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Erin Jackson’s university-wide commencement speech

In Alumni Spotlight, Events, Honors & Awards, NewsStory originally published on UF News

Erin Jackson (MSE ’15) gave the university-wide commencement speech at the ceremony on Friday, May 5. Jackson is an Olympic gold medalist, a history maker and a Gator. She won the women’s 500-meter race in speed skating in the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, becoming the first American to win that race since 1994 and the first Black American woman in history to win a Winter Olympic gold medal in an individual sport. Additionally, she graduated UF cum laude in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering.