Monroe College Confers Degrees on 2700 Students at 83nd Annual Commencement Ceremony
The rainy weather on Sunday afternoon did nothing to dampen the festive mood at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center as Bronx-based Monroe College held its 83rd annual commencement.
More than 40 countries were represented by the 2700 students receiving Associate, Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees and professional certificates. In addition to students from the U.S., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, members of the Monroe College Class of 2016 included sizable contingents from the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, India, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Mali, Nigeria, South Africa, St. Lucia, and Vietnam. A visually resplendent parade of flags was part of the opening events, with each flag proudly marched in by a student from that country. The U.S. flag was carried at each ceremony by veterans of our military service in their dress uniform rather than the traditional graduation gown.
Two separate ceremonies were held to accommodate the large number of friends and family members that came to witness and celebrate this milestone day in their loved one’s life. The Honorable Kathie E. Davidson, Supervising Judge of the 9th Judicial District Family Courts, and Gustavo Rivera, New York State Senator for the 33rd District, were the keynote speakers.
By the end of the second ceremony, Monroe conferred a total of 253 Master’s degrees; 1,197 Bachelor’s degrees; and 1,212 Associate degrees during the commencement ceremonies, as well as awarded 38 professional certificates.
This year’s commencement exercises were especially meaningful for Monroe President Stephen J. Jerome as 2016 marks his 50th year with the College. He and Marc Jerome, Executive Vice President, welcomed students and their families with opening remarks that were heartfelt and, at times, humorous, and spoke to their great pride in the students’ accomplishments and best wishes for continued personal and professional success. Later in the ceremony, both would have the honor of shaking hands with the graduates as they crossed before beaming faculty and deans on the commencement stage.
The first ceremony was held at 2:00 pm for 1,478 students completing programs of study for the School of Criminal Justice, School of Business and Accounting, School of Education, and School of Information Technology. Janet Flowers, a faculty member in the School of Business and Accounting, served as Grand Marshal of the processional. During her commencement address, Judge Kathie E. Davidson encouraged the graduates to pursue their passion, find purpose, and develop into instruments of change as “social engineers.”
Francesca Lovecchio, a valued member of Monroe’s staff for the last 28 years, led the processional as Grand Marshal for the second ceremony at 6:30 pm, which conferred degrees on 1,222 students from Monroe’s School of Allied Health, School of Nursing, School of Hospitality Management and the Culinary Arts, and King Graduate School. In his commencement address, New York State Senator Gustavo Rivera spoke about the intersections of privilege, opportunity, and obligation, noting the importance of giving back to community.
All photos courtesy of Gary Axelbank.
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