The weather may have been cold and rainy, but the mood was jubilant May 7 as Penn State Lehigh Valley held its 2022 Commencement ceremony.

A total of 120 students completed their associate or bachelor’s degree during the academic year. Of those, 92 walked at the ceremony, which was held on the campus grounds and presided over by Chancellor Tina Q. Richardson and Director of Academic Affairs Anibal Torres Bernal.

This year’s keynote speaker, Penn State alumnus Hussam A. Yacoub, D.O., a board-certified vascular neurologist affiliated with Lehigh Valley Health Network, shared some of the accumulated wisdom he’s gained throughout his life and career.

“Success is not something that is typically achieved in a short period of time, and how you define that word – success – likely varies for each of you,” Yacoub said. “Regardless of how you define it, success is simply determined by and is a reflection of what you do. And it almost always requires perseverance, determination and sacrifice. ... And each day – each year – you will continue to develop, because there is no end stage or last day of success. You are not finished when you graduate or get a job ... or when you start a family. It is a lifelong process – and each of those achievements may, in fact, mark a new beginning.”

Kayla Vega, who received her Bachelor of Arts in psychology, was chosen to serve as student marshal. She delivered a powerful, optimistic message touching on the perseverance she and her fellow graduates gained while pursuing their degrees during the many uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We shared feelings of isolation and stress. With no physical interaction with our classmates and our professors, we constantly second-guessed ourselves, especially on how to complete assignments. Then, the clouds lifted. We entered our senior year on campus and we finally felt our lives begin to normalize,” Vega said. “But, during that difficult time, we all developed a whole other set of skills. We learned coping skills. We learned discipline and resilience. We learned how to accept, deal with and overcome challenges. We also learned the importance of not only our family and friends, but also of faculty and staff. These skills that we’ve added to our tool belts will deeply enhance our future success as we move forward in our lives.”

In her remarks, Richardson struck a similar note of students triumphing over adversity.

“Let me start by expressing to the graduates how truly proud I am of all of you, for not only completing your degree, but for the incredible perseverance you’ve demonstrated throughout the course of this entire pandemic,” Richardson said. “These past two years have certainly been difficult, ever-changing times for higher education, but you have met every challenge thrown your way, so it cannot be overstated how impressed I am personally with you. Please trust me when I say that when you confront adversity, it definitely has the ability to make you more prepared for the bright future awaiting you.”

Also at the ceremony, Steven Kuchera, vice president of the Penn State Lehigh Valley Alumni Society, welcomed the graduates into the Penn State Alumni Association. In addition, Richardson announced a new campus scholarship for corporate communication students has been established in honor of Lecturer in Business and Economics and Corporate Communication Program Coordinator Bob Wolfe, who will retire this summer after more than a decade of service to the campus.

“Bob has been such a force of positivity and inspiration for so many of us that we couldn’t let him leave without something truly special to mark his time here,” Richardson said.

Associate Professor of Chemistry Roger Egolf served as this year’s commencement campus marshal and Associate Teaching Professor of Psychology Kevin Kelley was chosen by Vega to serve as faculty marshal.

The Penn State Lehigh Valley graduates are:

Associate in Science in Business: Ilianna Garcia, Fadi N. Giacobbe and Patrick William Rivers

Associate in Arts in Letters, Arts and Sciences: Robert Shoemaker

Bachelor of Science in Biobehavioral Health: Ruasl Latteef Attaa Aldhaheri, Jeanette Bautista, Lexis M. Brownstein, Jerad Flatt, Ivanna Hanna, Chelsea K. Lopez, Justin A. Sackey, Fatima Said, Esther Santiago, Sabrina Sleiman, Julie Elizabeth Stout, Kristina Lynn Streit, Avery Taylor and Dillon Trenge

Bachelor of Science in Business: Sophie Adams, Diego Avalos, Bryce Mark Bachman, Peter Banak, Anthony Belsky, Michelle Bosques, Austin Brooks, Anthony Caiazzo, Sara Deberardinis, Abby Feichtel, Guanyun Feng, Katheryn Fernanda Garrido Carrasco, Nicholas Zachary Herman, Sideris Karakatsanidis, Kiranpreet Kaur, Michael Stephen Kielar, Bryce Alan Kolbe, Andre Peele, Jacob Powers, Leonardo Rafael Rivera, Trevor James Rockwell, Nathan Salukas, Philip Todd Schwartz Jr., Meaghan Sheehan, Elysa Stout, Allison C. Toth, Zachary Unger and James Waterstradt

Bachelor of Arts in Chinese: Qobi Quainoo

Bachelor of Arts in Corporate Communication: Timothy Cashman, Hayley Lyn Guzzo, Olivia B. Howe, Leanna Koutsoumbis, Sierra Morgan Mamay, Jennifer Morales, Jasmine M. Morocho, Megan O’Donnell and Madison Reed Shupp

Bachelor of Science in Finance: Fadi Matar

Bachelor of Science in Health Policy and Administration: Kelly Anita Bossert, Rebecca Ganthier, Brooke Lindsey Imboden, Maria Mahfoud, Jacqueline Sarah Mohr, Nadine Sabbagh and Kacie Snyder

Bachelor of Science in Information Technology: Amir Al-Sahsah, Dawson Binder, Kameron Dangleben, Mansi Desai, Joseph T. Jabbour, Khushminder Jassal, Basel Walid Kaskas, Zachary Morehouse, Maxwell Naughton, Nam Hoai Pham, Miguel A. Sanchez and Michelle Zachmann

Bachelor of Science in Project and Supply Chain Management: Sophie Adams, Tyler Bonsall, Ytzelk Carbuccia, Patrick Gleason, Conor Heitzer, Sundeep Kaur, Jordan Mann, Joshua Marchak, Quinn J. Munro, Leonardo Rafael Rivera, Nicholas Silvaggio, Zakary V. Spess, Victoria Rose Stopper and Zachary Dillon Wojcik

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology: Taylor Hughes, Gabrielle Hyppolite, Christina Kamel, Morgan Krause, Wisleidy A. Plasencia, Michael James Reif, Skye Luna Soto, Ana Jaymeth Truty and Kayla S. Vega

Bachelor of Science in Psychology: Karalyn Elizabeth Binder, Jade Ashleigh Buskirk, Justin Lebon, Alexis Matlack, Celeste Nunez and Melissa Saca

Bachelor of Science in Rehabilitation and Human Services: Sabrina E. Alvarez Pajes, Kristin Naja Curry, Isatu Deen, Giovanna Erie, Nicole Hamoui, Juliane Elizabeth Haussmann, Alexis Lorraine Hoffman, Aliyah Major, Isaac Newton Martinez, Samantha Meeker, Katarina Rose Mondillo, Cara Marie Rocchino, Taylor Rae Styles, Anaya Celest White and Corey Nicole Wilson

Enterprise Resource Planning Certificate with SAP: Sophie Adams, Aimee Allen, Ytzelk Carbuccia, Conor Heitzer, Joshua Marchak and Leonardo Rafael Rivera

Non-Credit Certificates:

Assisted Living Administrator: Wendy Ballick and Stephanie Wanner

Digital Marketing Institute: Vaishnavi Ajila, Jerson Batista, Dylan Brad, Harsh Desai, John Langdon Harris, Viacmely Jimenez, Michelle Madeleine Moore, Pallari Mujumdar, Aaryan Patel, Brianna Peters, Don Phan, Qofi Quainoo and Suryanarayanan Sayeesubramanian

Nursing Home Administrator: Ruth Amoah- Koomson, Shanice Clarke, Tina Hangey, Darwin Mitchell, Andrew Nicholas, Karli Rooney, Reshawn Shipe, Alexa Shrecengost and Lori Simons

Personal Care Home Administrator: Christine Engelhardt, Renee Gibson, Stephanie Shumbris and Lori Simons

Practical Nursing: Kelli Barker, Kristin Bartz, Danielle Braswell Nelson, Ruth Cortes-Luciano, Cindy Cruz, Madeline Deschler, Monique Dullivan, Vanessa Foster, Stacey Heckman, Shaylynn Jones, Marie Martinez, Sierra Mazac, Emily Medellin, Jamie MoDavis, Jasmin Nelson, Monesha Nimmons, Samantha Ortiz, Kathlynn Painter, Ashley Ritz, Dorothy Salako, Olivia Smith and Ann Marie Watson

Project Management Class: Eric Allison, Frank Babarsky, Michael Bonno, Jeffrey Burrell, Carmen Canaii, Robert Canova, AJ Ceccacci, Nicholas DeAntonio, James Dominick, Katlin Edmunds, Damian Edwards, Holley Evans, Donald R. Gilchrist Jr., Kevin Jayne, Jared Kavalow, Mark Landmesser, Mike Lombardo, Joe Lynn, Ryan Matthews, Amanda Mayer, Ryvers McGlone, Robert McPhillips, Roni Nawrocki, Sean Richards, Walter Rohan, Jessica Rollyson, Dominick Silvetti, Bradley Snyder, Tracy Stender, Tom Sweeney, Stacy Taylor, Stephen Voyton, Jim Watkins and Steve Wiltz

Society for Human Resource Management: Adam Beani, Stephanie Behrends, Erica Burrows, Jordan Marie Chandler, Gina Marie deLauretis, Tawanda Montes Lighty, Alexis Gates, Kelly Sue Guerrero, Magdieh Juleika Hernandez, Aislinn Kari, Elizabeth Mary Kelly, Lawren Konschnik, Eric Ronald Madison, Loriann Mulvey-Barbato, Priya Nair, Barbara Philips, Jackie Warren and Rand R. Yazji