{"id":187509,"date":"2026-05-08T21:04:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T21:04:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/187509\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T21:04:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T21:04:08","slug":"johnson-college-celebrates-107th-commencement-and-largest-graduating-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/187509\/","title":{"rendered":"Johnson College celebrates 107th commencement and largest graduating class"},"content":{"rendered":"

Johnson College celebrated its 107th commencement ceremony Thursday at the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts in Wilkes-Barre, marking a significant milestone in the institution\u2019s continued growth.<\/p>\n

The new venue provided expanded space for the college\u2019s increased number of graduates and created a more unified experience for students from the Scranton and Hazleton campuses.<\/p>\n

The ceremony recognized students who completed rigorous programs leading to Associate of Science and Associate of Applied Science degrees and academic certificates in a wide range of high-demand fields.<\/p>\n

\"JohnsonJohnson College\u2019s Class of 2026 graduates applaud during the closing remarks of their commencement ceremony on May 7, at the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts in Wilkes-Barre.<\/p>\n

Ethan Gardiner of the class of 2025, a maintenance technician specializing in automated equipment and controls at Lineage, delivered the commencement address, encouraging graduates to embrace their victories, big or small, continue to learn and support others.<\/p>\n

The ceremony also spotlighted outstanding student achievements. Valedictorian Jake Ryan and salutatorian Hanaa Gohsler, both graduates of the Architectural Drafting & Design Technology program, shared powerful messages reflecting on perseverance, growth and the transformative experience of their time at Johnson.<\/p>\n

The event was livestreamed<\/a> on the college\u2019s YouTube channel.<\/p>\n

\"JohnsonJohnson College celebrated its largest graduating class during its 107th Commencement Ceremony at the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday. Pictured left to right: Ethan Gardiner \u201825, a Johnson College alumnus and maintenance technician specializing in automated equipment and controls at Lineage; Dr. Katie Pittelli, President and CEO of Johnson College; Hanaa Gohsler, Class of 2026 aalutatorian and Architectural Drafting & Design Technology graduate; and Jake Ryan, Class of 2026 valedictorian and Architectural Drafting & Design Technology graduate.<\/p>\n

Spring 2026 graduates:<\/p>\n

Associate of Science<\/p>\n

Computer information technology: Holden Aylesworth, Nicholson; Michael L. Bromage, Scranton; Cameron Walter Connor, Carbondale; Michael Rafael Fernandez Medina, Scranton; Kael A. Heflin, Lake Ariel; Michael R. Kishel, Pittston; Steven Michael Kollar, Trucksville; Jacob Mutsavage, Throop; James Phillips, West Wyoming; Nicholas Shimo, Scranton; Richard Joseph Stopa, Taylor; Ragu Nath Subedi, Scranton; Gregory Lake Sumski, Scranton, and Drew Wrobel, Dickson City.<\/p>\n

Physical therapist assistant: Ally Plantz, Clarks Green; Malana Vega, Carbondale, and Kori Yencho, Throop.<\/p>\n

Radiologic technology: Dilyara Akhmedova, Scranton; Katie Lynn Crum, Milanville; Samantha Fundaro, Bushkill; Laura Rene Jackloski, Wyoming; Shelby Kerr, Springville; Jean Paul Marcano, Hanover Twp.; Andrew Robert Martin, Jefferson Twp.; Gavin Munro, Milford; Alyssa Marie Resio, Old Forge; Molly Reynolds, Scranton; Erica Jade Shearer, Hughestown; Syanah Jayd Triplin, Johnstown, and Arron Yocius, Mountain Top.<\/p>\n

Veterinary nursing: Andrew Abrams, Moscow; Charlize Simone Barhite, Clifford Twp.; Kelsey Christina Busch, Leesport; Lindsey Gannon, Honesdale; Liberty N. Graves, New Milford; Brooke Ann Kellogg, Honesdale; Jessica Miller, Mechanicsburg; Alyssa Nichole Nicholas, Watsontown; Brooke Summer Richardson, Lake Ariel; Sierra Lynn Stonier, Monroe Twp., and Samantha L. Warner, Montrose.<\/p>\n

Associated of Applied Science<\/p>\n

Advanced manufacturing technology: Kenneth B. Cotton Jr., Clifford Twp.; Cameron Hedgelon, Honesdale; Kody Madrigal, Tafton; Tyler Martinelli, Mountain Top, and Aiden Perez, Jessup.<\/p>\n

Architectural drafting and design technology: Abagayle Lynn Glaush, Wilkes-Barre; Hanaa Gohsler, Dickson City; Aiden Krehel, Waverly; Jacob Nielsen, Archbald; Ronald John Pritchard Jr., Damascus; Jake Ryan, Factoryville, and Tyton Vokes, Dalton.<\/p>\n

Automotive technology: Cristal Abreu, Scranton; Andrew Adonizio, Wilkes-Barre; James Hancock, Clarks Green; Brendan Hauser, Dunmore; Lucas S. Lorenzetti, Throop; Camron D. Mcmillan, Scranton; Edward Peguero, Scranton; Joseph Pezanowski III, Mayfield; Mia Royce, Moosic, and Noah A. Wijaya, Roaring Brook Twp.<\/p>\n

Aviation technology: Tahj Bond, Scranton; Pierry Chatelain, Scranton; Michael Allen Fordham Jr., Greentown; Raphiel Garcia Hidalgo, Scranton; Frank Goodwin, Jessup; Jaylen James-Thomas, Wilkes-Barre; Tanner Robert Little, Mountain Top; Logan Rehrig, Barnesville; Amara Rubino, Henryville, and Connor David Steele, Archbald.<\/p>\n

Biomedical equipment technology: Amari John Grey, Henryville; Joseph Kologe, Scranton; Michael Lee, Jefferson Twp.; Jonathan Merlen, Spring Brook Twp.; Giulian Morell, Dunmore; Nicholas Novak, Old Forge; Lilith Rooney, Spring Brook Twp.; Frank Ryan Tanana, Olyphant, and Eli Titus, Nichols, N.Y.<\/p>\n

Carpentry and cabinetmaking technology: Connor Angelo, Hudson; Evan J. Bernardi, Clarks Summit; Grayson J. Coar, Honesdale; Luke Harvatine, Kingsley; Paul MacDonald, Scranton, and Mason Miluszusky, Richmondale.<\/p>\n

Civil design technology: Anthony Herman, Milford.<\/p>\n

Diesel truck technology: Thomas William Bartrige, Gouldsboro; Noah Bender, Scranton; Aiden Bird, Olyphant; Nico T. Colachino, Olyphant; Gerard Dolinsky, Scott Twp.; Joshua Keifer, Lake Ariel; Corey Lesnefsky, Moscow; Devon Muro, Madison Twp.; Mark Nagle, Greenfield Twp.; Christopher Steve Rosa, Scranton; Tyler J. Werlick, Lake Ariel, and Jayden Williams, Scranton.<\/p>\n

Electrical construction technology: Edgar A. Acevedo, Scranton; Julius Asencio, South Abington Twp.; Nicholas Austin, Moosic, Gianna Bangs, Berwick; Nicholas Barahona, Clarks Summit; Jacob Benczkowski, Kingston; Harrison Birch, Clarks Summit; Logan Burakiewicz, Exeter; Brayan Calcano Ventura, Shamokin; Preston Casey, Carbondale; Thomas Collins, West Pittston; Cameron Collins, Jermyn; Liam Crolly, Dunmore; Cayden DeGroat, Shohola; Matthew Dolan, Hazle Twp.; Brent Edlind, South Abington Twp.; Guillermo S. Gutierrez, Hazleton; Jacob Halapin, Moscow; Maximus X. Harden, Swoyersville; Christian Harkins, Carbondale; Emanuel J. Hernandez, Scranton; Joseph Tyler Homentosky, Archbald; Trevor Jones, Clarks Summit; Henry Korman, Lakeville; Kevin Kozlowski, Augusta, N.J.; Ian D. Leachey, Roaring Brook Twp.; Jeremy R. Lewis Jr., Susquehanna; Ryan William Lynott, Scranton; Ricky Mackrell, Dickson City; Daniel J. Marcus, Greeley; Anthony J. Martin, Waymart; Max Medina, Hazleton; Carter Michael Mistishin, Lake Ariel; Alden Read Moss, Hawley; Reid Olsen, Milford; Gavin Padula, South Abington Twp.; Shamar Peaten, Jessup; Jacob Michael Pepper-Kosakevitch, Peckville; Jordan Rafalko, Old Forge; Thomas Raniero, Milford; James W. Reimold, Drums; Carlos R. Romero Rodriguez, Dunmore; Keith Rowlands, Jermyn; Jonathan A. Sacchetti, Scranton; Gianni Salmond, Scranton; Anthony Santarsiero, Dunmore; Aiden Sheperis, West Pittston; Matthew Shilling, Scranton; Luke Snyder, Duryea; Seamus Spangenberg, Falls; Evan Stabinski, Scranton; Alexander J. Stabinski, Scranton; Zachary K. Staples, Carbondale; Andrew Paul Styborski, Dalton; Braedyn D. Tinsley, Blue Bell; Shane E. Toolan, Clifford Twp.; Michael Wall, Olyphant; Joshua John Wanick, South Abington Twp.; Kenneth Warren, Montrose; Joshua Wayman, Jermyn; James Wohlleber, Hazleton; Matthew Zekus, Forty Fort, and Liam Zero, Dunmore.<\/p>\n

Electronic engineering technology: Aidan J. Brace, Old Forge; Arnaldo Catamora Hoylar, Ransom Twp.; Jericho Thomas Doll, Clifton Twp.; Julian Krenitsky, Clarks Summit; Henry James Lazo, Clarks Summit; Liam Lidy, Lake Ariel; John Mackey, Mayfield; Sara A. Olshan, Tunkhannock, and Caiden D. Stancik, Clarks Summit.<\/p>\n

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning technology: Braeden Nicholas Alvord, Clifford Twp.; William Henry Byrne VI, Scranton; Carter Chichura, South Abington Twp.; Anthony G. DeFilippi, Honesdale; Jason B. DeManicor, Clifford Twp.; Edward Fox, Scranton; Nicholas George, Exeter; Mason Gronkowski, Swoyersville; Jason Havens, Dingmans Ferry; Logan Heaney, Clarks Summit; Evan Joseph Hofsommer, Scranton; Colin A. Joyce, Scott Twp.; Skyler E. LeClere, Beach Lake; Benjamin Miller, Scranton; Carter Michael Mistishin, Lake Ariel; Jon Mosser, Bethany; Sean J. Munson, Nanticoke; Matthew Neumann, Duryea; Logan Nichols, Scott Twp.; Aiden Luscher Notz, Scranton; Matthew Pantucci, Pittston; Austyn Daniel Pugh, Waymart; Jacob Dylan Riebe, Old Forge; Vincent M. Rinaldi, Scranton; Christian J. Rivera, Wilkes-Barre; Bryant O. Rodezno, Scranton; River Rogers, Scranton; Ozjan Sayfullayev, Scranton; Vincent Scotti, Taylor; Joshua T. Souza, South Abington Twp., and Vincent R. Tomasetti, Lake Ariel.<\/p>\n

Mechatronics technology: Jace Peoples-Trimmer, Lakeville; Garek J. Petraitis, Scranton, and James A. Watt, South Abington Twp.<\/p>\n

Welding fabrication and manufacturing technology: Garrett William Hawk, Kunkletown; Ella Tyler, Tunkhannock; Heather Blaine, Berwick; Stephen Henry Hunter Cantner, Clarks Summit; Michael Capurso, Milford; Michael Chapman, Archbald; Cole Chesna, Honesdale; Robert A. Demian Jr., Waymart; Nikolas Harris, Honesdale, and Ethan Robbins, Greenfield Twp.<\/p>\n

Certificate programs<\/p>\n

Building and property maintenance: Stanley Biniewicz, New Milford; Gregory F. Leonard Jr., Hazle Twp.; Johnathan Levine, Scranton; Trey Perry Rucker, Pittston; Milagros Sosa, Carbondale, and Norvensky Celimat Valcourt, Scranton.<\/p>\n

Cybersecurity analytics and operations: Paul Davis, South Abington Twp.; Herline Fleury, Scranton, and Diana Klaudia Mannick, Archbald.<\/p>\n

Diesel preventative maintenance technology: Hannah Jane Mackaliunas, Scranton, and Gerson Vasquez, Scranton.<\/p>\n

Industrial technology: Jacob Davis, Mahanoy City; Sean M. Lee, Throop; Justin Nieves, Hudson, and Jesika Sterling, Dunmore.<\/p>\n

Welding technology: Paul Bidwell, Scranton; Joshua Bivins, Honesdale; Ryan C. Breiten, Dalton; Hannah Bronson, Jefferson Twp.; Cameron M. Celli, Dunmore; Prakesh Chaitram, Scranton; William Clapp, Wyalusing; Logan Clouse, Lehighton; Robert C. Cowger, Scranton; Shawn R. Giblin, Honesdale; Kaiden Hallock, Milford; Matthew Juracka, Summit Hill; Ethan L. Kochmer, Falls; Aiden Learn, Tunkhannock; Yunniel Marinez, Hazleton; Victor Melo, Peckville; Keeley Moser, Fern Glen; Lance Price, Drums; Joseph Shelton, Summit Hill; Brandon J. Sich, Haskell, NJ; Tiffany Weber-Bolcavage, Old Forge, and Hunter Zschunke, Hazleton.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Johnson College celebrated its 107th commencement ceremony Thursday at the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":187510,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[227,6520,201,182,803,139,28,178,180,179,181],"class_list":["post-187509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-education","tag-hazleton","tag-lackawanna-county","tag-local-news","tag-luzerne-county","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news","tag-top-stories-stt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187509\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/187510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}