Seton Hall University will celebrate its 167th baccalaureate commencement on Monday,
May 22, 2023, at 9 a.m. at the Prudential Center, 165 Mulberry Street in Newark, New
Jersey. Delivering the commencement keynote address will be His Excellency Borys Gudziak, the Metropolitan-Archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia.
The Baccalaureate ceremony will be livestreamed on the University’s website here.
The University will be graduating 1,386 students with baccalaureate degrees, 804 with
honors. In addition, 951 graduate students will receive master’s and doctorate degrees
this season, making the total number of graduates this year 2,337 students. Separate
ceremonies will be held for the University’s graduate students, with details and locations
for individual colleges and schools available on the Commencement website.
His Excellency Borys Gudziak, the Metropolitan-Archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic
Archeparchy of Philadelphia has been recognized for his work in shaping civil society
in Central and Eastern Europe, receiving numerous awards and distinctions including
recognition as a Cavalier of the Order of Legion of Honor (Chevalier de l’Ordre national
de la Légion d’honneur) in 2015, the highest decoration in France, as well as the
Jan Nowak-Jeziorański Award in 2016, in Wroclaw, Poland. He travels globally with
lectures and talks on theology, history, spirituality, education, society and current
challenges in Ukraine. Archbishop Gudziak is an honorary citizen of Lviv.
At the ceremony, Archbishop Gudziak will receive an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters
alongside Indra Nooyi, former CEO and chairman of PepsiCo from 2006 to 2019. Her prescient strategic thinking,
insight into consumer behavior, and wisdom on managing a vast, global workforce make
her one of the world’s most sought-after advisors to entrepreneurs, executives and
governments. She is also revered as a role model for women and immigrants, and celebrated
for her empowering messages on inclusivity. At PepsiCo, she was the chief architect
of Performance with Purpose, the company’s mission to deliver sustained growth by
making more nutritious products, limiting the company’s environmental footprint, and
empowering its associates and people in the communities it serves.
Cardinal Joseph William Tobin, C.Ss.R., Archbishop of Newark, Chair, Board of Trustees
and President, Board of Regents, will deliver the Invocation to the Class of 2023.
Presenting the Charge to the soon to be graduates and their guests will be University
President Joseph E. Nyre, Ph.D.
Students achieving the highest GPA from each college and school were invited to participate
in a process to select a valedictorian to deliver a commencement address that reflects
on the meaning of their Seton Hall experience and how it has led to a special vision
for the future. From this process, a student to give the valedictory address was chosen,
as well as two alternates.
The valedictory address will be delivered by Caitlin A. Lacey, graduating Summa Cum Laude (with highest honors) who hails from Charleston, South Carolina. She is a communication
and philosophy double major within the College of Communication and the Arts. Her
involvements include Sigma Tau Delta, Lambda Pi Eta, Tri-Alpha Honors Society and
the Honors Student Union. Caitlin worked as a resident assistant and completed the
Honors Program with a 4.0 GPA. As a scholar in the R.I.S.E. - Resilience, Integrity,
Scholarship and Excellence - program, she worked as an event host, mentor, tutor and
tutor coordinator to help empower eligible students to achieve and maintain academic
excellence and college success. After graduation, she will be teaching and advising
students this summer at Yale University. Beyond this summer, she will pursue a career
as a travel writer.
Alternate speaker Jessica Moran, hailing from Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, is an
accounting major at the Stillman School of Business, graduating Summa Cum Laude (with highest honors). During her time at Seton Hall, Jessica was a proud member
of the Buccino Leadership Institute, the nation's #1 undergraduate leadership development
honors program. In the leadership honors program, Jessica was selected as the Class
of 2023 Buccino Scholar, served as a class representative and mentored underclassmen.
Jessica also served as the vice president of HOSA-Future Health Professionals and
as an editor for The Stillman Exchange. Additionally, Jessica was inducted into the New Jersey Collegiate Business Administration
Association Honor Society, which accepts business students across all New Jersey colleges
that are in the top 1% of their class. Jessica was also inducted into Beta Alpha Psi
and Beta Gamma Sigma. Following graduation, Jessica will work full-time as an audit
associate for KPMG LLP, one of the nation's leading “Big Four” public accounting firms.
Alternate speaker Megan Gawron from Kunkletown, Pennsylvania, is a student in the
School of Diplomacy and International Relations with a triple-major in diplomacy and
international relations, philosophy, and economics as well as a minor in communication.
During her time at Seton Hall, Megan actively wrote for The Diplomatic Envoy, which she became the editor-in-chief of in her senior year. She also graduates as
a co-captain of the nationally-ranked Brownson Speech and Debate Team — top 13 in
the country. In her four years of competing, she earned national-level awards in seven
different events. After graduation, she is moving to Washington, D.C. to join Deloitte
as a tax consultant.
For more information about Seton Hall’s 167th baccalaureate ceremony and the keynote
speakers, please visit our Commencement website.
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