The University of Scranton conferred more than 450 master\u2019s and doctoral degrees at its graduate commencement ceremony for the class of 2026 on Sunday at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre Twp.<\/p>\n
Graduates completed their academic requirements between August 2025 and May 2026.<\/p>\n
Graduates spanned 22 states, including Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee, with a large concentration from the East Coast. Pennsylvania was the most populous state among the graduates at 48%, followed by New Jersey and New York at about 15% each. International graduates hailed from Canada, India and Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n
Harshil Nariya \u201926, a Master of Business Administration graduate from Enola, addressed his fellow graduates as the class speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday is not just a celebration of what we have achieved, but a reflection of who we have become,\u201d Nariya said. \u201cWe came here with ambitions: to build careers, to learn, to create opportunities. And yes, we have done that. But along the way, we also developed something deeper. We developed empathy, resilience and a sense of responsibility.<\/p>\n
\u201cI come from a background where opportunities are not always guaranteed. From working in my family business to studying here, I have seen different sides of the world. And what I think connects them is simple: an understanding that our success is tied to those around us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Karen L. Pennington, Ph.D. \u201976, G\u201983, H\u201915, who spoke earlier in the day at the undergraduate commencement ceremony, addressed the graduate crowd as well. A former higher education administrator, she was also in town to celebrate her 50-year class reunion.<\/p>\n
\u2018You have a chance to use this gift of education, this special status you achieved, as the launching pad to be more than you were before,\u201d Pennington said. \u201cTake all you have learned about managing time \u2014 past, present and future \u2014 to carry the lessons of organization, respect and kindness with you, as you commit to your dreams and take necessary action to achieve all of your goals.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it mean to have a degree from the University of Scranton? You soon will know, because you have reached the end of this part of your Scranton journey. I say \u2018this part,\u2019 because what it means to have a degree from the University of Scranton is to be part of a larger community not just while in class, but for long after. May it be 50 years and counting like mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among the degrees awarded were Masters of Accountancy, Business Administration, Health Administration, Science and Science in Nursing, as well as Doctors of Nursing Practice, Occupational Therapy, Philosophy and Physical Therapy.<\/p>\n
An archived recording of the ceremony is available online.<\/p>\n
Degree recipients from Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties include:<\/p>\n
Doctor of Nursing Practice<\/p>\n
Gina M. Biancarelli, Jessup; Paul Bishop, Moosic; Allison L. Burge, Spring Brook Twp.; Margaret L. Dodgson, Pocono Summit; Matthew C. Farrell, Peckville; Alexa L. Martino, Mountain Top; Jazmine N. Owens, Scranton; Stephanie N. Ramos, Forest City; Margaret K. Ruddy, Dunmore, and Michael T. Schultze, Taylor.<\/p>\n
Doctor of Occupational Therapy<\/p>\n
Madelynn M. Senatore, Dunmore.<\/p>\n
Doctor of Philosophy<\/p>\n
Stephen K. Bosomafi, Lake Ariel, and Jason S. Wenger, Moscow.<\/p>\n
Doctor of Physical Therapy<\/p>\n
Hannah M. Carr, Throop; Bella G. Czeck, Nanticoke; Kyle J. Franek, Drums; Gianna C. Memo, Peckville; Cosette E. Talarico, Waymart, and Courtney K. Zaic, Spring Brook Twp.<\/p>\n
Master\u2019s Degree<\/p>\n
Lieth Abdulrahman, Hazleton; Caitlyn A. Addley, Archbald; Michael Amo Gyau, Archbald; Prasanth Ampili, Scranton; Hannah C. Angelini, Scranton; John F. Anzelmi, Scott Twp.; Cassidy A. Bartkowski, Clarks Summit; Morgan E. Beierle, Lake Ariel; Jacob P. Bendixen, Stroudsburg; Mark T. Benginia, Scranton; Alexa K. Bonk, Scranton; Jake Butka, Scranton; Bri G. Clark, Olyphant; Rachel Clark, Factoryville; Ashleigh M. Clarke, Factoryville; Maureen Victoria Coleman, Jermyn; Cristina A. Cortez, Henryville; David Crean, Lake Ariel; Aleah J. Curry, Hazleton; Dante Ali Hannibal Dalgin, Old Forge; Smit R. Dave, Scranton; Lauren M. DeBellis, Sugarloaf; Joseph J. DeGrazia, Taylor; Izabella B. DeNaples, Scranton; Madison L. DeStefano, Spring Brook Twp.; Gracie A. Dombroski, Shavertown; Eric D. Drago, Wyoming; Bethany Earley, Clarks Green; Meghan R. Eidenberg, Scranton; Amelia J. Farry, South Abington Twp.; Genevieve Jo Federici, Avoca; Olivia P. Fedor, Moosic; Matthew G. Fedorka, Dickson City; Alexandra J. Feifer, Mountain Top; Alex E. Flores, East Stroudsburg; Michael B. Foder, South Abington Twp.; Hannah E. Fryzel, Moscow; Mahek S. Gandhi, Scranton; Grace L. Gonzalez, Dalton; Joshua E. Greenfield, Scranton; Marc H. Habel, Scott Twp.; Jenna M. Haefele, Dickson City; Breonna A. Hanahan, Edwardsville; Lawrence J. Harrington, Scranton; Cassandra K. Haw, Scranton; Zoe E. Honney, Scranton; Samantha A. Horrocks, Clarks Summit; Samantha M. Howey, Honesdale; Pooja Shivaji Jadhav, Scranton; Jonathan Janosky, Greenfield Twp.; Tiffany Jaskulski, Dickson City; Conor J. Jordan, Factoryville; Dylan R. Kelly, Pittston; Kelly Kennedy, Scranton; Paige E. Knecht, Pocono Pines; Kayla Kotch, Dallas; Maura V. Krzan, Scranton; George Kwiecinski, Dalton; Zackery G. Leach, Elmhurst Twp.; Brittany E. Legath, White Haven; Anastasia L. Lepka, Scranton; Nicholas A. Luzetski, Edwardsville; Gianna M. Manzo, Olyphant; Haley M. Marcinkevich, Scranton; Abigail N. Martino, Mountain Top; James H. McGrath, Dunmore; Adam M. Mehall, Scranton; Celeste N. Meta, Archbald; Shervin Mokhtari, Clarks Summit; Anthony Monacelli, Scranton; Nilaja S. Morgan, Hanover Twp.; Richard M. Morgan, Shavertown; Madison M. Moyer, Mountain Top; Lauren Murphy, Wilkes-Barre; Priyadarshini Nimmalapalli, Old Forge; Alexa Notarianni, Dickson City; Nora G. O\u2019Connell, Dingmans Ferry; Megan Dempsey O\u2019Malley, Dunmore; Sarah Ann Orlandini, Avoca; Tengiz Orujashvili, Dunmore; Mohan Reddy Palle, Scranton; Divya P. Patel, Dunmore; Kesha N. Patel, Scranton; Nil R. Patel, Mountain Top; Priya R. Patel, Scranton; Teerth Shailesh Patel, Scranton; Ashley Marie Paulino, Wapwallopen;Angelina Penatzer, Pittston; Deniz Pinarbasi, Long Pond; Jennifer S. Polney, Wilkes Barre; Amanda M. Popko, Duryea; Melissa J. Przewlocki, Mountain Top; Ashleigh N. Rakoski, Saylorsburg; Hunter L. Ralston, Duryea; Courteney Reed, Mountain Top; Rebecca L. Remsky, Taylor; Ian R. Richmond, Throop; Izabella M. Rose, Scranton; Mia G. Sandy, Scranton; Kaylee A. Sanko-Kendricks, Scott Twp.; Christine Schoener, West Pittston; Bethany M. Serio, Archbald; Lokesh Shakula, Scranton; Michael B. Sherman, East Stroudsburg; Mallory Robyn Shotwell, Tunkhannock; John J. Sibio, Clifton Twp.; Matrika Singh, Scranton; Ryan V. Sophabmixay, Scranton; Shannon A. Springer, Scranton; Sarah N. Stanski, Sweet Valley; Brian J. Stepniak, Pittston; Joshua Z. Stevens, Plains Twp.; Isabella R. Vinskofski, Dickson City; Ryan A. Wagner, Olyphant; Somer B. Walsh, Scranton; Daniel Weiner, Blakeslee; Emma Rose Winter, Peckville; Isabelle M. Wohlleber, Hazleton; Samantha Zaic, Spring Brook Twp., and Rebekah Zazzera, Scranton.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The University of Scranton conferred more than 450 master\u2019s and doctoral degrees at its graduate commencement ceremony for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":201585,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[227,201,182,139,28,178,180,179,181],"class_list":["post-201584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-education","tag-lackawanna-county","tag-local-news","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\/201584","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=201584"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201584\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/201585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}