Siena Heights University held their commencement ceremony for their College of Arts and Sciences on Sunday, May 6th. The beautiful ceremony took place in the field house on the SHU campus, which was filled with joyful families, friends, mentors, and of course soon-to-be graduates.
WLEN News interviewed the President of Siena Heights University, Sister Peg Albert, OP, PhD, just moments before the festivities. Of course, the topic of conversation was the class of 2018 and how proud she is of them:
After the invocation and a welcome from the Siena Heights University faculty, Girard Brown ’18 was the College of Arts and Sciences Student Speaker. WLEN News has the entire speech below:
Patricia Bell and Daniel Bell were each awarded a Doctorate of Humane Letters from SHU. Their commitment to impoving their communities through both leadership and philanthropy over the last several decades has led to a long list of recognitions and awards, including the Alvah H. Chapman, Jr. “Humanitarian Award”; a “Silver Medallion Humanitarian” award by the Miami Coalition of Christians and Jews; Miami-Dade’s “Outstanding Philanthropists” by the Associaton of Professional Fundraisers; Miami’s “Power Couple” by Big Brothers Big Sisters; and a “Lifetime Achievement” award from the FIU Robert Stemple College of Public Health.
WLEN News captured audio from their talks:
Graduates were then welcomed to the Siena Heights University Alumni Association by Dory Garcia Bryant ’88, the President of the Alumni Association Board of Directors.
After the welcome, all the graduates had to do was walk across the stage and receive their diplomas, a true culmination of all of their hard work in higher education. A Dominican Blessing was then bestowed upon the graduates:
“May God Creator bless us,
May God Redeemer heal us,
And may God the Holy Spirit enlighten us,
Give us eyes to see,
Ears to hear and hands to do the work of God,
Feet to walk the path of justice and mouths to preach the word,
And may the angel of peace watch over us,
And lead us at last to God’s gift of the Kingdom. Amen.”
Then, the moment everyone in the room was waiting for, Sister Peg Albert, OP, PhD, congratulated the graduating class and conferred the degrees earned:
A benediction was then given by Father John Grace, the University Chaplain.
And with that, the hard work paid off, and several hundred Siena Heights University graduates were “released” into the world, equipped with the necessary tools to succeed.
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