MIDDLETOWN – Graduates in the SUNY Orange Class of 2022 participated in one of three commencement ceremonies at the Middletown campus on Thursday.
Unlike its traditional pre-pandemic commencements in which the college held one all-encompassing ceremony, it conducted three smaller ones outdoors under a tent and recognized graduates according to the academic division in which their degree or certificate was housed – health professionals; Business, Science, Math and Technology; and liberal arts.
“Your graduation from college, particularly this college, is a treasured public good,” College President Dr. Kristine Young told the graduates. “You, as a collective, will leave our grounds today and move on to accomplish your next goal. Many of you are statistically very likely to go to work or to continue your education in the state New York, and, of those, many of you are significantly likely to do here in Orange County itself. But wherever you settle, by virtue of being a SUNY Orange graduate, you will bring to the place one of the aims of our college: developed knowledge and skills in critical thinking, information and technology literacy, and communication which will lead to enhanced awareness of civic responsibility and cultural diversity.”
Seven students graduated with perfect 4.0 grade point averages, 22 graduates were veterans of the armed forces, 21 were members of the Honors Program, 25 were graduates of the Excelsior Academy [the collaborative P-TECH program at Newburgh North High School in partnership by SUNY Orange and IBM], 46.6 percent graduated with academic honors (summa cum laude, magna cum laude, or cum laude), and seven accepted certificates of completion from the BRIDGES program.
The degree breakdown included 319 AAS degrees, 209 AS degrees, 132 AA degrees and two certificates.
Two students earned the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence [Jakob Baumgartner, West Point, engineering science degree; and Carly Glassé, Goshen, business administration degree.
Four graduates were presented their award by a family member employed by the college (Faustina Elia, daughter of Angela Elia, IT Support Manager; Anthony Giorginanni, son of Dr. Thomas Giorgianni, computer science professor; Aidan Hackman, son of Dr. Erika Hackman, vice president for academic affairs; and Tristan O’Regan, stepson of Renee Arnold, procurement coordinator).
