ALBANY, NY—The 2014 graduation events at Maria College start with the annual White Tea and pinning ceremony for the AAS nursing students on Thursday, May 15 at 3pm. Then on Friday, May 16th at 5 pm, there will be a Commencement Mass celebrated by Reverend Patrick Butler, Pastor of Clifton Park’s St. Edward the Confessor Parish. “You Are the Light of the World”, is this year’s theme and will reflect on Maria graduates who will soon be using their education to serve others in occupational therapy, nursing, law, management, liberal arts, gerontology, and bereavement studies.
This year marks the college’s 52nd Commencement. It will take place on Sunday, May 18 at 3:30 pm in the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany, NY. Bishop Emeritus, Howard J. Hubbard, D.D will confer degrees and also address the 2014 graduates, friends and family. This will be the 38th year he has presided at the college’s commencements.
Maria College President Lea Johnson said of Commencement 2014, “We are looking forward to providing a celebratory setting for graduates, their families and their friends to observe this very important milestone. The Board of Trustees and I, on behalf of the entire Maria Community, recognize that this celebration for the graduates of 2014 is a special occasion to look back upon the special relationships created with fellow students, faculty and staff, as well as the education they received.” She added, “It also is a time to look ahead, anticipating how their Maria education in the ideal of “service to others” will inspire them to achieve productive, responsible and rewarding lives.”
More than 200 graduating seniors will receive their Bachelor of Science or Associate in Arts, Science, Applied Science or four Certificate Programs during the ceremony. The Chair of Maria’s Board of Trustees, Frederic M. Stuzman, will bestow upon Bishop Hubbard an honorary degree, “Doctor of Humane Letters”.
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About Maria College
Maria College is a baccalaureate nonprofit, independent, co-educational institution, founded in 1958 by the Sisters of Mercy, and is one of 17 colleges and universities in the United States sponsored by the Conference for Mercy Higher Education. The College serves traditional and nontraditional students through day, evening, weekend and online classes. A student focused and highly affordable private college in Albany, NY with a 99% placement rate—employment and continuing education.