Local students shine on campus
Neumann University
ASTON » Amanda DeCarolis of Nottingham, a Business Administration major, has been named valedictorian of the Neumann University Class of 2021.
Her academic credentials, all earned in three-anda-half years, include a summa cum laude GPA, the Excellence in Business Administration award, two minors, an Honors Program certificate, and three national honor society memberships.
As a member of a senior business seminar, she led a three-student team to a top 50 finish in the Business Strategy Game, an international business management contest that involved 2,968 teams from 164 colleges.
In addition to academics, DeCarolis has been active on campus, serving as anchor and field reporter for the weekly Neumann Update broadcast, and the University Jazz Band, playing clarinet. She is also a Neumann Navigator, leading campus tours, a Presidential Ambassador, retreat leader for Campus Ministry, and volunteer for the university phona-thon and at St. Francis Inn, a soup kitchen in the Kensington section of Philadelphia. She also researched and created two presentations for Neumann’s LEAD Honors Conference and one for the annual Southeastern Pennsylvania Consortium for Higher Education Honors Conference.
Neumann University has scheduled six in-person graduation ceremonies, three on Saturday, May 15, and another three on Sunday, May 16. The three graduation ceremonies on May 15, scheduled for 10 a.m., 1 p.m., and 4 p.m., are for the Class of 2021. The Class of 2020, for which there was no in-person event last year, will return to campus for its commencement on May 16 at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
The 10 a.m. ceremony each day is for students who have earned graduate degrees. All afternoon events are for undergraduate students. Students will graduate in groups of approximately 100, each permitted to have only two guests at the event. The six commencement exercises will be held under a tent on the front lawn of the Mirenda Center on Convent Road. Masks are required for students and guests, who will be seated in pods to observe social distancing guidelines.
East Stroudsburg University
EAST STROUDSBURG » East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania recognized 344 students who were scheduled to be recognized at this year’s Annual Honors Convocation. The event was not held due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Honors Convocation is sponsored by the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (APSCUF) with support from the ESU Office of the Provost. Jenna Dibona, of Aston was among those recognized.
The 344 students recognized have had great academic achievements at the university. Honor students must have of a minimum quality point average of 3.50 reflecting at least 36 semester hours of work completed at ESU, completion of at least 96 semester hours in their collegiate career by January 1 of the year in which the award is considered and a minimum of two semesters as a full-time student. Certificates of recognition were sent to each student.
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
INDIANA, PA. » Indiana University of Pennsylvania honored nine volunteers, including a Delaware County man, during the annual Volunteer Appreciation Ceremony event.
Held virtually on April 21, the event honored both the 2020 and 2021 recipients of the Awards of Excellence in Volunteer Leadership, which are presented annually to alumni, or a friend of the university in recognition of their exemplary work on behalf of the university. Due to the pandemic, the event was not held in 2020. This event was part of the university’s Celebration Week, which included the Celebration of Philanthropy on April 16 and the Distinguished Alumni Awards celebration on April 17.
Christopher Ofalt, now of Philadelphia, was honored with the 2020 Regional Impact award, which recognizes a volunteer who champions IUP in their region by engaging alumni through events, supports recruitment efforts, or provides internship and employment opportunities. Ofalt, a 1998 theater graduate, is a third-grade teacher at Interboro School District. He has been an active volunteer and advocate for more than 15 years in the greater Philadelphia region.
He has served as a First Thursday regional volunteer/ contact between 2008-2010, a role in which the volunteer would work to locate restaurants to host IUP alumni informal Happy Hours for local alumni in the region. Ofalt has also served as an on-going Career Networking Host Committee member, from 2008 to now. While serving in this capacity, he would lend his name to the marketing of the event, connect with fellow IUP alumni in the region, invite others to attend, and at the event help others establish conversations.
Ofalt has also served as admissions recruitment volunteer and as a regional representative, helping alumni who were relocating to the city, connecting with alumni at events, and supporting the Office of Alumni and Friends with events. He began as the second Regional Ambassador to the Philadelphia region in November 2019.
Ofalt is originally from Mechanicsburg and is a graduate of Cumberland Valley High School. He is the son of Janice Ofalt and the late Joseph Ofalt. While at IUP, he received the Outstanding Achievement in Theatre Award and was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.
University of Pittsburgh- Bradford
BRADFORD, PA. » The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford will graduate 263 students at its Commencement exercises at noon on Sunday, May 2. This year’s Commencement will feature a live, in-person drivethrough ceremony in order to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19.
It will be available for livestream viewing at www. upb.pitt.edu/commencement, on the university’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/ PittBradford, and YouTube channel, uPittBradford/. Local students expected to graduate are: Destiny Davis of Brookhaven, Bachelor of Science, biology; Shaniah Hudson of Clifton Heights, Bachelor of Science in Nursing, nursing; and Gwendolyn Elia of Glen Mills, Bachelor of Science, psychology.
Delaware County Community College
MARPLE » Delaware County Community College students Victoria Wilson of Honey Brook, Guinevere Paviglianiti of West Grove and DeChanel Bailey-Castillo and Priscilla Kongo, both of Philadelphia, were recently recognized by the Phi Theta Kappa international honor society of twoyear colleges and the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges for their academic accomplishments and community volunteerism.
Their induction into the All-Pennsylvania (All-PA) Academic Team, includes a full-tuition scholarship for two years to one of the 14 universities that make up the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. All-PA scholars are named by their colleges to the AllPennsylvania Academic Team, which requires students maintain at least a 3.5 grade point average, have completed at least 36 credits and be about to graduate with an associate degree.
They were honored by the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges during a special virtual event broadcast April 15, Community College Day.
Central Penn College
SUMMERDALE, PA. » Anthony Haynes, of Morton has been named to the Central Penn College Dean’s List for the winter 2021 term. Haynes is currently majoring in Accounting. Of the students who took classes, 37% made the Dean’s List. To qualify for the designation, an undergraduate student must carry six or more credits and earn a grade-point average of 3.5 or better for the term.
Bloomsburg University
BLOOMSBURG, PA. » The Bloomsburg University athletic department recently recognized a record 246 scholar-athletes for their academic successes over the course of the past two semesters. Scholar-Athlete recognition was awarded to those who achieved a grade point average of 3.25 or higher during the past two semesters or who have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.25. Maxwell Brown of Media, a member of the Men’s Soccer team, was honored with this recognition.
Gettysburg College
GETTYSBURG » Abigail Richard of Springfield, Jamie Dinella of Media, Sydney Goldberg of Media, Adrienne Poissant of Media, and Madalyn Ruffini of Media, have been placed on the Gettysburg College Dean’s Honor list for outstanding academic achievement in the Fall 2020 semester. Students with a quality point average of 3.60 or higher (on a 4.0 scale) for a semester’s work are placed on the College’s Dean’s Honor List.
Students with a quality point average in the range of 3.300 to 3.599 for a semester’s work were recently placed on the Deans’ Commendation List. Local students who qualified for the Dean’s Commendation List include Madison Caccese of Chadds Ford and Archer Castle of Media.