Class of 2020 recognized with event including special well wishes
05/29/2020
Contacts for media: Christine Gillette, 978-758-4664, Christine_Gillette@uml.edu and Nancy Cicco, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu
LOWELL, Mass. – UMass Lowell offered the Class of 2020 a special send-off on Friday, May 29, complete with best wishes for the more than 4,000 graduates’ future from some well-known names and faces.
UMass Lowell Chancellor Jacquie Moloney presided over the university’s first-ever virtual Commencement ceremony in its 125-year history, congratulating the Class of 2020 – 4,434 strong, representing 45 states and 108 nations, and 1,624 graduating with honors.
“As you go forward, I hope you will continue to build on the strengths that you brought to UMass Lowell: your intelligence, your hard work and your perseverance. These qualities, along with the excellent education that you received, are exactly what you will need to be successful in our post-pandemic world,” Moloney told graduates. “Continue to nurture those dreams that first brought you to the university and build on the knowledge and skills that you have learned here as River Hawks. Turn the challenges brought upon us by this global pandemic into opportunities, just as you have done every step of the way. It’s what we’ve taught you to do and we have full confidence in your abilities as graduates of this great university to go on and meet them head on. It’s what we have done as a university for 125 years.”
Moloney said that while the university community remains hopeful that the occasion can be celebrated at a later date in person, “we wanted to do our best to commemorate this important milestone with you. So today, we’re going to bring you all the pomp and circumstance that we possibly can, starting with a few messages from friends of UMass Lowell.”
Those friends offering their well wishes to UMass Lowell’s Class of 2020 included UMass Lowell alumni TV personality Taniya Nayak and meteorologist Sarah Wroblewski; Food Network chef Robert Irvine; sports broadcasters John Buccigross of ESPN, Kathryn Tappen of NBC Sports and Baseball Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley and his NESN colleagues Tom Caron, Jerry Remy and Dave O’Brien; and past Commencement speakers and honorees including Oscar winner Chris Cooper and author Marianne Leone Cooper, Judy Woodruff of PBS, Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart, Steve Kornacki of MSNBC, U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan and University of Maryland Baltimore County President Freeman Hrabowski. Those wishes, as well as the full ceremony, can be viewed at www.uml.edu/commencement.
Dropkick Murphys gave their own special shout-out to graduates via video during the ceremony after student Commencement speaker Rachel Recordof Pepperell quoted their lyrics in her speech to fellow graduates to describe the resilience they’ve shown throughout their lives so far: “You make the best of the hand you’re dealt, because a quitter never wins. … And the kid from Lowell rises to the bell.”
“Our strength lies in our diversity and one of my favorite things about us River Hawks is that we respect and see the strength in those differences,” said Record, urging graduates to “have courage, as you have demonstrated; stay kind, as you always have been; and continue to put your heart and soul into everything you do. You are the River Hawks from UMass Lowell and you will rise to the bell.”
Record is the recipient of one of six Trustee’s Keys awarded this year to graduates who completed their entire college education in eight semesters at UMass Lowell with a perfect grade-point average and one of the winners of a Chancellor’s Medal for Academic Achievement. More than 100 other graduates completed their degrees with 4.0s.
Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito delivered the Commencement address, which included encouragement that despite the difficult time and the loss of some traditions, she and everyone at UMass Lowell, as well as graduates and their families should be excited “for the journey you are about to embark on and all the good you will do.”
“Your time at UMass Lowell has developed your skills, honed your instincts and set your compass for success in all the years ahead,” said Polito. “As this nation and this Commonwealth move forward to defeat the virus, rebuild our economy and emerge better and stronger and more unified than ever before, we will be looking to you, the Class of 2020. You are our problem-solvers, you are our innovators and you are our rising stars and we need you right now more than ever.”
UMass President Marty Meehan, a UMass Lowell alumnus, noted that this is a bittersweet moment for UMass Lowell graduates and those across the UMass system and the nation.
“The reality we are facing today doesn’t align with the optimistic future each of you represents. But we will get through this. Your UMass Lowell degree positions you to achieve great things in the years to come,” said Meehan, citing the leadership of graduates of the UMass campuses in fields from science and medicine to business, the arts and education in Massachusetts and around the world. “Graduates, I’m proud of all that you have accomplished during your time at UMass Lowell and I am proud of your perseverance. I know your greatest achievements are still in front of you.”
UMass Trustee Mary Burns, a UMass Lowell graduate, cited the board’s focus on “this moment of your graduation. We believe in the transformative power of public higher education. And we are excited for your work and leadership in the Commonwealth, in your communities and around the globe. Your creativity, resilience and hard work are needed now more than ever before…The degree conferred on you today is from a world-class university and the members of the board have every confidence that it has prepared you well for the journey that lies ahead.”
UMass Lowell Provost Joseph Hartman welcomed graduates and their families to the ceremony and provided a thank-you to first responders from the university community: “During the last few months, we’ve been reminded that others are also always on the front line protecting us. On behalf of everyone at UMass Lowell, I’d like to thank all of our doctors, nurses, EMTs, laboratory technicians and many other health-care workers who give so much of their time and skills, while away from their families, to protect all of us.”
Following the universitywide ceremony, individual recognition for graduates, including the reading of their names, was held by each school and college, led by deans Eleanor Abrams (College of Education), Luis Falcon (College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences), Shortie McKinney (Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences), Noureddine Melikechi (Kennedy College of Sciences), Sandra Richtermeyer (Manning School of Business) and James Sherwood (Francis College of Engineering).
This year’s Commencement celebration included the presentation of top awards to graduates. These include the Trustee’s Key, which went to Record as well as the following:
- Brett Daniels of Harvard, mechanical engineering major;
- Kyle Foster of Sterling, mechanical engineering major;
- Jonathan Johnson of Attleboro, biology major;
- Veyli Ortiz Solis of Haverhill, a criminal justice major;
- Pomaika’i Pai of Bristol, Pa., information technology major.
Chancellor’s Medals for Outstanding Academic Achievement – which go to the top undergraduates in each of UMass Lowell’s schools and colleges, as well as its Division of Graduate, Online and Professional Studies – were awarded to:
- College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences – Kimberly Cosgrove of Boxford, a graphic design major, along with Trustee’s Key winners Ortiz Solis and Record;
- Francis College of Engineering – Chemical engineering major Liam Bingham-Maas of Middleboro, electrical engineering major Benjamin Fisher of South Hamilton and mechanical engineering majors Willoughby Cheney of Belmont, Brett Daniels of Harvard and along with Trustee’s Key winner Foster;
- Kennedy College of Sciences – Computer science majors Benjamin Fine of Dracut and Woburn residents Yassir Kanane and Amy Mazzucotelli, along with Johnson, who also received a Trustee’s Key;
- Manning School of Business – Business administration major Stephen Flynn of Tewksbury;
- Division of Graduate, Online and Professional Studies – Information technology major Brian Cowan of Billerica, English major Emily Singley of Greenfield, along with key winner Pai;
- Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences – Exercise physiology major Melissa Lubas of Haverhill.
This year’s University Scholar-Athlete Award goes to Justin Carbone of Exeter, N.H., a plastics engineering major, for achieving a 3.9 GPA and his accomplishments as a member of the men’s cross country and track and field teams.
The recipients of the Chancellor’s Medal for Community Service are:
- Oritsegbemi Mene Ejegi of Lowell, master’s degree in public health;
- Michael Johnston of Dracut, master’s degree in engineering management;
- Andrea Patino Galindo of Chelmsford, business administration major;
- Nicole Haas of Nashua, N.H., master’s degree in public health;
- Samuel Munnelly of Litchfield, N.H., mechanical engineering major;
- Dorothy Nankanja of Haverhill, biology major.
UMass Lowell awarded the Chancellor’s Medal for Diversity and Inclusion to:
- Nicole Cruz Merced of Lowell, master’s degree in community social psychology;
- Diana Santana of Lowell, master’s degree in community social psychology;
- Fang Zhang of Chelmsford, doctoral degree in chemistry.
The Chancellor’s Medal for Student Service recipients are
- Hikma Abajorga of Lowell, plastics engineering major;
- Kellsie Howard of Georgetown, business administration major;
- Siddhant Iyer of Lowell, plastics engineering major;
- Surbhi Mavi of Lowell, biology major;
- David Morton of Boxford, business administration and political science major;
- Sophia Samih of Tewksbury, nursing major.
The River Hawk Experience Distinction was presented to graduates for their achievements within and beyond the classroom who complete courses and experiences in a specific field: Montana Heise of Lowell in Global Engagement and Eliana Purtell of Billerica in Leadership.
UMass Lowell is a national research university located on a high-energy campus in the heart of a global community. The university offers its more than 18,000 students bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, humanities, sciences and social sciences. UMass Lowell delivers high-quality educational programs, vigorous hands-on learning and personal attention from leading faculty and staff, all of which prepare graduates to be leaders in their communities and around the globe. www.uml.edu