The State System celebrates the achievements of thousands of students who graduated from our universities in 2024. Their hard work and dedication deserve to be recognized and applauded.

Success Highlights

On May 11, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis served as keynote speaker at the 169th commencement of Cheyney University at Cheyney’s Historic Quadrangle. The Class of 2024 is the university’s largest graduating class in five years, with more than 130 undergraduate degrees being conferred.

Commonwealth University recently recognized the Class of 2024 with commencement ceremonies held on all three campuses. Among the more than 2,100 Commonwealth University graduates were standouts Kimberly Speece, Bloomsburg; Austin Melius, Lock Haven; and Isabella Folino, Mansfield.

Graduating seniors Sierra DiCupe and James Shupp have spent their years at East Stroudsburg University with a desire to lead and serve others. DiCupe, an exercise science major from Philadelphia, Pa., was awarded the University Leadership Award for the 2023-24 academic year. Shupp, a special education early childhood education major from Easton, Pa., was awarded the University Service Award.

The next chapter of Caio Gomes’s life is about to begin, and he couldn’t be more excited. Come fall, he will be a student at Yale Law School in New Haven, Connecticut. Gomes, who graduated with all As and one B on his final IUP transcript, applied to a multitude of law schools, hoping to find the best fit. When the dust cleared, he had acceptance offers from 12, including some big names, such as Cornell, Duke, Penn, Yale, and UCLA.

Maria Clark, a recent Kutztown University graduate, shares the many ways she’s been involved and supported on campus. She lives with cystic fibrosis and has become an advocate for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation through her leadership roles within Delta Phi Epsilon and applauds the support she’s received through KU’s Office of Disability Services.

On Saturday, May 4, 1,070 students graduated from Millersville University. Of those, 860 were undergraduates and 210 graduate students. Plans after graduation range from graduate school to choosing between job offers.

Hannah and Isabella Gorrell have shared a lot of big moments – from taking their first steps to starting kindergarten, celebrating birthdays, and finishing high school in the midst of a global pandemic. On May 4, the Gorrell twins reached another milestone as they walked across separate PennWest stages to earn bachelor of science degrees in nursing.

Kayla Dalhouse, a senior sociology major with a minor in international development and a concentration on youth development in Latin America and the Caribbean, graduated from Shippensburg University in May. With a 4.0 GPA, Kayla is an example of academic excellence. She was also involved in various clubs and organizations, making her a well-rounded individual who is on the path to making a difference in the world through global service.

Before Joe Coudriet graduated from Slippery Rock University on May 4 with a degree in interdisciplinary studies, he was among the 40 million people in the country who earned some college credits but not a degree. Rarer is how many years elapsed between Coudriet's last credit earned, in the spring of 1982, and when he was readmitted at SRU, in December 2023. SRU’s new "Finish What You Started" campaign aims to reach more students like Coudreit.

In multiple campus commencement ceremonies in May, West Chester University graduated 3,198 students: 2,421 undergraduate students and 777 graduate-level students. Amah Dunor had the unique distinction of being the student speaker at two of the University’s three graduate-level commencement ceremonies this year: one for the graduate-degree candidates at the Philadelphia site and one on main campus for graduates of the College of Business & Public Management.