Cherish friendships, do your part to improve your community, and don’t be afraid to pursue big ideas.
These were the main points Midland Mayor Maureen Donker shared with members of the Class of 2025 during the afternoon commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 10, 2025, at Northwood University. Prior to Donker’s keynote, a morning commencement ceremony featured an address by Ernie Boch Jr., President and CEO of Subaru of New England.
“Ernie Boch Jr. and Mayor Maureen Donker exemplify the values at the heart of The Northwood Idea — freedom, free enterprise, personal responsibility, and earned success,” said Northwood University President Kent MacDonald. “Not only their messages, but the lives they lead, provide our graduates with living examples of the kind of integrity, resilience, and service that America’s Free Enterprise University champions. Both have achieved distinction in their respective fields and have helped shape future generations of leaders who will drive global economic and social progress.”
A lifelong Midlander and longtime public servant, Donker has served as mayor since 2009 and has served on countless boards and organizations that enrich the community. She is also executive director of the Reece Endeavor, a nonprofit that provides housing for individuals with cognitive and developmental disabilities.
In recognition of her tireless service and deep commitment to the Midland community, Northwood University presented Donker with the Robert E. and Patricia L. Naegele Distinguished Community Service Award.
“I am honored to be here and be recognized alongside past recipients of this award who have had an incredibly profound impact on our community,” Donker said. “It is especially meaningful to me because my dad and Bob Naegele were great friends.”
When Bob Naegele passed away in 2000, Donker took her father to the funeral home for visitation.
“After we had been there for a while, I said to my dad, ‘Are you ready to go?’ He looked at me and said, ‘Maureen, we are staying here until this place closes — Bob would have done that for me.’”
“This moment stands out in my memory 25 years later for how touching it was,” Donker continued. “It was a lesson for me and one I want to share with you today; cherish your friends and be the friend that is there till the very end.”
Donker also encouraged graduates to contribute to the communities where they will establish roots now their time has ended at Northwood. She referenced a 2025 essay by outgoing U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy that was a “parting prescription” for Americans to build stronger communities by prioritizing relationships, service, purpose, and love.
Quoting Murthy, Donker noted community gives us “strength and resilience when facing the big challenges and countless paper cuts that come with moving through the world. … It’s where we know each other, help each other, and find purpose in contributing to each other’s lives.”
She said communities that are great places to make a living and have a life do not come by accident.
“The work of building community takes all of us who must each contribute in our own way,” Donker stated. “… So graduates, as you move on to the next chapter in your life, be someone who helps your community thrive. I assure you, you will reap the benefits of that work.”
Regarding the power of ideas, Donker noted Northwood University was founded in 1959 by two brave young men — Dr. Arthur E. Turner and Dr. R. Gary Stauffer — who broke away from their careers in a traditional college structure to create a new concept in education, one that incorporates the lessons of American free-enterprise society into the college classroom through a values-based education that prioritizes individual freedom, personal responsibility, earned success, moral law, and the importance of business.
“It took vulnerability to share their idea. And it takes courage and wisdom to continue growing that idea 66 years later,” Donker noted. “From that visionary idea, though, came a world that is forever changed because of The Northwood Idea and each of you.”
Donker implored students not to be afraid of big ideas. She referenced the award-winning children’s book, “What Do You Do With an Idea?” — which encourages readers to nurture their most courageous dreams.
“I am guessing this book may not be in the university’s library, so President MacDonald, I would like to gift this book to Northwood as a reminder to students, faculty, and staff that ideas change the world,” she said.
Donker’s full commencement keynote address can be viewed here.
