UTICA — Roughly 425  Utica University graduates were honored at the 74th undergraduate commencement ceremony on Thursday at the Adirondack Bank Center at Utica Memorial Auditorium.

Those participating in the exercise included Greg Sankey, who addressed the graduating Class of 2023 as keynote speaker. An honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree was granted to Sankey by the university.

“Sankey is the commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, a 14-member Division I athletic conference and a leader on the national landscape for intercollegiate athletics. He was named as the SEC’s eighth commissioner in 2015, after joining the conference as associate commissioner in 2002 before being named Executive Associate Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer in 2012. His career began at Utica, where he served as director of intramural sports,” notes information from the university.

Additional highlights

Among those honored were valedictorian Thomas John Morreale, a mathematics / adolescence education major from Whitesboro and salutatorian Isabella “Isa” Colleen Hudziak, an English / adolescence education major also from Whitesboro who both earned perfect 4.0 grade point averages. 

A bachelor’s degree in nursing was awarded posthumously to Taylor Wane.

Giving the keynote address was Ann Ciancia, a 2018 graduate of Utica University who received her undergraduate degrees in health studies, philosophy and Spanish. 

“While at Utica, she was very involved in campus life serving as the first ever female two- term Student Government President along with senior class president. Additionally, she was a Resident Assistant and a leader among many organizations, Greek Life, and athletics. Currently, Ann utilizes both her law degree and MBA and her passion for advocating for victims of sexual violence by serving as the Title IX Coordinator and Director of Compliance at Paul Smith’s College in the Adirondack region of New York,” information noted.

More

A ceremony for those earning certificates, masters and doctoral degrees will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 12, at the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. 219 will be honored at Friday’s event.

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