The University of Scranton had a virtual celebration ceremony on May 30. Congratulatory remarks were given by Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti and U.S. Sens. Bob Casey Jr. and Pat Toomey. A formal commencement ceremony, at which graduates will be individually recognized, will take place on Oct. 25 at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza, Wilkes-Barre. Graduates included Natalia Kucharska, who earned a Doctor of Physical Therapy with a major in physical therapy, and Kirsten E. Banach, who earned a Master of Science with a major in clinical mental health counseling.
••
Slippery Rock University’s Madison Dever and Alison Jones made the dean’s list for the spring semester. The dean’s list consists of SRU undergraduate students who earned a grade-point average of 3.5 or higher, based on a schedule of at least 12 credits.
••
Nearly 1,300 Kutztown University students have been approved to receive their diplomas following the conclusion of the spring semester. While KU will not hold its traditional spring commencement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a formal on-campus commencement ceremony will be held at a later date. Local graduates are Deion Hammond, Matthew Toner, Emily Carmichael, Taylor Champ, Allison Corson, William Robert Cronin, Eric Dinter, Shae Downey, Mickey Edmiston, Meghan Forsythe, Jerly Henriquez, Isabel Hoch, Emrakh Karimov, Shannon Kelly, Kristin LaMedica, Isaiah Lichty-Riddick, Matthew Edward Maher, Madison Majka, Elizabeth Merrigan, Sean Matthew Nagy, Werner Vicente Paulino, Stephen Ray, Michael Rodriguez, Zoe Schultz, Angelo Alexander Sebazco, Mychala Anne Sfida, Tyler Sharp, Nicole Cecelia Susko, Alyssa H Teitelman, Jacqueline Marie Vitali, Ashley Watts, David Worrell and Luke Zelner.
••
Bloomsburg University recently released its roster of Husky Orientation & Welcome Leaders (H.O.W.Ls.). Often the first point of contact for incoming students and their families, H.O.W.Ls. are highly trained students who model and assist in a transition to college life for fellow students. H.O.W.Ls. provide campus tours for prospective and new students and their families, facilitate the transition to college for small groups of new students, and serve as sources of university information. Destiny Lyda was selected as a H.O.W.L. for the 2020-2021 academic year. Lyda is an early education/special education major and a member of the class of 2023 Jackie Ostaszewski was also selected as a H.O.W.L. She is a speech pathology/audiology major and a member of the class of 2022.
••
Brandon DeJesus has been named to the spring dean’s list at Mansfield University. To be named to the dean’s list, a student must attain at least a 3.5 GPA for the semester.
••
Scott Cressman was among more than 175 students who were conferred degrees during a virtual commencement ceremony by Marietta College (Ohio). Cressman, a Father Judge graduate, earned a degree in graphic design.
••
Colin Patrick Sulpizio was among 251 graduates awarded the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Degree from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. The ceremony was held on the PCOM Facebook page. Sulpizio is the son of Joseph and Beth Ann Sulpizio. He earned a degree in chemistry from DeSales University in 2015. He is continuing his medical training in family medicine at Penn State Milton Hershey, St. Joseph Hospital, Reading.
••
Matthew Leahy, Class of 2021, has been named to the dean’s list for the spring 2020 semester at the University of Vermont. Leahy is in the College of Arts and Sciences. To be named to the dean’s list, students must have a grade-point average of 3.0 or better and rank in the top 20 percent of their class.
••
Phoebe Thomas was among the 21 University of Scranton students inducted into Mu Kappa Tau, the national honor society for marketing. The national honor society was founded in 1966 to recognize scholarship and high academic accomplishment among marketing students. Thomas is a senior marketing major at the university.
••
Bucknell University presented degrees to more than 800 graduates at commencement. Local graduates were Bayode Olaoye, Mauricio Ramirez Chaparro and Barb Thiel.
••
Local students have been named to the dean’s list at University of the Sciences. Selection for this award is based on completing and passing all assigned courses with no grade below a “C” and attaining an academic average of at least 3.4. Local honorees are Shon Biju, Sean Dyson, Jillian Halbiger, Emily Laov, Sajjaf Malik, Reuben Sam,Muhammad Shahroz Ul Haq, Angeli Thomas, Camila Bohorquez Ramirez, Moises Cuevas-Frias, Sapna Patel, Armir Shperdheja, David Broytman, Jameson Adgalane, Lily Zeng, Hayden Sando, Sabrina Ahmadzai, Alexander Chokas, Vanshika Patel, Erik Cauley, Annsu Nellikala, Mariya Paul, Gianna Torres, Anastasiya Hrytsay, Erick Pellecer, Delaney McDonnell, Christina Thomas, Tessa Glennon, Alicia Alex, Jenny James, Jenna Januszka, Mei Ling Rong, Merlin Thomas, Zixuan Yang, James Abraham, Betcy Benny, Julia Chang, Ann George, Hannah Higgins, Janice Jaison, Julia Johnson, Ashley Joseph, Matthew Lor, Kelvin Lu, Mariamol Nelson, Merlin Rajan, Leah Roy, Yun Su, Lisa Sy, Cindy Yuan, Richard Wilkes, Patrick Carr, Christina Tipton, Anitha Alias, Lena Idrissi, Tammy Megedyuk, Mary Minkovski, Nicholas Molinero, Shane Thomas, Edward Tipton, Elizabeth Harte, Calvin Jim, Judy Lee, Dawen Chen, Anina Johnson, Rohan Nainan, Jubin Saji and Ance Maria Thankachan.
••
Bucknell University has released the dean’s list for outstanding academic achievement during the spring semester of the 2019-20 academic year. A student must earn a grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a scale of 4.0 to receive dean’s list recognition. The following local students have achieved dean’s list status: Madison Cooper and Rikley Costa Paixao, both of the class of 2021, and Mauricio Ramirez Chaparro and Barb Thiel, both of the class of 2020.
••
Kevin William Charyszyn received a degree with distinction in financial information and analysis from Clarkson University (New York). The university’s plan is to hold on-campus commencement ceremonies on Aug. 15.
••
The University of Scranton held a virtual undergraduate celebration ceremony on May 31. Congratulatory remarks to the class of 2020 were given by Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti; U.S. Sens. Bob Casey Jr. and Pat Toomey; and former The Office cast members Leslie David Baker (Stanley), Kate Flannery (Meredith) and Oscar Nunez (Oscar). Students earning undergraduate degrees included Kristin J. Green of Philadelphia (biology), Brigid S. McMullen (occupational therapy), Ashley P. Carabajal business administration), Stas W. Postowski (marketing), Phoebe Thomas (marketing) and Richard S. Vanni (business administration).
••
University of the Cumberlands (Kentucky) conferred degrees to Enea Shehu, who received a master’s in information technology, and Mohamed Toure, who received a master’s in justice administration.
••
University of the Sciences recognized graduates as part of the university’s 199th commencement celebration, held virtually. Local graduates were Shawn Mathew (health science degree); Edward Tipton (health science, cum laude); Annsu Nellikala (health science degree, minors in psychology and Spanish); Angeli Thomas (biology degree, summa cum laude, minor in social science); Armir Shperdheja (biomedical sciences); Hayden Sando (neuroscience, summa cum laude); Margaret Smith (neuroscience); Sabrina Ahmadzai (pharmaceutical & healthcare business, magna cum laude); Alicia Alex (Doctor of Pharmacy, magna cum laude); Mei Ling Rong (Doctor of Pharmacy, cum laude); Merlin Thomas (Doctor of Pharmacy); Nicholas Angeny (Doctor of Physical Therapy, summa cum laude); Erin Fenningham (Doctor of Physical Therapy, magna cum laude); Luciana Hud (Doctor of Physical Therapy, cum laude); Victoria Ngo (Doctor of Physical Therapy, cum laude); Ashwin Mathew (MBA in Pharmaceutical & Healthcare Business); Imani Wall-Wright (MBA in Pharmaceutical & Healthcare Business). ••