“Commencement ceremonies are the public recognition of your accomplishments and demonstrate the University’s pride in your achievement. I don’t know what your journey holds in store, but I do know you are leaving with one of the most recognized degrees in the world.” -- Chancellor Kevin Snider, Penn State New Kensington
NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. -- Penn State New Kensington Chancellor Kevin Snider often refers to the campus community as “family.” The 58th spring commencement exercises May 6 epitomized the truism as five former students returned to the campus to receive their degrees.
“New Kensington feels like home,” said Sandra Muhhuku, an international student from Uganda who spent her first two years at New Kensington before moving on to University Park to complete her bachelor’s studies. “My parents aren't coming for graduation, so everyone at New Kensington feels like family.”
Muhhuku and her fellow returnees were among the 75 candidates who were conferred degrees by Snider. The new graduates represented 18 bachelor’s and associate degree programs offered by six Penn State colleges.
Kevin Bode, founder of Knead Community Café in downtown New Kensington, delivered the commencement address, “All We Knead is Love." He prepared the new Penn Staters for life after college, using his example of opening the Knead Café in February. A successful financial manager, Bode embarked on a second career in February when he and his wife, Mary, opened the innovative café, the first “pay-what-you-can” restaurant in western Pennsylvania. Based on a model created by OWEE (One World Everybody Eats), the concept allows patrons of the café to pay what they can afford for a meal or volunteer in the café.
“My wish for all of you today is that you find that career that you truly love,” Bode said. “I hope that you are all very successful. But don't stop there. Don’t be afraid of hard work.”
Bode beseeched the students to define themselves by more than their careers. He challenged them to challenge themselves, and not to be afraid to take a leap of faith.
“Sometimes through adversity and challenges, we have our biggest opportunity to experience growth,” Bode said. “Seek out where you can make a difference by helping your neighbor and ultimately your community. I promise you, there is nothing else like it."
Class of 2017
Snider opened the ceremony with remarks about the magnitude of the graduates’ achievements as they join the chronicle of 5,350 graduates from the New Kensington campus that dates from 1960. Commencement is the public recognition of those accomplishments and demonstrates the University's pride in the students' achievements.
“Today your names are added to the list of men and women who have earned degrees from The Pennsylvania State University,” Snider said. “The significance of the occasion is not that you are one of many, but that you yourself have achieved a worthy goal.”
Eight students were awarded degrees with summa cum laude, magna cum laude or cum laude designations, based on cumulative grade-point averages. The honors group comprised students in the top 12 percent of their graduating class in their college. Of this group, the top two percent graduated summa cum laude (Amanda Mohrbach, business), the next four percent graduated magna cum laude (Nathan Piluso, electro-mechanical engineering technology and Lauren McFall, information sciences and technology), and the final six percent graduated cum laude (Leslie Davis, organizational leadership; Nicholas Iducovich, business; Justin Smith, information sciences and technology; and Elizabeth Legnine and Alicia Carson, psychology). Cords were worn to recognize each classification -- blue and white for summa cum laude; blue for magna cum laude, and white for cum laude.
Two United States service members and veterans -- Jack DelloStritto and Joseph Milinaro (biomedical engineering technology) -- donned military honor cords with their caps and gowns. The red, white and blue cords are reserved for students who have honorably served, are serving or are commissioned to serve in the U.S. military. The military honor cords program was implemented to recognize students’ service to their country, as well as their academic achievements.
Vera Spina Greenwald, president of the Penn State New Kensington Alumni Society, inducted the new alumni into the Penn State Alumni Association (PSAA). She urged the graduates to “stay connected to your University and to other Penn Staters.” A one-year free membership in the association was the inducement to do so. The PSAA is the largest dues-paying alumni association in the world with more than 176,000 members.
Shannon Josefoski, president of the Student Government Association, spoke to the graduates. Alexander Conte, a freshman engineering major, sang the National Anthem and the Alma Mater.
There’s no place like home
Jenna Highfield (advertising and public relations), Claire Fisher and Kylie Kinlough (chemical engineering), Leslie Davis (organizational leadership) and Muhhuku (petroleum and natural gas engineering) started their college careers at the campus before finishing their coursework at University Park or the World Campus. Their decision to return to their original campus for graduation is a testament to the quality of faculty and academic programs at the 700-student campus.
"The New Kensington faculty are amazing,” Muhhuku said. “They feel like family and always look out for students, even out of the classroom. I don't have words enough to express how thankful I am for them.”
Muhhuku reconnected with the campus because of her experiences inside and outside the classroom. She was a member of the Dean’s List and extremely active on campus, serving as president of the Lion Ambassadors, vice president of the Multicultural Club, and as a member of the Campus Activities Board, Creative Writing Club, Jazz Band and THON. Muhhuku was selected as the recipient of the Eric A. and Josephine S. Walker Award, the campus’ highest student honor.
“I was so excited to come back,” said Muhhuku, whose post-graduation plans include a master’s degree in civil engineering. “I missed the faculty and staff.”
Muhhuku’s parents couldn’t make the 7,400-mile journey, but her older sister, Samantha Muhhuku, made the 130-mile journey, one day after earning an electrical and computer engineering technology degree from Penn State Erie, The Behrend Campus. Sandra attended her sister’s ceremony.
Samantha preceded Sandra at the New Kensington campus and earned an associate degree in biomedical engineering technology (BET) in 2014. While in high school, Samantha's father helped her research BET programs and determined that the program at New Kensington was one of the best in the United States.
The son also rises
As chancellor for the past nine years, Snider has conferred degrees on more than 1,000 campus students. It always is a privilege, he said, as he has known most of the students personally.
“Awarding a degree to a student I've watched grow over two or four years is an honor,” Snider said. “Seeing them celebrate with their families from the sidelines is both humbling and gratifying.”
This year, Snider watched one of the graduates grow up for a considerably longer time. In a fortuitous twist of graduation fate, the chancellor had the rare opportunity to confer a degree on his offspring -- his youngest son, Tyler Snider.
“I got to hand a diploma to a young man I've known since the day he was born,” said the chancellor, who raised two sons with his wife, Sarah Snider. “I am so incredibly proud of him. It was hard not to be a gushing parent instead of a distinguished granter of degrees at the moment he walked across the stage.”
An Allegheny Township resident, Tyler spent his college days in State College, earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Penn State University Park. He decided to forego graduating with his classmates to attend the commencement ceremony presided over by his father, as a show of appreciation for his parents.
“I came to New Kensington for graduation because of the immense support of my family through my undergraduate career,” Tyler said. “Given this support, I thought it symbolic to receive my diploma from the hands of my father.”
Tyler will continue his education in graduate school. After a summer position as an intern for University California-San Francisco's Emotional Health and Psychophysiology lab, he will pursue a master’s degree in cognitive psychology.
“This was a graduation ceremony I will remember for the rest of my life,” said the chancellor, who was in the audience and not on stage when his oldest son, Andrew Snider, graduated from Penn State in 2013 with a software engineering degree from Behrend. He is a software engineer in Chicago.
A Sennett quorum
Penn State alumni in the audience stood as Greenwald inducted the new graduates in the PSAA. However, one alumnus stood out a little more than the others -- John “Jack” Sennett, a member of New Kensington’s first class in 1960. Sennett was on-hand to see his grandson and namesake, John “Trey” Sennett III, receive his bachelor’s degree in administration of justice.
Jack's connection to the campus goes back nearly 60 years to the founding of Penn State New Kensington in 1958. He and 78 other engineering students began classes in what was called the New Kensington Center on Fourth Avenue in the city of New Kensington. Jack received an associate degree in mechanical engineering two years later. He went on to earn a bachelor's degree in economics and industrial management from Duquesne University, and a master's in industrial labor relations from St. Francis University.
After retiring as director of industrial engineering at Allegheny Ludlum Steel Corp, Jack remained a vital part of the campus. He was a member of the campus Advisory Board for 12 years and delivered the commencement address to campus graduates in 2008.
Jack heads a family that spans three generations at the New Kensington campus. Susan Sennett Dale, Jack’s daughter and Trey’s aunt, is the administrative support assistant in the Office of Academic Affairs. All four of Jack and Jean Sennett’s offspring hold college degrees.
Dale’s daughter, Shelby Dale Noll, and Trey are the latest of Jack’s grandchildren to choose the New Kensington campus as the springboard to their careers. Shelby attended the campus for two years before earning an education degree from Carlow University, her mother’s alma mater.
“Jean and I are incredibly proud of Shelby and Trey,” Jack said. “I am thankful that Penn State New Kensington opened its doors so many years ago and has grown to where it is today.”
The commitment to higher education, a hallmark of the Sennett family, goes back even further. Jack’s mother and Trey’s great-grandmother, Vendla Sennett, earned an education degree in 1927 from Loch Haven State Teachers College. She taught elementary school in the Arnold School District for 35 years. She constantly extolled the value of a college degree. Jack incorporated her ideals into his advice to the campus graduates nine years ago:
"You must be prepared and getting prepared means you must develop a passion for furthering your education so you can beat out your competition. Learning is a lifelong process, and it never ends. Never ever stop your education process. Continuing your education process and learning will provide you with a competitive edge that will help you through these ever-changing times. As I told my children years ago, giving them an education was the best insurance policy I could ever give them. It will last forever."
It is sound counsel that still resonates today.
Undergraduate curtain comes down
Chancellor Snider concluded the ceremony by telling the graduates that although what lies ahead is unknown, their Penn State degrees will help them pilot their career vessels through the turbulent seas of the “real world.”
“The world you will enter tomorrow is scary,” Snider said. “The issues facing you can seem daunting, and the future a little uncertain. But I want to you to know you are leaving with one of the most recognized degrees in the world.”
To illustrate the point, the chancellor requested faculty, staff, Penn State alumni, families and friends to stand. The 75 new Penn State alumni were surrounded by 500 supporters.
“Graduates, look at each other, and now look around,” Snider said. “Even though you are leaving Penn State, you are not alone. You have a huge network of fellow alumni and colleagues who will help you. Your Penn State degree and your family and friends can hold open the door to a successful career.
“But remember, you have to turn the key to open it, and you have to walk through it. You have to climb the stairs to success. You have to decide what success means in your life. I don’t know what your journey holds in store, but I do know that you are prepared and you are supported.”
The chancellor also had some final words for his son.
“Tyler, your mother and I are so very, very proud of you.” Snider said. “You are everything to us. We know you are going to do great things in your life and we are so grateful and hopeful that we will get to see a lot of it. Thank you for making our lives so much richer.”
The exercises concluded with Conte, accompanied by the new graduates and alumni, singing the Penn State Alma Mater. A reception for the new Penn Staters and guests followed, as did numerous photos of graduates and their families at the campus’ Lion Shrine.
For photos of individual graduates, visit Penn State New Kensington Commencement.