More than 1,350 UHart Students Earned Their Degrees on May 18-19

More than 1,350 University of Hartford students celebrated the completion of their degrees during the University’s Graduate Commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 18, and Undergraduate Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 19. 

The 1,350 graduates come from 34 states and U.S. territories and 22 countries

Exceptional Student Stories: 

• Angelica Ansbacherof Massapequa Park, NY, is graduating with a degree in music education with honors. She was very active in her four years both on and off campus. At the end of her last semester, she was honored for having the highest grade point average in her Hartt graduating class. She has accepted an offer to be a fourth- and fifth-grade instrumental music teacher in West Hartford and will attend Teachers College at Columbia University part-time to earn an MA in Music and Music Education.
  
  
• Jaileene Arriagaof Hartford, Conn. Is the 2019 recipient of the University’s John G. Lee Medal presented to an exemplary senior based on academic excellence, community service, and a home address in one of 30 designated towns in Greater Hartford. When she arrived on campus, she brought with her 12 advanced placement credits earned at the Greater Hartford Academy of Aerospace and Engineering in Hartford. She also brought a passion for public policy that she has transformed into a 3.89 GPA in her two majors, sociology and politics and government, and in her minor, gender studies.  With a broad interest in voting, Arriaga focused her honors thesis on felon disenfranchisement, making the case for abolishing the practice. Her politics and government capstone project focused on the gender voting gap, hypothesizing about the future gap, and making policy recommendations to eliminate the inequality.  She will be participating in the Obama Foundation Community Leadership Corps this summer.
  
  
• Ryan Biggsof Wethersfield, Conn, was named the Mid-Atlantic Region’s Junior Sailor of the Year. Biggs is an active-duty Petty Officer Second Class in the U.S. Navy assigned to the Naval Reserve Unit in Plainville, Connecticut. In addition to his full-time role as funeral honors coordinator, he also serves as the training officer amongst other duties for the Navy Reservist—all while attending UHart full-time to study sociology. A husband and a father of two young children, Biggs still finds time to give back through the nonprofit Calling All Brothers, Inc., which brings men from the local community into public schools to mentor students and serve as role models. As part of his senior capstone project, Biggs spent 13 weeks in a Hartford public school to evaluate gender roles within the school system and the effect it has on students. Believing that it is “everyone’s responsibility to teach the kids,” Biggs says he is now considering earning a certification to teach, which could eventually lead to a career in school administration. He is also looking forward to getting involved in local politics in Wethersfield where he serves on the town’s Veterans Committee.
  
  
• Rachel, Derek, ad Kevin Bonaparte are tripletsfrom Middletown, Conn. Commencement day also is their mother’s birthday. Derek and Rachel had multiple internships in their four years at UHart. Derek and Kevin also enrolled in the University Honors Program and Kevin was a fellow in the Humanities Center during his senior year. Rachel and Kevin studied abroad in London together during their junior year. While Kevin and Rachel were in London, Derek was busy producing live Hartford Hawks Athletic events for ESPN3 and ESPN+. Derek and Rachel are receiving degrees in communication and Kevin a degree in computer science.
  
  
• Christopher Henryof Boston, Mass., is the youngest of nine children and will be the first in his family to graduate college. His mother brought the family to the United States from Haiti in hope of a better life. Amid negativity toward male dance artists in his community, Henry attended Boston Arts Academy, the city’s only inner-city performing arts high school. In his sophomore year at Hartt, he learned his mother had cancer and he considered dropping out to take care of her. She refused his offer. She died the summer before his junior year. After graduation, Henry will join Boston-based professional dance company Urbanity Dance to “continue to share his passion for the arts through teaching and choreographing to the world.”
  
  
• Billy McLaughlinof Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, is a biology major. She was a women’s lacrosse team member and will graduate with University Honors which means she took additional credits and wrote a thesis. McLaughlin was one of five UHart student athletes recently named an America East Presidential Scholar-Athlete for having a cumulative grade point average of 3.75 or higher. Her GPA is 3.91. She will continue her education at Kansas State School of Veterinary Medicine. 
  
  
• Jeffrey Severino of Bronx, NY, majored in mechanical engineering with a concentration in acoustics and computational. He interned with NASA and after graduation will continue working on his aero-acoustical research at NASA and attend graduate school at the University of Toledo. As has become the norm for at least the last decade, all 22 graduates in the College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture’s acoustics or acoustics and music majors who were actively looking have jobs (17) or have been accepted into graduate school (5).
  
  
• Three music theatre majors are already working at Hartford Stage. Taylor Lloyd, Gregory Rodriguez, and Jayke Workman are performing in the ensemble of The Flamingo Kidat through June 9.
  
  
• Sheri Sereciof South Windsor, Conn., began taking classes toward a bachelor’s degree at UHart in 2001 when she was 33 years old. For several years, she took one course a semester at night and worked full-time. Despite sometimes being unable to take courses due to family or work issues, she persevered. On Sunday, after 18 years, she graduates with a bachelor of University Studies.
  
  
• Rachel Williams, of St. Paul, Minn., majored in Health Sciences, was a tutor, volunteered with Project Consent and the American Red Cross, and was an officer of the Pre-Med Club. She will attend Thomas Jefferson University for nursing and a master’s in Nurse Midwifery.