Albertus Magnus College Class of ’24 Ready to Soar
May 19 Event: Class of 2024 Represents Dominican Pillar of Community
New Haven, Conn, May 15, 2024 – Albertus Magnus College will hold its 101st Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 19, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. As has been the case for nearly a century, the celebration will begin with an impressive procession down Prospect Street in New Haven, leading to the College’s iconic Rosary Hall where annual traditions will take place. Each class at this Catholic College in the Dominican Tradition represents one of the Four Dominican Pillars of Study, Prayer, Community, and Service. The Class of 2024 highlights Community. Here are just a few of the students who are ready to make a positive impact on their community at large:
Robert “Bobby” Arent ’24 (Student-Athlete/Transfer)
Bachelor of Science in Accounting.
“I really feel like this College cares about you. It really pushes you to become your best self. You feel like you’re special at a College like this.”
Ana Lucía Gutierrez Gomez ’24 (International Student)
Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Management & Bachelor of Science in Public Health
“I’m the first in my family to live outside Mexico. When I walk around, there’s always someone saying ‘Hi’ to me. I’ve developed my own home.”
Dianny Ortiz ’24 (Professional Graduate Studies)
Master of Science in Instructional Design and Learning Technology.
“My why? It’s them, my girls. I feel like I’m doing it to show them that if they put their mind to it, they can do anything.”
Samantha Otranto ’24 (Traditional Undergraduate)
Bachelor of Arts in Communications, Bachelor of Arts in Psychology & Bachelor of
Arts in Social Media
“I’ve always had in the back of my mind since I was younger, ‘Oh, I’m going to college.’ I didn’t even think of the fact that I would be a first generation [student] or that first generation even existed.”
Charisma Prince ’24 (International Student/Traditional Undergraduate)
Bachelor of Science in Business Management & Bachelor of Arts in Political Science
“College means the ability to do something that I know a lot of people from where I’m from aren’t able to do.”
President Marc M. Camille, Ed.D will confer approximately 380 undergraduate and graduate degrees to the Class of 2024. Another Albertus Commencement tradition is the awarding of Honorary Degrees to distinguished individuals whose life and work embody the College’s mission, recognizing them for their inspiring, values-based leadership. The 2024 Albertus Honorary Degree recipients are:
Cindi Bigelow, third generation President and CEO of family-owned Bigelow Tea — the US market leader in specialty teas — will receive the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa and deliver the Commencement Address to the Albertus graduates.
Sr. Mary Grace Walsh '80, ASCJ, Ph.D., Albertus Magnus College Alumna with a Bachelor’s Degree in English, an Apostle of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the current Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of New York — appointed by His Eminence, Timothy Cardinal Dolan — also will receive the Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa.
In addition to bestowing honorary degrees, this year’s Albertus Commencement ceremony will mark the fifth presentation of the St. Dominic Medal, an honor that recognizes an individual or organization whose mission, values, and practices signify the College’s four core Dominican values: Study, Prayer, Community, and Service. For 2024, there are two recipients of this prestigious honor:
Dixwell Community House (Q House), a collaboration of local organizations committed to providing the New Haven Community with valuable and accessible resources, will receive the St. Dominic Medal. Accepting on behalf of the Q House is the organization’s Director and Albertus Alumna, Yakeita Robinson ‘20.
The Covenant School of Bridgeport, whose mission is to develop young leaders who are intellectually competent, open to growth, loving, compassionate, and committed to serving others, is the other St. Dominic medal awardee. Accepting on behalf of The Covenant School of Bridgeport is David Olson, principal.
About Albertus Magnus College
Albertus Magnus College, founded in 1925, is a coeducational Catholic College in the Dominican tradition. As New England's most diverse Catholic College, Albertus' values- and liberal arts-based education is recognized by external rankings such as US News & World Report, Money Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education, and has been named a Top 10 Military Friendly School. For eight consecutive years, graduating classes at Albertus have achieved post-graduate employment and graduate school success at a rate of at least 95%. The College has an enrollment of approximately 1,300 students across its traditional undergraduate, accelerated adult undergraduate, and 12 graduate programs. Proud to enroll a student body where more than half of its students come from minority backgrounds with nearly the same percentage of undergraduates receiving Federal Pell Grants and being first generation college goers, Albertus is known for its innovative curricular offerings, recently launching new Bachelor's degree programs in Nursing, General Health Sciences, Interdisciplinary Studies, Public Health, and Supply Chain Management; among its graduate programs is the State of Connecticut's only Master of Arts in Art Therapy and Counseling program. Just two years from its historic 100 th Anniversary Year, the College is implementing its Albertus 2025: Lighting the Way to a Second Century strategic plan, which articulates an inspiring, bold vision to "be a destination liberal arts-based college, distinguished in its interdisciplinary and experiential approach to education, rooted in Dominican values, that prepares students for lifelong civic engagement and success." To learn more, please visit albertus.edu.