Who: Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, President of TD Bank North Ed Travaglianti ’70 and the St. Francis College Spring 2009 Graduating Class
What: Spring 2009 Commencement
Where: New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge
333 Adams Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
When: Wednesday, May 27
2:00pm
More than 300 students will receive their undergraduate degrees along with St. Francis College’s second class of Accounting Graduate Students at the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge, Wednesday, May 27 at 2:00pm. For friends and family members who are not able to attend, the ceremony will be streamed live on the
internet.
Delivering the commencement address at the ceremony will be Brooklyn Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke. Representative Clarke will also be awarded an honorary doctorate degree by the College. Representative Clarke is a Brooklyn native and product of the New York City Public School System. As representative of New York's 11th Congressional District, Congresswoman Clarke is committed to continuing the district's legacy of excellence as set forth by the late Honorable Shirley Chisholm, the first African American woman and Caribbean American elected to Congress. Her voting record serves as a reflection of her philosophy that government should serve to protect people, uplift local communities and build bridges that bring everyone together
The College will also award alumnus Edward Travaglianti ’70, President of TD Bank Long Island, with an honorary doctorate. Mr. Travaglianti has almost forty years of experience in commercial banking in the metropolitan New York area. He has also been a strong supporter of causes and community, having served on the Board of Directors of Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola New York and Cop-Shot of which he is a founding member. Mr. Travaglianti is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Long Island University, serves as treasurer of the Board of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and chaired the Corporate Volunteer Leadership Campaign for Long Island Blood Services. A long time supporter of St. Francis College, Mr. Travaglianti has helped raise more than $1 million for the College through his ten years as co-chairman of the annual Meadow Brook Golf Outing.
Among the students graduating are:
Careen Fletcher is a Chemistry and Physics Major with a minor in Biology. She will be attending University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), and hopes to pursue a career in orthodontics. Careen is a member of the College’s Duns Scotus Honors Society, having been on the Dean’s List every semester at St. Francis. She also won an academic excellence scholarship from the Trinidad and Tobago Alliance and is a member of the Caribbean Student Association and Chemistry Club. Careen was one of only ten people chosen from hundreds of applicants to intern last summer at North Carolina State University where she did chemical research, focusing on the hydrosilation of aldehydes and ketones.
Joey Neri is a Communication Arts Major with a concentration in Film and Broadcasting. In addition to his studies, Joey also worked for the department helping other students with their film and broadcasting projects. He hopes to parlay his internships for a production company that makes documentaries for MTV and for Nickelodeon into a career in film that ultimately leads to directing feature films. His first step in that direction is a job as a production assistant with Nick at Nite.
Sonia Gutkin is a Political Science and Economics double major. She is President of the Duns Scotus Honors Society and is set to attend New York Law School in the fall. Sonia is a member of the Model UN Club, which prompted her to intern for the real United Nations on Manhattan’s east side. She also served as an intern for the World Wildlife Fund in Washington, DC through a prestigious program run by Georgetown University.
St. Francis College, founded in 1859 by the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn, is located in Brooklyn Heights, New York. Since its founding, the College has pursued its Franciscan mission to provide an affordable, high-quality education to students from New York City’s five boroughs and beyond.
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St. Francis College, 180 Remsen Street, Brooklyn Heights, NY 11201
www.stfranciscollege.edu