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Student speaker Allison Conlon,<\/strong> an Applied Math and Statistics graduate, told her fellow College of Science and Mathematics grads the story of how her mother, Ita Conlon, who earned a master\u2019s degree in Accounting in 1998 from Montclair State, delivered her final term paper on her way to deliver Allison.<\/p>\n \u201cShe had barely hit print before my dad drove her to the hospital,\u201d said Conlon.<\/p>\n Today, Conlon says, Red Hawk graduates met and overcame even greater challenges.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are one of the strongest graduating classes in the history of Montclair State. We took all of our advanced math and science courses through computer screens \u2013 most students avoid our challenging classes even when they are taught in person, so think about how much we must have excelled and learned by doing it online. We demonstrated that we are adaptable and dependable no matter the circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI think we can all admit this year has been exceptionally hard for everyone,\u201d said Amanda Leon<\/strong>, the student speaker for the College of Education and Human Services. \u201cEither you had COVID, lost your job, a person whom you love, or questioned if life will ever go back to normal. It was as if the world stopped, all while spinning out of control.\u201d<\/p>\n But for this Class of 2021, \u201ceven in the midst of a pandemic, we all made the decision to not let it stop us from getting to where we are today,\u201d said Leon, who graduated with a degree in Family Science and Human Development, with a concentration in Families, Children and School Settings, and teacher certification for Grades K-6.<\/p>\n Creative caps make great fashion statements, and Khadijah Haraksin <\/strong>of Pleasantville, New Jersey, fashioned her mortarboard to sum up what she accomplished with a well-known phrase by the late rapper Nipsey Hussle<\/a> \u2013 “The game is gonna test you, never fold. Stay ten toes down.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n Despite a difficult path, Haraksin says she refused to fold, staying as the quote inspired, \u201cten toes down,\u201d focused and determined to overcome personal setbacks and rebounding from poor grades to the dean\u2019s list.<\/p>\n \u201cI hit rock bottom,\u201d she recalls, \u201cand I refused to get any lower than that. I just felt it wasn’t me and I said to myself, \u2018No, this is not going to work.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Accepting the help of advisors in the Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) who pointed her in the direction of academic and emotional support, Haraksin turned her college experience around, earning her degree in Psychology and a minor in Child Advocacy.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m grateful for that because I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for everything that they put me in front of,\u201d Haraksin says. Her plans include graduate school and a career in mental health and trauma.<\/p>\n Nationally, only about 9% of Americans have earned a master\u2019s degree, and fewer than 2% have earned a doctoral degree. Arielle Flores<\/strong> hopes to attain them both.<\/p>\n Flores earned the MA in Public and Organizational Relations, the first in her family to go to college and now attain an advanced degree. \u201cMy success is their success,\u201d she says. \u201cI wanted to be the one who becomes the trailblazer for my family and be that legacy bearer. I’m glad I continued; I grew professionally, academically, socially and emotionally. Perhaps, just maybe sometime in the future, I will change the outlook of my family and my identity, by being a Latinx woman with a PhD.\u201d<\/p>\n Katherine <\/strong>Freedman<\/strong> says she was inspired by Montclair State alumni as she pursued her master\u2019s. \u201cI met alumni who went through this program (MA in Public and Organizational Relations) while pregnant, working full time and taking a class part time. They all went on to have fulfilling and diverse careers. Their stories helped push me to the finish line.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div> In a photo that captured the spirit of Commencement, Caroline Gutierrez<\/strong> shoots confetti from atop the Red Hawk statue in celebration of her BA in Psychology \u2013 a degree she earned in just three years. She\u2019s one of the first of the University\u2019s Presidential Scholars to graduate. \u201cI will forever treasure every moment I had at Montclair, and will always carry all I have learned here \u2013 in and outside of the classroom \u2013 with me,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Gutierrez was guided by her faith and spirituality on campus, and served as a University Fellow, providing support, guidance and mentoring to first-year students. \u201cI could not be more excited for the future, but Montclair has been the most beautiful checkpoint I have ever known.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don’t know about you, but I have parents who will tell you about how they climbed mountains and swam across the ocean to get to school,\u201d said student speaker Joud Sharaf<\/strong>, BS in Biology, at the College of Science and Mathematics Commencement. \u201cBut fellow graduates, let\u2019s agree on this: We\u2019ll tell our kids that we survived the corona apocalypse marked by a toilet paper shortage and Wi-Fi becoming our best friend.\u201d<\/p>\n Sharaf offered some advice: \u201cI may be up here speaking right now but little did you know, there was a time that going to college was inconceivable in my mind. I was that kid in high school that teachers did not see a future for. What kept me going was realizing that if I let it, my life was just going to pass me by. \u2026 Even though as scientists we are in the field of solving problems, the bumps in the road aren\u2019t there for us to solve, rather they are there to shape us to become our best selves.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGrowing up as an immigrant in this country, I spent the better part of my childhood getting accustomed to the cultural changes around me,\u201d student speaker Rayane Yamout<\/strong>, BA in Public Relations with a minor in Business, told her fellow College of the Arts graduates.<\/p>\n \u201cI began looking at my difficult times as not \u2018why is this happening to me\u2019 but rather \u2018this is happening for me.\u2019 So many of us go through life accepting the outcome that is given to us, but what if<\/em> we were to lean into our obstacles and reach for another way forward? I am a strong individual today because of my resilience, grit and determination to succeed. I am proud to be an immigrant as it is a big part of my identity.\u201d Yamout plans to continue her studies in the MA in Public and Organizational Relations program.<\/p>\n Alexandra Torebka <\/strong>likened pursuing her degree to putting together a jigsaw puzzle.<\/p>\n \u201cOut of nowhere, it was as if someone knocked a large part of the puzzle to the ground\u201d when the pandemic struck, said Torebka, who earned a degree in Family Science and Human Development with a concentration in Families, Children and School Settings, and teacher certification for grades K-6.<\/p>\n \u201cFor some of us, reorganizing our puzzle meant overcoming sickness, loneliness and devastating loss,\u201d she said as the student speaker at the Commencement ceremony for the College of Education and Human Services.<\/p>\n \u201cI had to remind myself many times that rebuilding my puzzle wouldn\u2019t be an easy feat, but with my support team of professors, mentors, colleagues, friends and most importantly, my parents, I was going to accomplish something much greater than any college degree, or puzzle, but I was going to learn how to appreciate my present and future obstacles and not let them control my journey.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div> Daniel Norvil<\/strong> put in 300 hours of service each year during his four years at Montclair State, including being part of the Bonner Leader program and mentoring middle school students from the nearby community. He seized opportunities on campus, joined the track team and Student Government Association, and attended the national Bonner Congress Convention. His experiences led him to find his voice on social justice issues.<\/p>\n But while growing up in East Orange, New Jersey, going to college, let alone graduating in four years with a degree in Public Relations, wasn\u2019t something he could imagine.<\/p>\n \u201cGrowing up, I heard it was too hard to accomplish,\u201d he says. \u201cIt gets in your head a little bit. I never would have gotten this far without the people surrounding me who keep my head straight.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n That support network includes EOF, where he was a peer leader and learned what he was capable of, his strengths and how to improve \u2013 and where he found a family after his mother passed away during his sophomore year. \u201cThat\u2019s when I knew EOF was not just a support program but a family to me,\u201d Norvil says.<\/p>\n His mother, Anne Marie Norvil, inspired a strong work ethnic and motivated Norvil to graduate, to complete the degree she started but wasn\u2019t able to finish. This summer, he heads to California for a six-week public relations internship with plans to begin Montclair State\u2019s master\u2019s program in Public and Organizational Relations.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not easy to work a full-time job, raise a family and go to school \u201coff and on for years,\u201d but Lavone Broxton<\/strong>, motivated by his wife and daughters, finally earned his undergraduate degree. His walk across the Commencement stage was made even sweeter as he shared graduation day with his daughter, Tiiera<\/strong> Broxton<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cCongratulations Dad! You are a walking example that age is nothing but a number and you can achieve any goal you put your mind to,\u201d Tiiera Broxton said.<\/p>\n Both father and daughter earned degrees in Sociology and their home in Newark, New Jersey, is now brimming with Red Hawk Pride: Lavone\u2019s spouse and Tiiera\u2019s mother, Rhonda Robinson-Broxton, earned two graduate degrees at Montclair State. Two older daughters, Siiera and Kiiera, also hold master\u2019s degrees from other institutions.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn’t want to be the only person in a family who didn’t go to school,\u201d said Lavone Broxton, associate director of Postal and Warehouse Services at Montclair State, who took advantage of the University\u2019s employee tuition waiver program to finish up what he started in 2007. \u201cOnce I saw that I could have the opportunity to graduate at the same time as Tiiera, that was the push that inspired me.\u201d Read more about the Broxtons in our News Center.<\/a><\/p>\n Jaime Bock<\/strong> whooped up the crowd at the School of Nursing\u2019s June 10 Commencement, leading a round of applause for Montclair State\u2019s \u201cinaugural Pre-Licensure BSN Class of 2021!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I started nursing school, I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into,\u201d Bock said. \u201cIf I had to sum up nursing school in three words I would say: stress, stress, and more stress. \u2026 Between the never-ending exams and the obscene amount of Red Bull and coffee, it was hard to differentiate the etiology of our heart palpitations.\u201d<\/p>\n The upside?<\/p>\n \u201cI did not expect to be given a second family.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve seen each other at our worst and celebrated at our best. We understood each other, when it felt like nobody else did. We laughed, we cried, we panicked. Half the time I could not tell if we were laughing or crying. It was truly therapeutic. We never gave up; we uplifted, supported and learned from each other. But most importantly, we grew together.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI would not be standing here if it wasn\u2019t for you all.\u201d<\/p>\n Theresa Migliaccio, <\/strong>a mother of five who has also been a high-risk pregnancy nurse for 23 years, knows a thing or two about stress. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree on the post-licensure track while dealing with the pandemic personally and professionally.<\/p>\n \u201cThis past year has given us challenges that we could have never imagined,\u201d Migliaccio told her fellow School of Nursing graduates. \u201cThe endless days fighting a disease that we knew nothing about and the feeling of hopelessness as we watched so many lives pass away.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe were considered heroes but in our hearts, we were just who we always are \u2013 nurses,\u201d said Migliaccio. \u201cWe did what we always do \u2013 we did more. Sitting with the patient who was alone or calling a family from an iPad or comforting family members over the phone. There was no time but we made it.\u201d<\/p>\n The light at the end of the tunnel came with vaccinations: \u201cBeing a part of the mass vaccination effort and vaccinating homebound patients was an experience that I will forever be grateful for. For the first time in a long time, I felt like a superhero.\u201d<\/p>\n Michele Ansbacher,<\/strong> recipient of the Feliciano School of Business Distinguished Alumna Award, told graduates that, like many of them, \u201cI came from humble beginnings. Though they didn’t go to college, my parents were very proud of their children who did. Wanting more helped fuel my success.\u201d<\/p>\n Having risen to the ranks to a corporate vice president position, Ansbacher said the Class of 2021 has more than enough qualifications to make it. \u201cYou are more than equipped to succeed with your MSU education. You have survived the COVID upheaval and will take that quality of resiliency with you.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div> Dylan White<\/strong> earned his degree in Business Administration, a monumental day recognizing his efforts to balance work and school. “I was working full time and Montclair State helped me figure out a class schedule that fit my hours and educational requirements. My path wasn’t one of an average student but the University helped me juggle my busy lifestyle. I wouldn’t change a thing about my college experience.”<\/p>\n The highlight of his time on campus may have come a few months earlier. With the campus covered in snow, he proposed marriage to Ariana Leyton \u201917, \u201918 MS. She said, \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n When she landed at JFK Airport in 1986 as a \u201cvery excited, very scared 17 year old\u201d bound for Montclair State, Wamwari Waichungo had the inspiring example of her parents to ground her.<\/p>\n Her late mother Charity Waichungo was in the first class of native African girls to go to high school in Kenya in 1951, ultimately earning her PhD and becoming principal of a girl\u2019s high school in the village where she was born, while her father Asaph Waichungo was the first in his family to attend high school before traveling to the U.S. for a university education.<\/p>\n \u201cToday, three decades later, a PhD in Food Science and 20+ years working in the food and beverage industry, I can confirm that the education and guidance that I received here at Montclair State was instrumental to my career success,\u201d said Waichungo, as she accepted the College of Education and Human Services\u2019 Distinguished Alumna Award. A CEHS Advisory Board member, Waichungo is vice president for Global Safety Assessments and Regulatory Affairs at SCJohnson.<\/p>\n \u201cBoth my mother and my father set an example that I have followed. In the words of the late Nelson Mandela, \u2018Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The multiple smaller ceremonies celebrated graduates in traditional style, with the tossing of caps, speakers and an honorary degree <\/strong>awarded to entrepreneur Mimi Turco Feliciano<\/strong><\/a>. It was a milestone long delayed for Feliciano who did not complete her bachelor\u2019s degree when she attended Montclair State decades ago.<\/p>\n As a first generation student, Feliciano said two things dominated her thinking while a student: \u201cI felt like I wasn\u2019t good enough and that I never had enough money.\u201d Still, she credits the University with providing the foundation for her successful career, and she has given back in many ways, including funding the Mimi and Edwin Feliciano School of Business, the Feliciano Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, and The Global Center on Human Trafficking.<\/p>\n \u201cI have marveled at your tenacity and resilience in the face of adversity, and I can tell you that your University could not be prouder of you and what you have accomplished,\u201d said President Susan A. Cole<\/strong>, who spoke at each of the ceremonies, ending her own remarkable tenure leading Montclair State.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, today, in a way, I graduate with you. For the last 23 years, it has been my honor to contribute my efforts to building the University that would enable students like you to earn their degrees, walk across this stage and then proceed to realize their dreams. Today, it is my privilege to stand here with you,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u2026 \u201cWe shall leave this place together.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Story by Staff Writer Marilyn Joyce Lehren<\/a> and Mary Barr Mann<\/a><\/p>\n See the full commencement photo galleries at the links below.<\/p>\nSuccess, Despite COVID-19 Challenges<\/h2>\n
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Caps Off to the Graduates<\/h2>\n
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First-Gen Milestones<\/h2>\n
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Faith, Leadership and Confetti<\/h2>\n
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Climb Every Mountain<\/h2>\n
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Leaning in to Obstacles<\/h2>\n
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Putting the Puzzle Together<\/h2>\n
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Deeper Experience Serving Others<\/h2>\n
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Father, Daughter Graduate Together<\/h2>\n
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A Second Family<\/h2>\n
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Not All Superheros Wear Capes<\/h2>\n
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Climbing the Ladder<\/h2>\n
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A Degree, but First a Proposal<\/h2>\n
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Changing the World<\/h2>\n
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University Honors Benefactor<\/h2>\n
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A Final Commencement<\/h2>\n
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Photo Galleries<\/h2>\n