Graduating Students Celebrated in Various Ceremonies
Graduates were celebrated throughout April and May prior to our Commencement ceremonies.
Galloway, N.J. – Throughout April and May, graduating students were honored for their achievements in academic programs and student organizations, as well as inducted into honor societies, before May’s Commencement ceremonies in the Sports Center and Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall.
Below is a collection of these ceremonies and recognitions.
Undergraduate Programs
B.F.A. Senior Exhibition and Art & Industry Mixer
From Sunday, April 13, to Tuesday, April 29, graduating students from the Visual Arts program showcased their portfolios in their annual B.F.A. Senior Exhibition.
Additionally, student artists had the opportunity to network and meet with industry professionals during a mixer on the final night of the exhibition.
The Visual Arts program at Stockton provides students with the skills and knowledge to pursue a career in the arts or to prepare for graduate education. The Bachelor of Fine Arts degree includes concentrations in photography, studio art and visual communications.
Studio Art Graduates: Capri Cline, Marissa Niceler and Shegufta Sarah.
Visual Communications Graduates: Tevin Ayebare, Courtney Ballman, Megan Brady, Izabella Carman, Evan Carr, Emilie Guinan and Laura Randall.
Integrative Health Minor Graduation Ceremony
Over 50 students graduated from the Integrative Health minor program this academic year. 38 of them participated in a ceremony on Thursday, April 24, in the on-campus Art Gallery.
Students made an oath to use their knowledge to “restore, maintain and enhance the health” of their communities after graduation. In addition, there were speeches by the program's coordinator, Mary Lou Galantino, and the dean of the School of Health Sciences, Lee Bryant, as well as "experiential pearls" of wisdom from student Mackenzie Unsworth. Unsworth was also honored with the Emily Bessemer Service Award during the ceremony.
The Integrative Health minor (previously called the Holistic Health minor) is a program within the School of Health Sciences that provides students with a foundation to explore various holistic therapies and integrative medicine. Through interprofessional education, the minor helps students learn more about complementary and alternative health care through education, research and critical thinking among an array of health care professionals.
Africana Studies Rites of Passage Ceremony
Graduating seniors of Stockton’s Africana Studies program participated in a Rites of Passage ceremony on Friday, May 9, at the Atlantic City campus.
The ceremony, which marked their transition from student to scholar-activist, included libations from Assistant Professor of Africana Studies Kimoni Yaw Ajani, a dance tribute by Adjunct Professor of Dance Saleana Pettaway and her class, and words of wisdom from Malikah Stafford ‘22, an alumna of the program.
Additionally, two students were recognized for their induction into the Ankh Maat Wedjau Honor Society, a society run by the National Council for Black Studies.
The Africana Studies program within the School of Arts & Humanities provides the opportunity for students to study, analyze and systematically evaluate the various disciplines from an Africana perspective. The program gives students from all ethnic, racial and cultural backgrounds a forum to examine intellectual life, the historical experience and the cultural understanding of one of this country’s largest racial minority groups.
Graduates: Keisha Richards (B.A.); Robynn Burge; Magdalene Coleman; Mamoudou Diaby; Justice Gibson; Jayden “Akwasi” Hamlet; Elizabeth Macklin; Jada Marshall; Nicole Smith; Ivanna Taveras; Renee Tolliver; Alice Watt; and Teleyah Witherspoon.
Ankh Maat Wedjau Honor Society Inductees: Krisandra Bagaloo and Shane Moore.
Nursing Program’s Pinning Ceremony
The Nursing program within the School of Health Sciences held its 15th annual pinning ceremony on Thursday, May 15, in the Campus Center.
The baccalaureate Nursing program enables students to become registered nurses while completing their Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. The program works to develop students' understanding of theories and concepts from the physical, social and behavioral sciences and the humanities to prepare them to participate in a culturally diverse and ever-changing global society.
Graduate Programs
Doctor of Physical Therapy’s Commitment Ceremony
Future physical therapists made an official commitment to the profession in a white coat ceremony at the start of April.
Physical Therapy is a health care profession that improves and maintains an individual's ability to move and assists in the prevention of movement disorders. The DPT program within the School of Health Sciences' mission is to prepare students for contemporary physical therapy practice to function effectively for the patient/client, community and profession.
Master of Arts in Counseling Pinning Ceremony
Rather than a white coat ceremony, the Counseling graduate program decided to host a pinning ceremony for its graduates this April.
The Counseling program is a graduate program designed to educate and train students about best practices in mental health and in the skills necessary to work a diverse range of clients in a variety of settings. The program's curriculum includes instruction in human development, psychopathology, individual and group counseling, personality theory, career assessment, patient screening and referral, observation and testing techniques, interviewing skills, professional standards and ethics and applicable laws and regulations.
Finally Finished.D. Hooding Ceremony
Before the Master's/Doctoral Commencement ceremony on May 13, doctoral candidates in the Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership program celebrated their accomplishments with each other in the Noyes Arts Garage in Atlantic City on Saturday, May 3.
Photos submitted by Sequetta Sweet.
Dissertation topics amongst the candidates in this cohort included education, community engagement, storytelling and theological discourse.
The Ed.D. program at Stockton – which provides graduate students leadership development and network-building with executive-style seven-week courses – is completely virtual, making opportunities to celebrate in person that much more important and intimate for students.
Honor Societies
Eta Sigma Delta Hospitality Honor Society
Fourteen Stockton students in the Hospitality, Tourism and Event Management program were inducted into the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Educators Eta Sigma Delta Honor Society on Sunday, April 6.
Student leaders Grace Tarantino, Kaylie Shannon and Lydia Pool congratulated the new inductees in their remarks. Inductees took an oath and reflected on the honor society’s Points of Honor: excellence, leadership, creativity, service, ethics and diversity-equity-inclusion.
Eta Sigma Delta International Hospitality Management Society has about 90 chapters. The International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education administers the organization.
Beta Gamma Sigma Business Honor Society
Stockton’s chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society held an induction ceremony on Thursday, April 24, at the Atlantic City Campus.
New members were inducted by students Matthew Moore and Danielle Cordivari, who respectively serve as the chapter’s president and secretary, and faculty advisors George DeFeis, Petar Dobrev and Barry Palatnik.
The Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society has been recognizing business excellence since its founding in 1913. Membership in BGS is the highest worldwide recognition an undergraduate or graduate business student at an AACSB-accredited school can achieve.
Pi Sigma Alpha (Alpha Zeta Rho chapter) National Political Science Honor Society
During the Political Science program’s April 28 Faculty Spring Reception, Associate Professor of Political Science Lauren Balasco led the induction of nine students into the Alpha Zeta Rho chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Political Science Honor Society.
Pi Sigma Alpha is the only honor society for college and university students of political and social sciences in the United States. Its purpose is to recognize and promote high academic achievement in the field of political science.
Pi Delta Phi (Pi Zeta Chapter) French Honor Society
Stockton's Pi Zeta chapter of the Pi Delta Phi French Honor Society had its induction ceremony on Wednesday, April 30.
Pi Delta Phi is the highest academic honor in the field of French and the oldest academic honor society for a modern foreign language in the United States. The society’s purpose is to recognize outstanding scholarship in the French language and Francophone literature, increase Americans' knowledge and appreciation of the cultural contributions of the French-speaking world, and stimulate and encourage French and Francophone cultural activities.
Psi Chi Psychology Honor Society
New members of Stockton’s chapter of the Psi Chi Psychology Honor Society were inducted during the Psychology program’s research conference on Thursday, May 1.
Photos by Susan Allen.
The conference, held during the month-long Scholarship, Teaching & Research Symposium, included poster presentations, scholarship awards and a keynote on mental health disparities in under-resourced communities by licensed psychologists Bianca Villalobos and Juventino Hernandez. Additionally, alumna Jean Gwathney ’12 received the Distinguished Alumni Award and presented on her experiences as a school psychologist.
Psi Chi is a college student honor society in psychology with international outreach, founded in 1929 at the University of Kansas in the United States. Psi Chi is one of the largest honor societies in the United States, with more than 1,160 chapters.
New Jersey Collegiate Business Administration Association Honor Society
Four students were inducted into Stockton’s chapter of the New Jersey Collegiate Business Administration Association Honor Society at the New Jersey Statehouse in Trenton on Friday, May 2.
The New Jersey Collegiate Business Administration Association Honor Society (NJCBAA), established by the deans of the colleges of business at two-year and four-year colleges within New Jersey, recognizes the very highest academic achievement of undergraduate students pursuing their studies in the field of business.
Only the top 1% of students at their respective collegiate institutions are invited to join this honor society.
Special Recognitions
Rising STARs Recognition Ceremony
A new event spearheaded by the Student Transition, Access, and Retention (STAR) branch of Student Affairs recognized several students from six different departments and programs for their academic excellence, leadership and impact on Monday, April 14.
Photos by Lizzie Nealis.
Lavender Graduation
Graduating LGBTQ+ students were honored with a ceremony that included dinner, speeches and a pinning on Monday, May 12, in the Campus Center Event Room.
The tradition of hosting a lavender graduation ceremony for LGBTQ+ students has roots in the University of Michigan; a Jewish lesbian was denied entry to the graduations of her biological children because of her sexual orientation, leading her to design the first-ever ceremony in 1995. Since then, LGBTQ+ students at colleges and universities like Stockton University have been afforded the opportunity to be honored and celebrated in a ceremony in a safe and brave space with their loved ones.
The Women's, Gender & Sexuality Center empowers students who identify as women and all genders who identify as LGBTQIA+, victims of power-based personal violence and community allies. WGSC will accomplish this by promoting equality and justice, ensuring access to opportunities, and providing services through education and advocacy.
– Story by Loukaia Taylor
– Photos submitted
Featured Graduates – Class of 2025
Influential. Humble. Triumphant. These are traits of Stockton University’s Class of 2025.
Each of the more than 2,000 students graduating May 13 (Master's/Doctoral) & May 16 (Bachelor's) at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall has their own story of obstacles, hardship and adversity that led to the success of earning their Stockton degree.
Here we spotlight 11 of these students and congratulate the Class of 2025!
Master’s and Doctoral Graduates Urged to Lead with Kindness
May 13, 2025
Galloway, N.J. — Fatima Khawaja delivered a strong message for the 2025 master’s and doctoral degree graduates at Stockton University on May 13 to “use what we have learned for collective progress, not just personal success.”
The Mays Landing resident who received her master’s degree in Social Work said her studies taught her that “every struggle is connected,” and that when her fellow graduates see injustice, she hopes they would not look away.
“When we hear silence, let’s not mistake it for peace, and when we are called to act, let us not hesitate,” said Khawaja, who graduated with her bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Stockton in 2024.
This year’s Doctoral and Master’s Ceremony at the Sports Center on Stockton’s Galloway campus honored more than 350 graduates.
— Story by Mark Melhorn, photos by Susan Allen
Undergraduates Told That Through Struggle Comes Progress
May 16, 2025
Atlantic City, N.J. — Stockton University represents much more to Olivia Bereza than just a place to take classes.
“It’s a place filled with opportunities that allowed me to explore, pivot and ultimately, find my niche,” said the Class of 2025 graduate.
Bereza spoke at the university’s morning Commencement ceremony at 9:30 a.m. on May 16 at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall. A second ceremony was held at 2:30 p.m. More than 1,800 Class of 2025 graduates received bachelor’s degrees.
Stockton President Joe Bertolino reminded the attendees that they are ready to go out into the world not only because of what they learned at Stockton but because of how they learned it — through questioning, collaborating, solving real problems and standing up for what matters. Bertolino mentioned his Ethic of Care, and he called on all of the students to show others dignity, respect, kindness, compassion and civility.
-- Story by Mark Melhorn, photos by Susan Allen and Vernon Ogrodnek
