2026 Graduate Commencement
Friday, May 15, 2026听
Four听o鈥檆lock听in the evening听
草榴视频鈥�听
Mass Mutual Center鈥�听
President Linda Thompson,听Dr.P.H., MPH, DNP (hc), RN, FAAN听
William Salka, Ph.D., Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs听
Ali Salehi, Chair, Board of Trustees
Program Overview
Graduates may order up to one copy of the 2026听Commencement commemorative print program through the form provided in their 草榴视频 email. Orders must be received by听Friday, May听30th. All programs will be mailed as they are available.鈥�
Schedule of Events
WELCOME
William Salka, Ph.D., Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs
COLOR GUARD
草榴视频 Police Officers
THE NATIONAL ANTHEM
Savannah Sweeney, Class of 2026
GREETINGS
President Linda Thompson, Dr.P.H., MPH, DNP (hc), RN, FAAN听
Ali Salehi, Chair, Board of Trustees
THE COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS
Dr. Joseph Camilleri, Professor, Psychology Department and 2025 John F. Nevins Award Recipient
PRESENTATION OF
THE JOHN F. NEVINS OUTSTANDING EDUCATOR AWARD
William Salka, Ph.D., Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs
Leonardo Andrade
David Bjorklund
Joseph Camilleri
Jennifer Cox
Tamera Crenshaw
Kelly Galanis
Wyatt Hermansen
Mark Horwitz
Tricia Kiefer听
Christopher Kudlac
Juliet Lee听
Nicholas Morrison听
Kimberly Tobin听
Ashley Torres听
CJ Van Wright听
CONFERRING OF DEGREES
President Linda Thompson, Dr.P.H., MPH, DNP (hc), RN, FAAN听
Ali Salehi, Chair, Board of Trustees
PRESENTATION OF DEGREES AND ACADEMIC HOODS
Nora Padykula, Ph.D., LICSW, Dean, Division of Graduate and Continuing Education
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION REMARKS
Colleen Murphy Clifton 鈥�11, President, Westfield听State Alumni Association
University Leadership
WESTFIELD STATE UNIVERSITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES听
Ali R. Salehi,鈥�Chair鈥赌赌�听
Melissa A. Alvarado 鈥�99, Vice Chair鈥�听
Gloria B. Williams, Ed.D. 鈥�77,鈥�Secretary鈥赌�听
Barney Garcia, Class of 2026,鈥�Student Trustee听
George Gilmer 鈥�92鈥赌�听
Theresa A. Jasmin鈥赌�听
Tessa Lucey 鈥�89听
Chris Montemayor 鈥�90, 鈥�09,鈥�Alumni Trustee鈥赌�听
Michael O鈥橰ourke ’73听
Jay Queenin听
Hon. William C. Reichelt 鈥�09鈥�听
听
SENIOR ADMINISTRATORS听
President Linda Thompson,听Dr.P.H., MPH, DNP (hc), RN, FAAN听
William Salka, Ph.D.,听Provost听and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs听
Michael Freeman, Ph.D., Special Assistant to the President on University Strategies and Chief of Staff听听
Kevin Hearn,听Ed.D., Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs
Richard Lenfest, Jr., Director of Athletics听听
Lisa听McMahon Interim听Vice President for Institutional Advancement听听
(Through December 2025)听
Robert P. Ziomek Vice President for Institutional Advancement (2026 鈥� present)听
Melinda Phelps, General Counsel and Vice President for Government and Community Relation听
Stephen Taksar, Vice President for Administration and Finance听听
听
ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP听
Brian Jennings, Ph.D., Associate Provost听
Nora Padykula, Ph.D., LICSW, Dean, Division of Graduate and Continuing Education听
M.K.听Balasubramanya, Ph.D., Dean of the College of听Arts听and Sciences听
Kimberly Sherman, Ph.D., Interim Dean of the College of Professional Studies听
Our Proud Graduates鈥�
*听 indicates an Anticipated Graduate
Candidates for the Degree of Master of Arts鈥�
Applied Behavior Analysis
Krysa Boyce
Lindsay E. Dion
Zebo Guseynova
Glenda Masin Serrano
Brittany Marie Smith
Katherine Steele
Bailey Claire Thomas
Counseling
Juliana Rosa Batista Oleksak
Sara Chang
Charles David Clark
Shauna Lyndsey Condon
Erin Ann Devaney
Michael J. Dunn
Lucias Garcia Snow
Kaitlyn Hyde
Karina Grace Little
Austin Daniel Lozada
Keishla Ann Marie Mangual
Mary Kathleen McAleavey
Hayden Menard
Sarah Lauren Passer
Karli Jean Rigali
Kage Jonus Sagan
Melissa Sehnaz Sayici
Heena Shafique
Kamber Marie Sorel
Lauren Danielle Mason Thompson
Diana Christine Vershon
Jennifer Yelin
English
David Joseph Cook
Yasaman Khoshbakht
Tyler Morrissette
Elizabeth Ann Sears
Stephen Howard Symiakakis
Candidates for the Degree of Master of Education
Biology
Joseph Timothy Boulia听
Early Childhood Education
Bryonna Denise Lockett-Mark
Lauren Olivia Rinaldi
Ashley Rocketfield
Amanda Tesini
Elementary Education
Bethany Haller
Ashley Brooke Piantek
History
Nathaniel Leonardo Bresaz
Mark Dargie
Thorstein Ryuta Murray
Mathematics
William E. Soto Jr.听
Movement Science
Brandon Michael Castor
Sydney Cloutier
Kathy Ann DiMaggio
Kristin Elizabeth Furtado
Joel Nathaniel Kibbe
Evan D. Woodworth
Reading Specialist
Grace Barnes
Danielle Lee Lutenegger
Haley McCormick
Heather Elizabeth Louise Potter
Special Education
Audrey Console
Madison Angelo
Matthew S. Erbentraut
Bethany Jayne Fornal
Nelli Maldonado
Chelsey Arlene Mathews
Madeline Pelak
Erika Christine Wildman
Candidates for the Degree of Master of Public Administration鈥�
Public Administration
Kelson Burke
Emily Jean Ciccolo
Rosa M. Colon
Pamela Helen Couchon
Victor Fu
Rachel L. Gelina
Daniel Christopher Hamel
Brittney L. Kraus
Lawrence Li
Naima Masesa
Christopher Nolan-Zeller
Kristen Nicole Owens
Anthony Rivera
Harry Santiago
Laura Jean Waskiewicz
Candidates for the Degree of Master of Science
Accounting
Alexandria Coleman
Joseph Dintzner
Ahmed Jebur
Criminal Justice
Angela Boucher
Rachel Bunce
Hannah Cahill*
Nicholas Kenneth Mayo
Kenneth Borges-Vega
Emma Branson
Robert John Wolfgang Dragone
Anatol Fox
Adam R. Howe
Jordan Liszka*
Kaitlyn Rankins
Janessa Santana
Peter Anthony Spinale
Brian C Strong
Tammy Jean Thompson
Physician Assistant
Victoria Rose Altamira
Hannah Lee Ammirato
Anna Elizabeth Avakian
Isabelle Grace Bongiorno
Kaoutar Bouaitah
Devan Chen
Sara Marie Clark
Yasmina Darwish-Houssami
Jessica Mary Debs
Gina Rose DiGiacomo
Madison Emma Dover
Maya Pederneira Ferris
Dereck N. Hall
Christopher Kenneth Hokanson
Lily Kent
Megan MacVicar
Morgan Emily McBurney
Olivia McGrail
Aya Miller
Hailee Elizabeth Monies
Jonathan Moore
Melanie Moreno
Felicia Creswell Phelps
J. Mauricio Quizhpi
Jamie Staples
Brandon Michael Sullivan
Jehan Tiana Tavares-Mathurin
Candidates for the Degree of Master of Social Work
Social Work
Cameron D. Abdalla
Ne茂ssa Ross Junie Ambroise
Allison Renee Sullivan Arbib
Michelle Therese Bedard
Abigail Bliss
Dominique Brooks
Hayley L. Brown
Jennifer Marie Brown
Alison Bui
Walter A. Cabreja
Brianna Cassidy
Christian Castro
Cassandra Jean Cooper
Ian P. Coyne
Timothy Croteau
Katelynn Cruz
Ryan J. Daly
Justin Derek DeBarge
Colleen Marie DeGowin
Madeleine DelVicario
Kendris Milagros De Leon Ceballos
Madeline Charlotte Tess Desautels
Victoria Rose Dolan
Nayshali Marie Dupuis Nu帽ez
Francis Dzanka
Felicha Erazo
Eric J. Friedland-Kays
Paige Matthews
Aleicia R. Gillum
Jocelyn Ivette Gomez
Victoria D. Gonzalez Rodriguez
Shayan Lydia Grayson
Jessica L. Green
Laura L. Greer
Casey Mia Hathaway-Piccole
Meredith DiNatale Henry
Joanna Heretick
Jennifer Lynne Hossenlopp
Nicolle Tiffany Hou
Leigh Anna Hyre
Sarah Jackson
Oomiya Catherine Kawas
Derrick Killebrew
Gabriela Leon
Frank Lunetta
Samantha Garcia
Ivana V. McGlinchey
Krina Mccoy
Hannah Susan Mitchell
Isabella Margaret Moniz
Belma Moreira
Cameron Mortimer-Berg
Tanairy Gabrielle Mulero
Sarah Mohamed Nabulsi
Jeffrey H. Nelson
Francheska Nunez-Jimenez
Elissa Pietrass
Lori J. Schneider
Brittany Kayla Szadis
Henry Joseph Smith
Cody Spencer
May Sullivan-Low
Hayley J. Tobin
Sokrany Top
Alissa Marie Torres Santiago
Sydney Turner
Liana S. Varosky
Khiara Lucylle Velez-Rivera
Rosely Vila
Leah Webb-Halpern
Elizabeth Ann Williamson
Aleyshka Crystal Zayas Caez
Lorelei Mann
Isabella Marie Alexander
Yeraly Aquino de la Cruz
Olivia Antoinette Brighenti
Robert E. L. Carroll
Lauren Marie Champiny
Brianne Angela Crowley
Erin Elizabeth Crowley
Javier Enrique Cruz
Tyler Gellert
Riana Grace Gittens
Elijah James Giugno
Siobhan Marie Hoffman
Justin Leis
Steven James Lindsay
Jacob Liverman
Zachary Marks
Elizabeth Minahan
Dorian Uchenna Nnaji
Monica Paulina Ovalles Franjul
Brittany Nicole Patrick
Jessenia Marie Perez
Ashley Pope
Alejandro Luis Rios
Natalie J. Roll
Jos茅 Antonio Rosario L贸pez
Payton Salvaggio
Malia Sands
Jade Czerw Schapiro
Andrea Rae Schrader
Vicky Sheerin
Rachel Snow
Sean Stanton
Ashely Thom
Jordyn Vandergrift
Karin Walz
Alexander Wenger
Appearance of a name in the Commencement program is presumptive evidence of graduation and/or participation but is not conclusive. The official transcript, sealed and signed by the Registrar, exclusively and definitively confirms the student鈥檚 academic record and possession of degree(s) awarded by 草榴视频.听
