The University of Illinois Springfield selected Quanisha Turner as the student speaker for this year’s Commencement ceremonies. Quanisha, who more often goes by Q, transferred to UIS in the Fall of 2023 as a fully online student and will earn her bachelor’s degree in business administration.

In defiance of her typically shy personality, Turner auditioned for the role of student speaker because she believes in the importance of sharing her experience as a non-traditional student. In her time at UIS, Turner embraced her educational path, balancing working full-time with parenting and completing her degree.

“I decided to audition because I know there are so many people who can relate to taking a non-traditional path. I wanted to share a message of encouragement for anyone who may need the reminder that their journey still matters, even if it did not look the way they expected,” Turner said.

The central message of her speech focuses on themes of perseverance, resilience and growth. Turner plans to emphasize that each educational journey is unique and that students should take pride in all they have achieved in the face of adversity.

“My message is centered around the idea that success is not always linear and that everyone’s path to this moment looks different. I want graduates to know that setbacks, unexpected changes and detours do not define their worth or take away from what they have accomplished,” said Turner.

After graduation, Turner intends to focus on family while planning her next steps, which will include graduate school and furthering her career aspirations in the field of healthcare administration.

“My long-term goal is to grow into a role where I can improve systems, support organizational effectiveness and help create meaningful change for both employees and the communities they serve,” Turner said.

In standard practice for UIS student commencement speakers, Turner’s speech will be prerecorded and played at the beginning of both graduation ceremonies on May 9.