Lyndon Institute is proud to announce the Commencement and Baccalaureate speakers for the graduating class of 2024.  

Commencement Speaker - Barbara Donahue '74
Lyndon Institute is pleased to announce this year’s graduation speaker will be Barbara Donahue. A 1974 graduate of Lyndon Institute, Donahue earned her bachelors in political science from the University of Vermont. After working as a production assistant for ABC Sports, Donahue went on to form Grand Prix Productions, a multi-faceted television and film production company based in Los Angeles, California. For the last forty years, her company has produced over 2500 shows and received fourteen Emmy Awards for its work on network and cable entities, such as ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, ESPN, NESN, USA, NFLN, Univision, and YouTube, among many others. Grand Prix Productions has also produced outtakes and behind the scenes extras for over ten feature films, including The Blues Brothers, Meet Joe Black, and Happy Gilmore. She is a passionate equestrian who has contributed to Polo and Polo Times magazines and is the author of the book The Anti-Rules: Now That You’ve Got Him, How Do You Get Rid of Him?

Baccalaureate Speaker - Kevin Hickey
Continuing a tradition that began last year, members of the Lyndon Institute graduating senior class vote on a faculty member they would like to deliver the Baccalaureate address. Lyndon Institute is pleased to announce this year’s Baccalaureate speaker will be math teacher Kevin Hickey.

Hickey spent most of his childhood in New Hampshire.  He attended the University of New Hampshire where he was the captain of the rowing team and graduated with a degree in physics. After college, he spent time traveling the country, culminating in a thru-hike of the entire Appalachian Trail with his dog Dune. His first full-time teaching position was with South Kent School in Connecticut for two years. Hickey then moved to Alaska for four years and studied space physics at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He then returned to New England and taught for four years at White Mountains Regional High School in New Hampshire.  In 2003, Hickey started teaching at Lyndon Institute, where he has remained ever since. He has taught math, physics, and computer programming. He has coached outdoor track, Nordic skiing, cross country, and indoor track.

“I am not a fan of public speaking,” Hickey said. “But I feel honored to have been selected. This class has worked hard to help LI return to a sense of normalcy after COVID and has demonstrated strong leadership. They respect the traditions of LI and have played an important role in getting this ship back on course.”