UMD College of Education 2023 Undergraduate Commencement Program

2022 & 2023

UNDERGRADUATE CEREMONY

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION COMMENCEMENT

MAY 23, 2023 10:00 AM

RECKORD ARMORY

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND

COLLEGE PARK

GREETINGS FROM THE DEAN

Dear Graduates:

INSIDE FRONT COVER

On behalf of the College of Education, our faculty, staff and the entire EdTerps community, I congratulate you on reaching this significant milestone!

Today is the culmination of all of your hard work and dedication, and I could not be more proud of all you have accomplished. You’ve been on an academic journey filled with joyous moments, unexpected challenges and tremendous growth. You have gained the knowledge, skills and experience to fearlessly begin the next chapter of your life. No matter where the path ahead may lead, your time at Maryland has prepared you to have a real impact on the world.

As you join the College of Education alumni community, my hope is that you will remain actively engaged with this network and keep us part of your professional lives. Please keep in touch and visit us often.

Again, congratulations. I wish you a future full of promise and endless possibilities.

Go EdTerps!

KIMBERLY GRIFFIN

PRESIDING

Dr. Kimberly Griffin DEAN

PROCESSIONAL

“Pomp and Circumstance”

by Sir Edward Elgar

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Dr. Ebony Terrell Shockley

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, EDUCATOR PREPARATION

WELCOME REMARKS

Dr. Kimberly Griffin DEAN

ALUMNI RECOGNITION

Barbara Friedlander ’85, M.A. ’90

CHAIR, COLLEGE OF EDUCATION ALUMNI NETWORK BOARD

COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS

Dr. Ellen Gaske ’75

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF ACADEMICS, SPECIALIZED EDUCATION SERVICES, INC.

STUDENT ADDRESS

Saxon Brown

BACHELOR OF ARTS, SECONDARY EDUCATION

PRESENTATION OF CANDIDATES

Dr. Megan Madigan Peercy

ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDIES

CLOSING REMARKS

Dr. Kimberly Griffin DEAN

RECESSIONAL

“Pomp and Circumstance”

by Sir Edward Elgar

Please join us at Thurgood Marshall Hall for a light reception, immediately following the commencement ceremony.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2022

& 2023 GRADUATES

COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER

Dr. Ellen Gaske ’75 is senior vice president, academics, for Specialized Education Services, Inc. (SESI), a Catapult Learning Company, where she is responsible for coordinating and implementing academic programming in all SESI schools. In this role, Dr. Gaske coordinates the efforts of the Assessment, Curriculum, and Instruction team to oversee each academic region.

Dr. Gaske began her teaching career working for Howard County Public Schools, where she worked as a special education teacher, as a resource teacher for the Office of Special Education and later as a supervisor of special education (K-12). Over the course of 40 years, Dr. Gaske has conducted extensive training in reading for general and special education teachers and has taught courses for Johns Hopkins University in the areas of reading and written language disorders. Dr. Gaske earned her Ed.D. in special education and learning disabilities from Johns Hopkins University, a Master of Science in communicative disorders from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Science in education and special education from the University of Maryland. She served a four-year term on the Maryland Association of Special Education Facilities Board and currently serves as a member of the University of Maryland Board of Visitors for the College of Education.

DEGREE CANDIDATES

SUMMER 2022

BACHELOR OF ARTS GRADUATE

Olivia Nicole Daro

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE GRADUATES

Miles Gerald Johnson

Me’Aziah Mone’ Wilson

FALL 2022

BACHELOR OF ARTS GRADUATE

Daniel Williams

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE GRADUATES

Margaret Ellington*

Fatima Herrera-Navaro

Jessica Rae Hinkle

Blaine Matthew Hoffman

Luke Kim

PAGE 2

Celina Owens

Jennifer Saavedra

Linda Valle

Magdalene Olivia Wong Pui Wen

SPRING 2023

BACHELOR OF ARTS GRADUATES

Priscilla Vanessa Barrera

Carroll Briggs

Saxon Brown

STUDENT SPEAKER

Saxon Brown is graduating with a degree in both Secondary English Education and English Language and Literature. Inspired by his parents—both teachers—he is deeply passionate about education and knew from an early age he wanted to be a teacher. This past year, he completed his student teaching internship at High Point High School and Samuel Ogle Middle School, where he taught English Language Arts.

For the past three years, Brown represented the college in the University Senate. He was also an undergraduate senator in the College of Education Senate for two years. Through the English department, he interned as a teaching assistant and served as president of Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honor Society.

Brown believes that an education is not about teaching students the answers, but rather helping them to ask better questions.

Julia Rose Cates

David Delgado

Marcella Finelli*

Layla Ghaissani Hernanez

Samuel Jimenez

Sydney Manning*

Alayna Lynn Marks

Dean Pryor

Brett Renfrew

Christopher Roberts

Ayesha Shahzad

Filomena Stamegna***

Rachael Termini

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE GRADUATES

Lilyann Allgaier

Leilani Alvarenga

Daniel Anderson

Katherine Anderson

Alyssa Jehan Asad

Claire Madeleine Awtrey

Adedunmola Babajide

Sydney Barksdale

Megan Barrett

Natalie Kate Bartholet *

Sarah Beitler

Gabriela Benavides

Emma Boccabello

Hailey Bohn***

Mirna Bonilla

Aaraa Brown***

Diana Brown

Madilyn Bunke

Ricardo Nathaniel Calvo**

Emily Carrera*

Leslie Castro Lopez

Shanshan Chen

Hana Cho

Man Cing

Ayla Dawsey

Katherine Dickel

Madison Dorsey*

Amanda Drake

Elizabeth Drake*

Diana Duran

Amanda Marie Ernst

Kennedy Essex

Raaya Ramz Khleif

Faith Kim

Jenny Min Jee Kim

Renee Kinzler*

Sean Tomonari Klein

Lily Kluckhuhn

Shannon Kraham*

ShelbyLamb

Grace Laquatra***

Marissa Lizarzaburu

Sarah Lombardo

Meghan Longo*

Monique Sutton

Lauren Taylor

Cara Tellier*

Abigail Toro*

Heily Veizaga

Jackelyne Velasquez

Lesley Velis

Katherin Ventura

Maria Villacorta Otarola*

Anh Minh Vu

Miriam Elizabeth Wallberg

Sophia Waltz*

Alyssa Mallonee

Julia Mancini

Yury Martinez

Julia Mavrikes*

Monique Maxwell

Kiarra McCloud

Nayely Mendez

Michael Miller

Sofia Morelli

Claire Nelson

Bao-Khiem Nguyen

Emma Noreck ***

Christine Wattay

Hailey Wechsler

Alexis Weinstein*

Amanda Williams

PAGE 3

Alexander Wilson

Katie Wu

Iris Yanes***

Lisa Yang

Daniel Yeom*

Yan Zhang

ACADEMIC HONORS

Regina Familiar Avalos*

Lydia FitzPatrick*

Jacquelyn Flam

Colby Der Fong

Allison Ford

Valerie Fortescue

Rachel Helen Fried

Lucy Fulton

Marichelle Galang

Savannah Rose Gerben

Matthew Green

Rebecca Grimes

Madison Harris

Brianna Hawkins

Marina Heidar

Holly Hennessy*

Ana Henriquez

Fatima Herrera-Navarro

Evi Hoang

Katharine Irving

Aselyn Eliske Istvan

London Jenkins

Madison Jurek*

Dina Kamil

Jordan Kearney

Caroline O’Connor

Yaejin Oh*

Cassandra O’Neill

Kyawt Kyawt Khing Oo

Karis Owens

Yakie Palma***

Jordyn Pankin

Franco Polar

Kylie Poynot

Joseph Brooks Puig

Allison Rogers

Rufina Roland

Shannon Talise Rose

Atika Saeed***

Zamzam Salhan

Ayushi Sarkar

Diti Shah

Rachel Silberg

Lydia Snow*

Sarah Solender*

Brittney Souders

Helen Spellberg*

Savannah Stewart***

Sidney Strong*

Rachel Stulberger*

The University of Maryland recognizes graduating undergraduate students who have achieved academic excellence. Academic honors are based on a student’s cumulative GPA.

* Cum Laude

** Magna Cum Laude

*** Summa Cun Laude

Students who submitted a graduation application after May 10, may not appear in this program.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

GRAND MARSHAL Mr. David Toledo DIRECTOR, FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND QUANTITATIVE METHODOLOGY

NARRATOR Dr. Ebony Terrell Shockley EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, EDUCATOR PREPARATION

ANNOUNCER Ms. Alyssa Orlando PEER ADVISOR

This ceremony would not be possible without the dedication and hard work of many members of our community. We would like to thank the Dean’s Office, Office of Student Services, Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations and Office of Marketing and Communications, as well as our many volunteers for making this ceremony memorable for our graduates, their families, friends and guests.

PAGE 4

COLLEGE LEADERSHIP

Kimberly Griffin, Ph.D. DEAN

William Ming Liu, Ph.D. CHAIR, DEPARTMENT OF COUNSELING, HIGHER EDUCATION, AND SPECIAL EDUCATION

Nihat Polat, Ph.D. CHAIR, DEPARTMENT OF TEACHING AND LEARNING, POLICY AND LEADERSHIP

Laura Stapleton, Ph.D. CHAIR, DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND QUANTITATIVE METHODOLOGY

Patricia A. Alexander, Ph.D. INTERIM ASSOCIATE DEAN, FACULTY AFFAIRS

Megan Madigan Peercy, Ph.D. ASSOCIATE DEAN, UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDIES

Ana Taboada Barber, Ph.D. ASSOCIATE DEAN, RESEARCH, INNOVATION AND PARTNERSHIPS

D. Hakim Scott, MBA, PMP ASSISTANT DEAN, FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION

Kurt S. Sudbrink, MPA ASSISTANT DEAN, DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNI RELATIONS

Natifia Mullings, M.A. DIRECTOR, COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING

Lena Morreale Scott, M.Ed. DIRECTOR, CIVIC EDUCATION & ENGAGEMENT INITIATIVE

Ebony Terrell Shockley, Ph.D. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, EDUCATOR PREPARATION

Bridget Turner Kelly, Ph.D. DIVERSITY OFFICER

Andrea D. Norris, M.A. CHIEF OF STAFF

WELCOME FROM THE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION ALUMNI NETWORK BOARD

Dear Graduates,

On behalf of the College of Education Alumni Network, we welcome you to our EdTerp alumni community. As you set out on your next adventure, take note that you are not alone because you are now a part of a growing alumni network. This network is run by alumni for alumni and aims to host engagement opportunities that provide space for professional development, community building and fun. We look forward to connecting with you at our upcoming events and encourage you to stay engaged!

Best,

INSIDE BACK COVER

Barbara Friedlander ’85, M.A. ’90 CHAIR, COLLEGE OF EDUCATION ALUMNI NETWORK BOARD

WE INVITE YOU TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ALUMNI NETWORK BOARD.

GIVE THE GIFT OF AN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP!

PHOTOGRAPHS AND PROGRAMS

Professional photographers will take a picture of each student as they walk across the stage. Graduates will receive information by email on how to order copies of the photograph.

University Commencement programs may be requested by emailing events@ur.umd.edu

Commencement is a formal ceremony, and we respectfully ask guests to remain seated as each student is awarded their diploma.

ABOUT THE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

The University of Maryland College of Education provides researchand practice-oriented programs through its three departments: Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership; Counseling, Higher Education and Special Education; and Human Development and Quantitative Methodology.

Our educational programs are accredited and approved by the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation, the Maryland State Department of Education, and the American Psychological Association. The College is ranked among the top schools of education in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. It is a premier center for interdisciplinary research and innovation engaged with vital education issues. Its graduates enter the classroom and the community ready to transform lives through inspired learning, teaching, leadership, and research.

ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND

The University of Maryland (UMD) is the state’s flagship university and a leading public research institution, propelled by a $1.3 billion joint research enterprise. Located four miles from Washington, D.C., the university is dedicated to addressing the grand challenges of our time and is the nation’s first Do Good campus. It is driven by a diverse and proudly inclusive community of more than 50,000 fearless Terrapins. UMD is a top producer of Fulbright scholars and offers an unparalleled student experience with more than 300 academic programs, 25 living-learning programs and 400 study abroad programs. Spurred by a culture of innovation and creativity, UMD faculty are global leaders in their field and include Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners and members of the national academies.

BACK COVER

LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Every community owes its existence and strength to the generations before them, around the world, who contributed their hopes, dreams and energy into making the history that led to this moment.

Truth and acknowledgement are critical in building mutual respect and connections across all barriers of heritage and difference.

So, we acknowledge the truth that is often buried: We are on the ancestral lands of the Piscataway People, who are the ancestral stewards of this sacred land. It is their historical responsibility to advocate for the four-legged, the winged, those that crawl and those that swim. They remind us that clean air and pristine waterways are essential to all life.

This Land Acknowledgement is a reminder for each of us as two-leggeds to ensure our physical environment is in better condition than what we inherited, for the health and prosperity of future generations.

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