In a ceremony on August 15th, a crowd of family, friends and fellow CRED members celebrated as 52 graduates received their diplomas. The afternoon featured speeches from students and mentors, concluding with a spoken word performance from Grammy-winner J Ivy.

In his keynote address, Emerson Collective and Chicago CRED Managing Partner Arne Duncan saw the milestone as bigger than a diploma. "We need you guys. We need you to be alive and free, not dead and not locked up. We need you to heal from your hurt and your pain and not let that consume you…. You are proving every single day, not through your words, but through your actions, what’s possible. And collectively you’re going to lead us where we need to go.”