Boisterous, Supportive Crowd Gives Fitting Send Off to 240 Graduates at Stevenson’s Winter Commencement

The weather outside was beautiful and the atmosphere inside was spirited—from both graduates and their family and friends—as more than 240 students received their diplomas during Stevenson’s Winter Commencement ceremonies, Monday, December 15.

Claire Moore, Vice President for Student Affairs, has attended more than 50 commencements while at Stevenson. This particular ceremony, she said, rivaled any in terms of the amount of passion and energy in the audience. When the final graduate walked across the stage, the audience erupted with an unprompted standing ovation.

“It was exuberant. The crowd was beyond proud of their graduates,” Moore said. “They were so happy, and the feeling was contagious.”

The ceremony, held in Stevenson’s Greenspring Gym, also featured remarks from Stevenson President Kevin J. Manning, Ph.D. and Michael K. Robinson, Program Coordinator and Adjunct Professor of Cyber Forensics.

Robinson, delivering the keynote address, urged graduates to remember that for the rest of their lives their degree is something that no one can ever take away from them. He also described how along with that degree comes a lifetime bond to the University and a connection to Stevenson’s traditions.

Commencement also included the distribution of various awards highlighting student achievements. They were as follows:

Dean’s Award for Exceptional Scholarship Graduate Recipient: Michelle Lynn Brazil

Dean’s Award for Exceptional Scholarship Undergraduate Recipient: Alyssa Michelle Yuan

Elizabeth McWethy Award: Jaiana DeNean Boskett

Orsia F. Young Leadership Award: Antoine Cortez Scott, Mercedes Maria Vilasoa, Justin Ellis Rosen

Dorothy Stang Award: Timothy John Campbell

Outstanding Part-Time Student Award: Sarafina Maria Glorioso

Marion and Henry J. KnottAchievement Award: Britni Arlene Torres

John Mitchell Award: Nicholas Alexander Downey

SU Pin: Ellen Grace Olson

Stevenson University, known for its distinctive career focus, is the third-largest independent undergraduate university in Maryland with more than 4,400 students pursuing bachelor’s, master’s, and adult bachelor’s programs at locations in Stevenson and Owings Mills.