“May you move forward with confidence in your training, humility in your practice, and compassion at the centre of all that you do.” – Dr. Tamara Dalrymple
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The Fredericton Convention Centre was filled with celebration this month, as Yorkville University recognized the achievements of its New Brunswick Class of 2026 across three spring convocation ceremonies.
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Graduates of the Doctor of Counselling and Psychotherapy, the Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology (MACP), the Master of Education in Adult Education, and the Master of Education in Educational Leadership programs crossed the stage over the course of three ceremonies June 17 and 18 – a milestone that, for many, represented years of study balanced alongside careers, families, and the full weight of personal and professional life.
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Throughout the ceremonies, speakers returned again and again to a common thread: that the work these graduates are stepping into is not just professionally significant, but profoundly human – grounded in relationship, presence, and the willingness to sit with others in difficult moments.
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Opening Remarks
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Yorkville University Provost Dr. Eileen De Courcy opened each ceremony by welcoming graduates, families, faculty, and those joining via livestream from across the country and around the world.
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“Each of you has worked tirelessly to reach this moment, and your dedication and perseverance have paid off,” she said. “Today is a testament to the transformative power of a Yorkville University education.”
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She also pointed to something visible in the room – the new custom Yorkville University hoods, each specific to a graduate’s discipline – and encouraged graduates to look around at the people who had made the journey alongside them.
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“The bonds you have built during your time at Yorkville will last a lifetime. Your classmates are now part of your professional network, as are the thousands of Yorkville alumni, whose ranks you join today.”
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Dr. Michelle Grimes, Vice President Academic and Campus Principal NB, presided over all three ceremonies, welcoming guests and reminding graduates that reaching convocation is never a solitary achievement.
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“Today’s ceremony marks both an ending and a very important beginning,” she said. “That education involved many people who touched you directly and those who worked behind the scenes.”
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Distinguished Convocation Speaker Rachel Brown
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At the morning ceremony on June 17, Rachel Brown, Executive Director with the Government of New Brunswick’s Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour and the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, brought greetings on behalf of the province – and a genuine enthusiasm for the graduates in front of her.
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Speaking on behalf of Ministers Alyson Townsend and Jean-Claude D’Amours, Brown welcomed graduates into a province that, she said, needs them. Over the next decade, New Brunswick alone is projected to see 136,000 job openings across a range of sectors – with education, healthcare, long-term care, and skilled trades among the most pressing areas of need.
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“Regardless of your field of study, your contributions have helped grow our economy, preserve our cultures, and make our province better for everyone,” she said.
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Brown also spoke to what she sees as the foundation of leadership – not title or position, but presence and accountability to others.
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“It’s not your title that defines you as a leader,” she said. “It’s how you show up – for yourself, but in particular for others, especially those who don’t have a voice.”
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She also made room for the families and supporters in the room as, acknowledging the community it takes to reach a moment like convocation. And she closed with a reflection that spoke directly to the journey behind every graduate in the room.
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“Perhaps there were sleepless nights. Perhaps you needed an extra cup of coffee. Perhaps you had a few tears. Perhaps you doubted yourself,” she said. “But I really hope today you take a moment to pause and to reflect and say, ‘I did this. I’m so proud of myself.’ Because you should.”
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Distinguished Convocation Speaker Dr. Tamara Dalrymple
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At the afternoon ceremony on June 17, Dr. Tamara Dalrymple grounded her remarks to MACP graduates in the reality of the profession they are entering.
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As Dean of the MACP program, Dalrymple described a country facing growing demand for mental health support – in schools, workplaces, healthcare settings, and communities – alongside persistent barriers to care, long wait times, and a shortage of qualified practitioners, particularly in rural and underserved areas.
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“This reality underscores the significance of the work you are preparing to do,” she told graduates.
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At the same time, Dr. Dalrymple was clear about what no amount of technological advancement could replace.
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“The therapeutic alliance – built on trust, empathy, presence, and sound clinical judgment – remains the foundation of effective counselling and psychotherapy,” she said. “No technology can fully replicate what happens when one human being truly sees, hears, and supports another.”
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She acknowledged that the work of counsellors and psychotherapists is not always easy – that there would be days when progress felt slow and systems felt strained – but encouraged graduates to stay grounded in compassion and humility rather than the pressure to have all the answers.
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“Your degree is not the conclusion of your development,” she said. “It is the beginning of a lifelong professional journey.”
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Distinguished Convocation Speaker Dr. Danelle Kabush
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On June 18, Dr. Danelle Kabush, chair of Doctor of Counselling and Psychotherapy program, addressed her doctoral graduates with a speech built around four reflective questions – a fitting structure for a cohort well-versed in the practice of self-examination.
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Using the metaphor of a canoe trip, and pausing to acknowledge that Canada’s waterways were routes of relationship and survival for Indigenous communities long before canoeing became a recreational symbol, she invited graduates to consider what brought them to this work, what transformed them along the way, what the profession now asks of them, and what must never be lost.
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She spoke candidly about the moments of doubt that accompany any long journey – the weight of imposter syndrome, the stretches where pushing forward felt impossible – and about the sustaining power of others who simply showed up alongside.
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On what must not be left behind, she was direct: “Do not lose your curiosity, your humility, or your humanity. Long after clients forget specific interventions, they will remember whether they felt safe in your presence.”
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She also reminded graduates, many of them entering demanding professional roles, that restoration is not a luxury.
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“Even the strongest paddlers cannot remain on the water indefinitely,” she said. “They return to shore.”
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Student Convocation Speaker Amanda Ross
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Amanda Ross, speaking on behalf of the Master of Education graduates at the June 17 morning ceremony, opened with a territorial acknowledgment that led directly into her central theme: that reconciliation is not a statement but a practice – something lived in relationship, not just spoken.
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A proud Métis woman and a police officer with the Edmonton Police Service, Ross spoke about navigating the in-between space of Métis identity within Western education systems, and about choosing to lean into that space rather than away from it.
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“When Métis voices are present in those spaces, they don’t just add to the conversation – they change it,” she said. “They invite people to think differently. To slow down. To listen in a deeper way.”
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Ross also spoke directly about the role of financial support in making her path possible, acknowledging the difference the Indigenous Student Tuition Bursary made for her – and thinking ahead to those still standing at the threshold of higher education.
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“I want them to know you do,” she said. “Because when more of us step into these spaces, the spaces change. They become more honest. More connected. More reflective of the world we actually live in.”
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Student Convocation Speaker Jenna Braun
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Jenna Braun, speaking on behalf of MACP graduates at the June 17 afternoon ceremony, built her address around a single question that struck harder than she expected when she first asked it: not “Should I do this?” but “Can I?”
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A dedicated mother of four, a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, and a newly designated Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), Braun offered a vivid picture of one of her lowest moments in the program – lying in bed late at night, a major paper still unfinished, tallying the weeks until graduation on a pizza box.
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“There were times when exhaustion spoke louder than motivation, and moments when doubt tried to convince us that we were not capable,” she told fellow graduates. “Yet we kept going.”
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She encouraged the Class of 2026 not to shrink their ambitions, and to meet setbacks with self-compassion rather than surrender.
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“Dreams are realized by people who fall, rise again, and continue forward with self-compassion and hope,” she said. “Pull your head up – sometimes off a pizza box – wipe your tears, take a deep breath, and keep going.”
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Student Convocation Speaker Lisa Porter
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Lisa Porter, speaking on behalf of the Doctor of Counselling and Psychotherapy graduates on June 18, opened with a nod to the cohort’s shared experience – framing her address as one final discussion question for a group well-acquainted with the form.
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Drawing on a higher education conference she had recently attended, she identified two themes that had stayed with her: learning to tolerate ambiguity, and developing a professional voice. For Porter, that second theme took an unexpected shape.
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A self-described introvert, she entered the program already confident in her clinical skills but quickly noticed that many peers possessed an ability she did not – the capacity to articulate fully developed, theoretically integrated thoughts in real time.
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“Meanwhile, I was still internally buffering,” she said. What she discovered over time, however, was that the program made room for something she had not anticipated: silence.
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“Not all thinking needs to happen out loud,” she told graduates. “Sometimes silence is its own form of engagement – thoughtfulness, active listening, making room for someone else’s voice before asserting our own.”
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She closed by giving graduates the thing graduate school rarely offered: a quiet moment to sit with her final reflection prompt – how has this experience changed you, not just professionally, but personally?
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Closing Remarks
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Before degrees were conferred, graduates at each ceremony recited the Yorkville University Integrity Promise – a public commitment to honest, ethical, and responsible practice, and to contributing positively to their professions and the communities they serve.
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Dr. Julia Christensen Hughes, President and Vice Chancellor, brought each ceremony to a close with remarks that reflected on what makes Yorkville – and the graduates it serves – distinctive.
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“Yorkville University is a different kind of university,” she said, “in that it tries to support, as best as we are able, mature students leading busy lives, and with equally big ambitions.”
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She spoke to the significance of the degrees represented in the room, describing them as pillars of a healthy society, and expressed her pride in what graduates had accomplished – and her confidence in what lies ahead.
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“We need graduates like you more than ever,” she told the room. “I am going to be so delighted to follow your careers and the impact you will have – not only in your profession, in your community, but within your families.”
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She also made space to acknowledge the families present, noting that convocation is very much a shared achievement. Reflecting on her own experience – her first two sons born during her MBA, her daughter during her PhD – she spoke to the meaning of hearing a child cheer as a parent crosses the stage.
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“The sound of that ‘Yay mom!’ has been permanently embedded in my brain,” she said. “I’m so glad so many of you got to hear what you mean to your families, and the examples you have shown to your children.”
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Then she counted to three, and caps filled the air.
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