Mount St. Mary's University will host its 214th commencement exercises at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 14 in Knott Arena. It will be the first graduation ceremony to be held in the arena since 2019. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, in 2020 and 2021 four smaller, socially distanced ceremonies were held each year. The 2022 ceremony will celebrate the achievements of 609 graduates.
Commencement Speakers:
The commencement speaker is the Rev. James Michael Donohue, C.R., Ph.D., a distinguished Mount theology professor. Donohue came to Mount St. Mary’s in 1996 as an assistant professor of theology and quickly became one of the university’s most popular faculty members. Twenty-six years later, he is retiring from the university after this academic year so that he can support his order, the Congregation of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in building up the Church in Tanzania. He began his work in Tanzania during a sabbatical from the Mount in 2019-20. He will be honored with a doctorate of humane letters in recognition of his service to the university, his order, and the local and global communities.
The student speaker is Elizabeth Busch, recipient of the 2022 Edward J. Flanagan Memorial Prize, awarded to the member of the senior class who best represents the tradition of the university in scholarship, conduct, and leadership. Busch, a resident of Bowie, Maryland, is a double major in English and French. An Honors Program student, Busch's short stories, featured in the university's literary and arts magazine Lighted Corners, have also been published in journals such as plain china. During her first year at the Mount, she won the Brave New World essay contest which saw her work published in the First Year Symposium Reader. Busch is also a leader of Lighted Corners, serving as the senior fiction editor this year. In addition, she is an accomplished bassoon and keyboard player and has been an important member of the Mount’s Wind Ensemble and Big Band.
Notable graduates, listed in alphabetical order:
Rebekah Balick
Balick, an international studies and history major from West Friendship, Maryland, was a leader of Campus Ministry Women's Fellowship, an editor of Lighted Corners and Moorings, and a founding member of the AEI Executive Council. She also was a Mount Fellow and an Honors Program student who studied abroad in Florence, Italy in the spring of 2020. She is one of three recipients of the Bishop Allen Memorial Prize for the highest scholastic average throughout the four years at the university and the Monsignor George D. Muccahy Memorial Prize for the undergraduate who has provided distinguished service to the larger community.
After graduation - Business management analyst at Northrop Grumman.
Paige Buchanan
A business major with a concentration in international business and economics from Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, Buchanan enjoyed throwing javelin as a member of the NCAA DI track and field team. She also served as the president of the Asian Culture Club, a student career coach, and a resident assistant. A Mount Fellow and an Honors Program student, one of her most meaningful experiences was a study abroad trip to Russia with Associate Professor of Business Michael Barry, Ph.D., for an international economics class. "Dr. Barry has been a mentor to me in research and class," Buchanan said. "I could not be more grateful for all the time and effort he has given me over the past couple of years."
After graduation - Fixed income strategy analyst at BlackRock.
Jadé Curtis
One of the first students to graduate from the Mount's philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) program, as well as a communication major, Curtis, of Mechanicsville, Maryland, was active in pre-law and student government activities, serving as vice president of the Women in Law Club and vice president of financial affairs of the Student Government Association for three years. She also served as news editor and a writer for the Mountain Echo student newspaper and as a new student orientation leader.
After graduation - Widener Commonwealth Law School.
Catherine Davis
The recipient of the Joanne Vignali Cushman Memorial Prize for the student who consistently demonstrates qualities essential to dedication in the field of education, Davis, an English major who also is earning a certificate in secondary education, is from Severna Park, Maryland. She also received the Leo T. Collier Prize for the student demonstrating outstanding achievement in English and/or journalism. Davis was a member and captain of the NCAA D! swimming and diving team and was active in Campus Ministry.
After graduation - English teacher, Frederick County (MD) Public Schools.
Anne Frederick
Frederick, of Baltimore County, Maryland, is the first recipient of the Fulbright-LUISS award, a two-year grant given to one individual a year. She will pursue a Master's in international relations with a major in security at LUISS (Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli) in Rome. One of the first students to graduate from the Mount's philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) program, as well as an Italian major and a minor in theology, Frederick served as an editorial intern for the Journal of Moral Theology and has interned with the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy in Washington DC. A Mount Fellow and Honors Program student, Frederick's research interests are comparative electoral systems and religious diplomacy.
After graduation - Fulbright-LUISS award, Masters in international relations with a major in security at Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli in Rome.
Jalen Jefferson
Jefferson, of Hopewell, Virginia, is the recipient of the Dominic Greco Award for a pre-dental or pre-medical student who has demonstrated dedication to his or her fellow students and has been a credit to the university. The biology and biochemistry major played on the NCAA DI men's basketball team, along with his twin brother Malik, an accounting major. Jalen Jefferson's most significant experience at the Mount was giving his senior honors presentation because it made him realize how much he had grown in the past four years.
After graduation - Columbia University School of Dentistry.
Jenna Lewaren
The recipient of the Erskine-Felber-Leonhardt Prize for distinguished study of the German language, Lewaren will be speaking and reading German every day in 2022-23 as she teaches English in Germany under the Fulbright Teaching Assistant Program. Lewaren, of Green Bay, Wisconsin, was an elementary education and German major. In addition to balancing two majors and two educational internships during a pandemic, Lewaren was a member of the women's NCAA D! rugby team and was involved in the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
After graduation - Fulbright English Teaching Award Program, Germany.
Harry Scherer
One of the first students to graduate from the philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) major, as well as a history and Latin major, Scherer, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, served as co-editor-in-chief of Tolle Legge: Journal of Theology and Philosophy, as a founding council member of the AEI Executive Council, and as a resident assistant. He also was managing editor of the Emmitsburg News-Journal, the monthly community publication, and co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Brownson Record, an independent magazine that launched this spring.
After graduation - Editorial fellow, The American Conservative.
Sergio Villafane IV
A cybersecurity and computer science major, Villafane, of Hanover, Maryland, was involved in the Cyber Defense Club and the Hacking Team, activities that helped him broaden his knowledge of cybersecurity outside the classroom. He also worked in the Mount's Networking Department.
After graduation - Junior software engineer, Red Alpha.
Eight cadets from the Mount’s Class of 2022 will be commissioned. They are Caleb Barber, Jared Gress, Jessie LeJeune, Catherine Remaniak, Aaron Romero, Kathryn Rutledge, Julian Serpas and Andrew Turner. Aaron Romero received the Lancer Award for outstanding performance and exemplary leadership in the Mount St. Mary's University U.S. Army ROTC program.