‘Your humanity is your advantage’: Alison Marker’s message to the Class of ’26

On a glorious day for the Class of ’26, Heidelberg welcomed friend and partner Alison Marker as the keynote speaker for its 173nd Commenement on Saturday. This year’s ceremony was held for the first time in the new Frann’s Fieldhouse – appropriate in part because Alison is the President and CEO of Marker Construction, the general contractor for the Fieldhouse project.

In her remarks, Alison encouraged the graduates to “stay human” – a quality the world could use a little more of in our current times.

“Take a moment to look around. Really take it all in.”

Standing before the class, Alison opened her remarks not with advice about careers or success, but with a challenge to be fully present in the moment.

“This space. Your friends. Your professors. Your families who came here to celebrate you,” she said. “Notice how it feels to be right here. Right now. Together. Lock that feeling in.”

From there, Alison invited graduates on a journey back through their Heidelberg experience — from nervous first days on campus to late-night breakfasts, ringing the Victory Bell, watching the solar eclipse together, burying a time capsule, and celebrating the university’s 175th anniversary.

“You were here for all of it,” she said.

But the memories themselves weren’t her main point.

“Not one of those moments happened alone,” Alison reminded graduates. “Every single one of them … happened in the presence of other people. People who were there with you. People who made it mean something.”

A winding path to leadership

Alison’s own journey didn’t follow a carefully designed blueprint.

An undecided major for nearly two years at Miami University, she graduated with degrees in psychology and women’s studies before earning a master’s degree in clinical social work from Ohio State and beginning a career as a psychotherapist.

“I followed what I was most curious about: people,” she said.

That path eventually took an unexpected turn when her father invited her to join the family’s commercial construction company in a human resources role — a move she initially questioned.

“I didn’t know the industry,” she said. “I’d be walking into a male-dominated industry as a woman with a background in therapy.”

But she said yes.

Over time, she realized the skills she developed as a therapist — listening, building trust, helping people navigate uncertainty — became the foundation of her leadership style.

“Everything I had learned along my journey showed up every single day in this new world,” she said. “Not in spite of my background. Because of it.”

‘Your humanity is your advantage’

Speaking candidly about the rapidly changing workforce, Alison acknowledged the uncertainty many graduates feel as they enter a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence and evolving industries. She urged graduates not to lose sight of the qualities that matter most.

“The world does not need less humanity right now,” she said. “It needs more.”

She encouraged the students to embrace adaptability while holding tightly to empathy, curiosity, and authentic human connection.

“The people who will thrive in this next era are not just the people who know the most,” she said. “They are the people who know how to connect.”

That ability, she told graduates, is not a soft skill — it is a leadership skill.

Carrying Heidelberg forward

As the Class of 2026 prepares to leave Heidelberg and begin its next chapter, Alison reminded graduates that success is rarely built alone.

The friendships, mentors, professors, teammates, and family members who shaped their experience will continue to influence the people they become.

“Understanding people. Connecting with people. Showing up for people in a way that made them feel genuinely seen,” she said. “That was my superpower. It still is.”

And, she told the graduates, it can be theirs, too.