Lehigh Valley holds spring 2022 commencement ceremony

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. — The weather may have been cold and rainy, but the mood was jubilant Saturday, May 7, as Penn State Lehigh Valley held its spring 2022 commencement ceremony.

A total of 120 students completed their associate or bachelor’s degree during the academic year. Of those, 92 walked at the ceremony, which was held on the campus grounds and presided over by Chancellor Tina Q. Richardson and Director of Academic Affairs Anibal Torres Bernal.

This year’s keynote speaker, Penn State alumnus Dr. Hussam A. Yacoub, a board-certified vascular neurologist affiliated with Lehigh Valley Health Network, shared some of the accumulated wisdom he’s gained throughout his life and career.

“Success is not something that is typically achieved in a short period of time, and how you define that word — success — likely varies for each of you,” Yacoub said. “Regardless of how you define it, success is simply determined by and is a reflection of what you do. And it almost always requires perseverance, determination and sacrifice. … And each day — each year — you will continue to develop, because there is no end stage or last day of success. You are not finished when you graduate or get a job … or when you start a family. It is a lifelong process — and each of those achievements may, in fact, mark a new beginning.”

Kayla Vega, who received her bachelor of arts in psychology, was chosen to serve as student marshal. She delivered a powerful, optimistic message that touched on the perseverance she and her fellow graduates gained while pursuing their degrees during the many uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We shared feelings of isolation and stress. With no physical interaction with our classmates and our professors, we constantly second-guessed ourselves, especially on how to complete assignments. Then, the clouds lifted. We entered our senior year on campus, and we finally felt our lives begin to normalize,” Vega said. “But, during that difficult time, we all developed a whole other set of skills. We learned coping skills. We learned discipline and resilience. We learned how to accept, deal with and overcome challenges. We also learned the importance of not only our family and friends, but also of faculty and staff. These skills that we’ve added to our tool belts will deeply enhance our future success, as we move forward in our lives.”

In her remarks, Richardson struck a similar note of students triumphing over adversity.

“Let me start by expressing to the graduates how truly proud I am of all of you, for not only completing your degree, but for the incredible perseverance you’ve demonstrated throughout the course of this entire pandemic,” Richardson said. “These past two years have certainly been difficult, ever-changing times for higher education, but you have met every challenge thrown your way, so it cannot be overstated how impressed I am personally with you. Please trust me when I say that when you confront adversity, it definitely has the ability to make you more prepared for the bright future awaiting you.”

Also at the ceremony, Steven Kuchera, vice president of the Penn State Lehigh Valley Alumni Society, welcomed the graduates into the Penn State Alumni Association. In addition, Richardson announced that a new campus scholarship for corporate communication students has been established in honor of Lecturer in Business and Economics and Corporate Communication Program Coordinator Bob Wolfe, who will retire this summer after more than a decade of service to the campus.

“Bob has been such a force of positivity and inspiration for so many of us that we couldn’t let him leave without something truly special to mark his time here,” Richardson said.

Associate Professor of Chemistry Roger Egolf served as this year’s commencement campus marshal, and Associate Teaching Professor of Psychology Kevin Kelley was chosen by Vega to serve as faculty marshal.

The 2022 Penn State Lehigh Valley graduates are:

 

Associate in Science in Business

Ilianna Garcia

Fadi N. Giacobbe

Patrick William Rivers

 

Associate in Arts in Letters, Arts, and Sciences

Robert Shoemaker

 

Bachelor of Science in Biobehavioral Health

Ruasl Latteef Attaa Aldhaheri

Jeanette Bautista

Lexis M. Brownstein

Jerad Flatt

Ivanna Hanna

Chelsea K. Lopez

Justin A. Sackey

Fatima Said

Esther Santiago

Sabrina Sleiman

Julie Elizabeth Stout

Kristina Lynn Streit

Avery Taylor

Dillon Trenge

 

Bachelor of Science in Business

Sophie Adams

Diego Avalos

Bryce Mark Bachman

Peter Banak

Anthony Belsky

Michelle Bosques

Austin Brooks

Anthony Caiazzo

Sara Deberardinis

Abby Feichtel

Guanyun Feng

Katheryn Fernanda Garrido Carrasco

Nicholas Zachary Herman

Sideris Karakatsanidis

Kiranpreet Kaur

Michael Stephen Kielar

Bryce Alan Kolbe

Andre Peele

Jacob Powers

Leonardo Rafael Rivera

Trevor James Rockwell

Nathan Salukas

Philip Todd Schwartz Jr.

Meaghan Sheehan

Elysa Stout

Allison C. Toth

Zachary Unger

James Waterstradt

 

Bachelor of Arts in Chinese

Qobi Quainoo

 

Bachelor of Arts in Corporate Communication

Timothy Cashman

Hayley Lyn Guzzo

Olivia B. Howe

Leanna Koutsoumbis

Sierra Morgan Mamay

Jennifer Morales

Jasmine M. Morocho

Megan O’Donnell

Madison Reed Shupp

 

Bachelor of Science in Finance

Fadi Matar

 

Bachelor of Science in Health Policy and Administration

Kelly Anita Bossert

Rebecca Ganthier

Brooke Lindsey Imboden

Maria Mahfoud

Jacqueline Sarah Mohr

Nadine Sabbagh

Kacie Snyder

 

Bachelor of Science in Information Technology

Amir Al-Sahsah

Dawson Binder

Kameron Dangleben

Mansi Desai

Joseph T. Jabbour

Khushminder Jassal

Basel Walid Kaskas

Zachary Morehouse

Maxwell Naughton

Nam Hoai Pham

Miguel A. Sanchez

Michelle Zachmann

 

Bachelor of Science in Project and Supply Chain Management

Sophie Adams

Tyler Bonsall

Ytzelk Carbuccia

Patrick Gleason

Conor Heitzer

Sundeep Kaur

Jordan Mann

Joshua Marchak

Quinn J. Munro

Leonardo Rafael Rivera

Nicholas Silvaggio

Zakary V. Spess

Victoria Rose Stopper

Zachary Dillon Wojcik

 

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

Taylor Hughes

Gabrielle Hyppolite

Christina Kamel

Morgan Krause

Wisleidy A. Plasencia

Michael James Reif

Skye Luna Soto

Ana Jaymeth Truty

Kayla S. Vega

 

Bachelor of Science in Psychology

Karalyn Elizabeth Binder

Jade Ashleigh Buskirk

Justin Lebon

Alexis Matlack

Celeste Nunez

Melissa Saca

 

Bachelor of Science in Rehabilitation and Human Services

Sabrina E. Alvarez Pajes

Kristin Naja Curry

Isatu Deen

Giovanna Erie

Nicole Hamoui

Juliane Elizabeth Haussmann

Alexis Lorraine Hoffman

Aliyah Major

Isaac Newton Martinez

Samantha Meeker***

Katarina Rose Mondillo

Cara Marie Rocchino

Taylor Rae Styles

Anaya Celest White

Corey Nicole Wilson

 

Enterprise Resource Planning Certificate with SAP 

Sophie Adams

Aimee Allen

Ytzelk Carbuccia

Conor Heitzer

Joshua Marchak

Leonardo Rafael Rivera

 

Non-Credit Certificates:

 

Assisted Living Administrator

Wendy Ballick

Stephanie Wanner

 

Digital Marketing Institute

Vaishnavi Ajila

Jerson Batista

Dylan Brad

Harsh Desai

John Langdon Harris

Viacmely Jimenez

Michelle Madeleine Moore

Pallari Mujumdar

Aaryan Patel

Brianna Peters

Don Phan

Qofi Quainoo

Suryanarayanan Sayeesubramanian

 

Nursing Home Administrator

Ruth Amoah-Koomson

Shanice Clarke

Tina Hangey

Darwin Mitchell

Andrew Nicholas

Karli Rooney

Reshawn Shipe

Alexa Shrecengost

Lori Simons

 

Personal Care Home Administrator 

Christine Engelhardt

Renee Gibson

Stephanie Shumbris

Lori Simons

 

Practical Nursing 

Kelli Barker

Kristin Bartz

Danielle Braswell Nelson

Ruth Cortes-Luciano

Cindy Cruz

Madeline Deschler

Monique Dullivan

Vanessa Foster

Stacey Heckman

Shaylynn Jones

Marie Martinez

Sierra Mazac

Emily Medellin

Jamie MoDavis

Jasmin Nelson

Monesha Nimmons

Samantha Ortiz

Kathlynn Painter

Ashley Ritz

Dorothy Salako

Olivia Smith

Ann Marie Watson

 

Project Management Class 

Eric Allison

Frank Babarsky

Michael Bonno

Jeffrey Burrell

Carmen Canaii

Robert Canova

AJ Ceccacci

Nicholas DeAntonio

James Dominick

Katlin Edmunds

Damian Edwards

Holley Evans

Donald R. Gilchrist Jr.

Kevin Jayne

Jared Kavalow

Mark Landmesser

Mike Lombardo

Joe Lynn

Ryan Matthews

Amanda Mayer

Ryvers McGlone

Robert McPhillips

Roni Nawrocki

Sean Richards

Walter Rohan

Jessica Rollyson

Dominick Silvetti

Bradley Snyder

Tracy Stender

Tom Sweeney

Stacy Taylor

Stephen Voyton

Jim Watkins

Steve Wiltz

 

Society for Human Resource Management 

Adam Beani

Stephanie Behrends

Erica Burrows

Jordan Marie Chandler

Gina Marie deLauretis

Tawanda Montes Lighty

Alexis Gates

Kelly Sue Guerrero

Magdieh Juleika Hernandez

Aislinn Kari

Elizabeth Mary Kelly

Lawren Konschnik

Eric Ronald Madison

Loriann Mulvey-Barbato

Priya Nair

Barbara Philips

Jackie Warren

Rand R. Yazji