey with 68 friends with whom I will share a special bond with for the rest of my life,” Trip O’Neil EMP 94 said. “I have also grown as a person and more so, a leader. The lens through which I look at the world has been shaped for the better by Kellogg.”

EMP 94 and 95 join over 58,000 Kellogg alumni.

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