Embrace adversity and your passion, Paragus IT founder Delcie Bean tells Nichols graduates at commencement

DUDLEY, Mass. – Delcie D. Bean IV, founder and CEO of Paragus IT, an employee-owned managed IT services firm recognized nationally for its people-first culture and business growth, shared lessons from his entrepreneurial journey as he delivered the commencement address during the Nichols College commencement ceremony on May 2, 2026. A total of 391 students participated in the graduation ceremony held at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass.

Bean received an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree at the ceremony. Constantine “Gus” Alexander, who served as senior counsel in the law firm of Nutter, McClennen & Fish and who is a former member of the Nichols College Board of Trustees, received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree.

In his remarks, Bean relayed an unexpected secret to his success—failure—and encouraged graduates to openly embrace setbacks.

“I’ve had two failed business partnerships, was rejected by my dream school twice, and came dangerously close to opening a restaurant called the purple sombrero,” said Bean. At one point in his career, he added, he even decided to pick a fight with the world’s third-largest antivirus company, which he lost.

“Those failures were infinitely more important to me than my successes. Why? Because the successes wouldn’t have been possible without them. Failure is the tuition you pay for the exact education you need.”

Bean’s message is shaped in part by his unconventional path as a successful entrepreneur without a college degree; to keep him going despite failure and traditional qualifications, he said he leaned on something else: passion.

“It was that exact same untamed passion that allowed me to sit down one day, sketch out an idea for a nonprofit on a napkin, and decide to make it real,” said Bean, referring to Tech Foundry, which provides in-depth IT training for individuals from marginalized or underrepresented communities and has graduated over 1,000 students. “None of that happened because I was ‘qualified.’ It happened because I was willing to try. Willing to fail.”

He felt this lesson was especially important to deliver given how fast he sees the world changing due to the disruptive power of AI. Despite how anxiety-inducing the changes may be, he says he sees great opportunity for the graduates as rules are being rewritten and playing fields leveled.

 “What matters is who is going to step onto [that field] and show us where to go next,” said Bean.

“Class of 2026, you are ambitious. You are open-minded. You are collaborative, and you are hopeful. You have all the tools you need,” he said. “Rely on your passion. Let it fuel your confidence. Embrace the sleepless nights and the failures that are inevitably coming your way, because they are just preparing you for the moments that matter.”

In his remarks, Nichols College President Bill Pieczynski expressed his admiration for the graduates’ commitment to their Nichols education and its experiential emphasis.

“Committing yourselves to that kind of active, hands-on education takes focus, determination and persistence,” noting that these same qualities they’ve gained will serve them well in what lies ahead, as will their commitment to making a positive impact in the lives of others, as they’ve done on campus through service, fundraising, mentorship, outreach and research on gender diversity and equal pay.

“Ours is a community that knows how to compromise, knows how to lead and does its best work together,” he said.

Pieczynski encouraged graduates to carry that collaborative spirit beyond Nichols, even as they enter an increasingly complex and divided world. “Continue to respect one another and embrace difference. Welcome the uncertainty and break the mold. Be fearless, dream big. Stand up and speak out for what you believe, even when it’s unpopular or hard.”

Sport management major Ema Jaskova ’26, who gave the undergraduate student address, spoke about leaving her small home country of Slovakia to travel thousands of miles to Nichols, taking a risk many around her said was unrealistic.

Once at Nichols, she gave the opportunity everything she had, she said. She worked multiple campus jobs, balanced women’s ice hockey with late-night equipment room shifts to help pay tuition, and pushed through her fear of speaking in class because English isn’t her first, or even second, language. As a result, she found her voice, and found herself speaking at the head of the room, similar to today.

“That’s what Nichols does. It pushes you out of your comfort zone. It teaches you that your voice matters, even when it shakes. It teaches you that leadership isn’t about being perfect. It’s about showing up.”

Jaskova encouraged the graduates to choose courage over comfort as she did to come to Nichols and to remember that their success should be grounded in lifting others up: “Choose the path that challenges you, that scares you, that forces you to grow. […] And while you’re out there becoming successful, ambitious, powerful, influential, don’t forget something simple: if you can be anything, be kind, because right now the world needs it more than ever.”

In the graduate student address, Daniel Stockhaus, who today earned his MBA, spoke about what today’s accomplishment truly represents for his fellow graduates—persistence, courage, and for many of his classmates, the decision that it’s never too late to follow one’s dreams, a lesson he learned firsthand while earning his degree.

“I discovered that dreams don’t expire. They don’t care how old you are, how long you’ve waited, how many responsibilities you carry. They only care whether you’re willing to try. […]           Because the truth is, success isn’t about how early you start. It’s about whether you start at all,” said Stockhaus.

“There is no timeline for becoming who you are meant to be. So if there is a dream that has been quietly waiting for you to listen, let today be the day you decide to chase it.”

For more information on the event or to watch a recording of the ceremony, check out our YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=KPDiK5s5z10&ra=m

(Pictured: Delcie Bean delivers the commencement address during the Nichols College 2026 commencement ceremony held on May 2 at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass.)