Tennessee Tech University celebrated more than 1,300 graduates today at its spring commencement ceremonies, held at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the university’s Hooper Eblen Center.

The day’s events featured remarks from Tech alumnus and renowned financial industry leader Purna Saggurti, who also received an honorary doctorate during the morning ceremony.

Saggurti first came to Tech from his native India in 1980 to pursue a master’s degree in chemical engineering. Today, he is vice chairman of Bank of America and chairman of global corporate and investment banking in New York. He was previously head of Americas at Merrill Lynch.

“Class of 2025, congratulations on your accomplishments – but you have a lot more to do,” said Saggurti in remarks to the class of 2025. “This is just the beginning.”

Saggurti also challenged graduates to remember that “Your future is very bright, but success is up to you,” and encouraged the crowd to adopt a simple 10-word phrase: “If it is to be, it is up to me.”

The spring 2025 graduating class encompassed students from 78 counties throughout Tennessee, 29 states and 25 other countries. Undergraduate degrees were awarded to students across 50 fields of study, while graduate degrees were awarded to students representing 31 fields of study.

A special moment came during the afternoon commencement ceremony when Tech President Phil Oldham recognized graduating senior Amanda Juetten, a mother of five and grandmother who is blind.  

“Despite the obstacles in her path, Amanda is here today as a shining example of all that Golden Eagles can accomplish,” said Oldham. “She intends to use her degree to pursue a career helping others with blindness regain their independence and live life to the fullest – just as she is doing every day.”

Video of Tech’s morning commencement ceremony, which included the College of Agriculture and Human Ecology, the College of Business, the College of Engineering and the College of Fine Arts, can be viewed here.

Video of Tech’s afternoon ceremony which included the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Education & Human Sciences, the College of Interdisciplinary Studies and the Whitson-Hester School of Nursing, can be viewed here.

Students from the College of Graduate Studies received degrees at both the morning and afternoon ceremonies based on their field of study.