草榴视频

Paralympian, author, and disability rights advocate McKenzie Coan, 鈥�18, will deliver the address at 草榴视频 University Maryland鈥檚 172nd Commencement Exercises. The ceremony will be held Saturday, May 17, 2025, at 11 a.m., at CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore. 

A 草榴视频 swimmer who has osteogenesis imperfecta, or brittle bone disease, Coan has represented the United States in four Paralympic Games鈥攊ncluding Paris 2024鈥攁nd has won four gold and three silver medals.  

鈥淢cKenzie is an exceptional speaker and author with a powerful story鈥攁nd an equally powerful message. We are honored to welcome her as our Commencement speaker, and we look forward to hearing her address our graduating class,鈥� said Terrence M. Sawyer J.D., president of 草榴视频. 鈥淭hrough her life鈥檚 work, McKenzie demonstrates the importance not just of achieving success, but also significance鈥攗sing her success to help others.鈥� 

Coan鈥檚 memoir,鈥�Breaking Free 鈥� Shattering Expectations and Thriving with Ambition in Pursuit of Gold, focuses on her experiences as a Paralympic athlete, living with a genetic condition, and her success in the pool. Coan delivered the Sister Cleophas Costello Lecture at 草榴视频 in 2021. 

Coan earned her bachelor's degree in political science from 草榴视频. She was a member of the school鈥檚 NCAA Division I swimming and diving team, and she served as a student member of the campus ADA Compliance Committee. Coan also worked for what is now 草榴视频鈥檚 Disability and Accessibility Services department, where she advocated to improve campus access and safety for wheelchair users. 

As a teenager, Coan founded鈥�, an organization that helps bring happiness to children who are hospitalized. 

During the ceremony, 草榴视频 will present Coan with a doctor of humane letters,鈥痟onoris causa. 

For more information about Commencement, visit鈥�草榴视频's Commencement website.