TU grads receive empowering sendoff from national scientific hero

By Kailey Adams on May 25, 2022

Before crossing the stage to be conferred their much-deserved degrees, Towson University graduates received a moving declaration from nationally recognized physician and activist Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, M.D.

“Be that one person.”

Dr. Hanna-Attisha, a national leader in public and environmental health, served as the 2022 University Commencement speaker during a morning ceremony at Johnny Unitas Stadium on Wednesday, May 25. She inspired the more than 1,100 graduates of the Jess & Mildred Fisher College of Science & Mathematics and the College of Fine Arts & Communication with her remarks, which served as a challenge to change the world.

“You have already proven that you can be – that you are – that one person empowering change. That one person leading us forward. That one person championing hope,” she shared.

More 3,550 undergraduate students and 487 graduate students will cross the commencement stage during three days of celebrations at Unitas Stadium.

For Dr. Hanna-Attisha, that notion is all too familiar. In 2015, the pediatrician brought a national spotlight to the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, when she publicly announced her findings that thousands of children and local residents were lead poisoning victims due to the highly polluted tap water in the region. She faced backlash and attacks on her credibility, but persisted with sharing her research.

Seven years later, she reminded TU graduates of their own ability to empower change against the many injustices that she said plague our nation: “eliminating poverty, eradicating racism, narrowing inequality, preventing pandemics, combating misinformation, reversing the climate crisis, preserving our fragile democracy, protecting women’s reproductive health, and ending gun violence.” The last was a timely call to action following the horrific mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas this week.

Dr. Hanna-Attisha believes the graduates and their peers are poised to create a better future.

“Your generation has been the leading voice for change, and you are powerfully poised to be the most influential generation of our time,” she said. “Like never before, you have stood up for justice, democracy, equality, and opportunity. You have opened your eyes to the inequities that are all around us and you have demanded we do better.”

She also commended the graduates on their resilience to reach this academic achievement despite the hardships they have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“These last couple of years have been intense,” she said. “But we have borne witness to your strength, your adaptability, your ability to persevere. This graduation is a testament to the fact that you can do hard things. Today, we are all celebrating your ability to thrive.”

As the 2022 graduates embark on the next chapter of their lives, they leave Towson University with one simple affirmation: “It only takes one. It only takes you.”

Also on Wednesday, Dr. Hanna-Attisha was presented an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by TU’s provost and executive vice president for academic and student affairs Melanie Perreault.

It was the latest in a series of honors for Dr. Hanna-Attisha. She has been awarded the Freedom of Expression Courage Award by PEN America and named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. She has also been recognized as one of USA Today’s Women of the Century, and in 2020, she received the CDC Foundation’s Fries Prize for Improving Health.