It was standing room only in The Duncan Family Skyroom on Wednesday, September 24, 2025 at Saint Peter’s University as students, faculty, staff and guests opened the academic year and celebrated student achievement with the 2025 Michaelmas Convocation. This year’s keynote speaker, Edward Hahn Jr., M.D. ’04, is Chief of the Division of Emergency Trauma in the Department of Plastic Surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center. He is also an assistant professor in the Department of Plastic Surgery at The Seton Hall – Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. Dr. Hahn covered a number of topics as he spoke to the assembled crowd, from his humble upbringing that brought him to Saint Peter’s to acknowledging the faculty’s impact on students, which he sees first-hand teaching medical students and residents in training. He encouraged the students to dream big, be creative and practice kindness.
After the 60 awards were handed out to their respective winners and the Dean’s List students were congratulated, Guillermo De Veyga, Ph.D., M.B.A., executive vice president and chief operating officer, offered his congratulations and spoke about how all should reflect on today’s Michaelmas. “Students, faculty, staff and administrators of Saint Peter’s University, I hope that this Michaelmas celebration has helped to remind each and every one of us our common calling and moved us to great resolve in this most noble work of teaching and learning.”
Following Michaelmas, a reception was held and honored the ten seniors who were inducted into the oldest and most distinguished honor society at Saint Peter’s, the Most Noble Order of the Peacock (MNOP). The selected students attained the highest scholastic average in all courses throughout their first three years at the University. This year’s inductees include Yvette Cruz, Ruqya Elouarraq, James Fareri, Michael Handal, Venessa Jaikissoon, Christopher Jorge, Julio Santos, Timofey Strele, Wayne Jagr Sunga and Lex Vaughan.