When Quinn Riordan shares her farewell message as the 2025 student speaker for Midyear Commencement, she’ll also be continuing to prepare for her future.
“I’m pursuing a career in environmental education and research, which requires a lot of public speaking,” said Riordan. “What’s a better opportunity to get more practice than in front of my whole class?”
Riordan, who is earning her bachelor’s degree in applied ecology and environmental science, said she’s honored to be selected as speaker and grateful to College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science Dean David Flaspohler, who gave her the nudge she needed to throw her hat into the ring.
Riordan could think of many of her other graduating classmates capable of delivering a phenomenal commencement speech. She was hesitant to apply to the selection committee—until Flaspohler reached out with encouragement.
“I immediately thought of Quinn as a wonderful role model who combines intelligence, ambition, humility, and kindness,” said Flaspohler. “When I emailed her to suggest that she apply, she replied that she had actually been thinking about it—and so, in the end, we both felt it was sort of destiny.”
To prepare, Riordan watched previous commencement speakers and thought about the message she wants to deliver.
“I really do think that I have a message about hope and love for the school that I hope everyone can relate to,” said Riordan. “I want to focus on the fact that everyone should be so proud of the accomplishment of graduating. I talk about the parts of college that aren’t just academics, and how proud I am of the graduating class.”
No spoiler alerts needed: Riordan is saving the specifics of her address for the podium. Those unable to attend the ceremony can watch it during the commencement livestream beginning at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 13.
Finding Her Way to Tech Via Isle Royale
Riordan grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and attended Minneapolis South High School. She discovered Michigan Tech through service with the Youth Conservation Corps. At a chance meeting with Rolf Peterson while on Isle Royale with the organization, she learned that the co-leader of the Isle Royale Wolf-Moose project grew up down the street from her Minneapolis home. Peterson told Riordan about Fall Camp and the other programs offered by the College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science. Those programs led Riordan to choose Michigan Tech.
“I chose my major because of the coursework and field practicum,” said Riordan. “I’ve really loved learning about the environmental field with hands-on opportunities.”
“Pursuing ecological education was a no-brainer for me. I have always wanted to work outdoors and learn about the ecosystems that surround me. The hands-on classes, field school, and tight-knit community were the main reasons I wanted to go to Tech” – Quinn Riordan, student speaker, 2025 Midyear Commencement
Riordan’s favorite semester at Tech wasn’t on the main campus, but at the Integrated Field Practicum at the Ford Center in Alberta, Michigan. “Living so closely with my classmates and being able to learn outdoors every day is an experience I will never be able to recreate anywhere else,” she said.
Throughout her time at Tech, Riordan has continued her passion for service, community, and leadership. She held leadership positions in the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers and participated in clubs like the Women’s Ultimate Frisbee club and The Wildlife Society. In 2023, she spent her summer working at the University of Notre Dame Environmental Research Center as part of a summer research opportunity. That’s where she learned that she’d been selected as a 2023-24 Voyager Scholar. One of just 100 students in the nation chosen for the cohort, the Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholarship for Public Service award included receiving up to $25,000 per year in last-dollar financial aid for her junior and senior years, covering Riordan’s remaining tuition after other federal, state or institutional aid was applied. It also included a $10,000 stipend and free Airbnb housing to fund a six-week Summer Voyage between her junior and senior years. For her Voyage, Riordan chose to focus on sustainable agriculture and access to agricultural knowledge.
She spent her Summer Voyage in 2024 exploring community-focused agriculture and conservation in Ecuador as an intern for EkoRural. The non-governmental organization collaborates with communities seeking to increase their capacity for food production, income generation, and community health.
Riordan, who shared her Ecuadorian adventures in a CFRES blog, conducted soil testing, got to know local farming families and heard their concerns, and learned how important it is to be able to reach out to others for help when learning a new language and traveling in unfamiliar places.
Flaspohler wasn’t at all surprised to hear that Riordan benefited both professionally and personally through her Voyage.
“Quinn is curious, friendly, and enthusiastic about the natural world and environmental science,” he said. “She is an adventurous student who is not afraid to step out of her comfort zone to try new experiences and grow as a person.”
“Quinn is one of those quiet leaders who is just beginning to realize how influential she could be and what she could achieve” – David Flaspohler, Dean, College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science
As she graduates from Tech, Riordan’s future holds a myriad of possibilities. She’s seeking a career focused on environmental education.
Looking back on her time at Tech, her first thoughts are those of gratitude: to the facilities staff who keeps the UJ Noblet building looking so beautiful, to the professors who taught her with kindness and wisdom: to the administrative staff, her academic advisors, the graduate students who offered her guidance, and to Flaspohler for being “one of my biggest cheerleaders.” And, of course, to the friends she made along the way.
“I am very grateful to have met my best friends here,” said Riordan. “I’m grateful that I was able to spend most of my time here outside, in such a beautiful place. I’ve grown so much in college. I think if I met myself from freshman year—she was so scared and nervous—I would tell her, genuinely, everything will work out.”
Riordan trusts the same fate that brought her to Tech will keep her feet steady through whatever comes next.
“I don’t mean to sound too hippie-dippy, but I really do think fate guides a lot of my life,” said Riordan. “What leaves my life was never meant to stay forever. Change is everything, and everything changes. I’m grateful it does because I wouldn’t have grown and become more confident without it.”
About the College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science
Michigan Tech’s College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science brings students, faculty, and researchers together to measure, map, model, analyze, and deploy solutions. The College offers six bachelor’s degrees in forestry, wildlife ecology and conservation, applied ecology and environmental science, natural resources management, sustainable bioproducts, and environmental science and sustainability. We offer graduate degrees in applied ecology, forest ecology and management, forest molecular genetics and biotechnology, and forest science.
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